"Ta ta dum dum~"

Bernadetta hummed to herself as she walked towards the greenhouse.

"My favorite time of the day." She told herself. "Alone time with the plants! It was so terrifying with all those stares on me, but now I'm where I can just relax."

Walking in with a smile on her face, that immediately dropped as she saw that someone else was inside as well.

"H-Huh?!"

"W-Wah!"

Bernadetta was looking up at a tall girl with blue hair, who had large bags underneath her eyes.

"O-Oh, um…" Marianne was rubbing her hands in nervousness.

"I'm sorry! Please don't hurt me!" Bernadetta said, covering her head.

"N-No!" Marianne said, holding up her hands. "I wasn't going to-!"

"I'm sorry I made you angry!" Bernadetta said. "I'll just leave you here."

"You didn't make me angry." Marianne tried to reassure her. "I was about to leave myself…"

"Are you leaving because of me? I'm sorry…" Bernadetta said.

"N-No! It's not that, I promise!" Marianne said. "I was finished in here anyways. I'll just… I'll be going now. I'm sorry."

She walked past Bernadetta a little quickly, leaving the girl by herself.

"Ugh, great going Bernie." She told herself. "That'll be another memory to bury deep underground to haunt me for the rest of my life."

Trying to take her mind off of the scary experience, she walked up to one of the larger flowers that she normally took care of.

"I'm sorry I'm late. But I know you don't mind." Bernadetta said. "...hm? Your leaves seem a little shinier today, and your soil is damp. Did someone else water you? ...wait, was it that girl…?"

Bernadetta and Marianne's support level is now C! Their motivation has also increased.

"Hmm, hmm hm hmmm~!"

Bernadetta was once again humming to herself, as she watered some of the plants.

"There you go, mister flytrap, and for the rest of you too." Bernadetta said, pouring some water onto the soil of several flytraps. "A nice drink of fresh water for all of you. I do appreciate the work you all do, keeping all the icky bugs that won't stop hurting the other plants."

She made a face, remembering the flies that would show up and suck on the plants, draining them of their color. Ever since the flytraps came into the picture, the flies have dropped significantly in number.

"I hope that water was to your liking, hee hee." Bernadetta giggled.

There was a small fluttering of wings, as Bernadetta felt something on her head.

"Eep! Who's there?!" Bernadetta whimpered.

Not hearing an answer, she slowly looked around, before she saw her reflection on one of the mirrors on the wall. Looking up, she saw that a small bird had nestled itself on the top of her head, appearing quite relaxed in her hair.

"Oh, mister birdie!" Bernadetta said, smiling at the adorable animal. "I didn't think that I'd be seeing anyone else today, hee hee!"

She reached one hand up towards the bird, and gently rubbed it on the head.

"You're so soft… "

"Um… hello…?"

Bernadetta froze, before slowly turning around. She saw Marianne standing there, rubbing her arm. She really wanted to freak out or scream, but with mister birdie seemingly taking a nap on top of her head, freaking out was out of the question.

Then again, she did want to make up for that small misunderstanding they had a while ago.

"U-Um… how long were you standing there?" Bernadetta asked.

"I just walked in…" Marianne said.

"Well I…"

"If you want me to leave, that's fine." Marianne said. "I know I scared you the last time-"

"N-No!" Bernadetta reassured. "You can stay, it's fine."

Marianne stared at her, a bit confused.

"...or if I want to make you leave-"

"No, it's fine. I'll stay."

Bernadetta slowly watched as Marianne approached the watering can. She stayed as calm as possible so as to not wake up mister birdie. Marianne watered the plants, as Bernadetta just watched her. The awkward silence just grew on and on, and to both of their surprises, it was actually kind of unbearable.

"Um… do you have anything to say?" Marianne asked.

Bernadetta was put on the spot. She didn't plan this far ahead. Now she was being asked a question! This was a dumb idea-

Wait, she did have a question! She was saved!

"Yes. I noticed that the larger flower had been watered and treated well." She remembered. "Was… was that you?"

"Yes." Marianne said. "The type of flower it is can become far more vibrant if you also put a light spray of water on its petals, so I did so. ...was that bad?"

"Oh, no!" Bernadetta said. "It's a good thing! Yeah, I'm glad someone else cares about her as much as I do."

"...her?" Marianne raised an eyebrow.

"Urgh, you had to let it slip out, didn't you Bernie?" She chastised herself. "Um, I do like talking to the plants." Stop it! Why are you telling her all this?! She probably thinks you're some sort of a weirdo now!

"I see…" Marianne smiled. "I can understand that."

"Eh? You can?"

"I…" She blushed a bit. "I sometimes do it too."

"Really?"

"It's out of an accidental habit, since I'm usually alone in here." Marianne said. "As much as I prefer being by myself, it does get a bit lonely."

"Yeah, I know that feeling." Bernadetta said. "Being alone is great sometimes, but you'd want to talk to people, even if they're scary."

"You… thought I was scary?" Marianne asked, surprised.

"Well, you're taller than me, and the bags under your eyes are terrifying." Bernadetta said, a little too bluntly.

"Haha… I just don't get enough sleep." Marianne chuckled, before she noticed the small bird on Bernadetta's head. "What's that?"

"Oh? This is mister birdie." Bernadetta said. "He fell asleep on my head."

"...may I pet him?" Marianne asked.

"Sure!" Bernadetta said. "Just don't pat me by mistake."

Bernadetta and Marianne's support level is now B! Their motivation has also increased.

This time around, Marianne was the one humming to herself, as she tended to some small plants on the side. Watering them quite gently, as well as making sure that they got the perfect amount, she didn't notice that Bernadetta had walked in.

"Wow…" Bernadetta said quietly. "She's gently handling the little plants like a pro…"

Finishing, Marianne stood up, and turned to see Bernadetta.

"Oh, good afternoon, Bernadetta." She said with a smile.

"Afternoon, Marianne." Bernadetta greeted back. "Tending to your plants, I see."

"I just recently got these ones." Marianne said. "They're practically little sprouts compared to some of the other plants in the greenhouse."

"Maybe, but I bet with how good you are at taking care of them, they'll grow big and strong in no time!" Bernadetta said.

"I appreciate the kind words." Marianne said. "Though I'm sure they'll simply grow at the normal pace for plants."

"Oh, and I noticed something, Marianne." Bernadetta said. "Your eyes look better!"

"I've been able to sleep much better nowadays." She admitted. "And I've noticed that you've been a lot less jumpy nowadays too."

"Well, I realized that I can't stay hiding underneath the table my entire life." Bernadetta admitted. "And I realized that none of the others really hate me after all, so I was really worrying about nothing."

Marianne put a hand under her chin. "Actually, I noticed something else too."

"Oh? What is it?"

"...we're having a normal conversation." Marianne said.

"Oh. ...oh! We are!" Bernadetta realized.

"We have yet to fully talk to the others, but we've managed to open up to one another to the point we're having a casual conversation." Marianne said, before chuckling. "To think, the two of us, of all people, having a normal conversation."

"Ha… ha ha ha!" Bernadetta laughed. "I still remember the first time we met too!"

"We were both being quite ridiculous, weren't we?" Marianne said. "I was far too quiet, and you were overthinking everything."

"Yeah." Bernadetta said. "It might have been scary at first, but opening up to others isn't as bad as I thought."

"...didn't you think that if you opened up, the other person would take advantage of you?" Marianne recalled.

"I used to think like that!" Bernadetta said, waving her hands. "Not anymore though."

"Good to see that you've moved on from that unfortunate method of thinking." Marianne said.

"Hey, Marianne?" Bernadetta said. "I'm glad I met you."

"Me too." Marianne said. "I'm honored to be your friend."

"Um…"

"Yes?"

"Well, I had an idea." Bernadetta said. "You think we should… try and open up more to everyone else too?"

"That sounds like a wonderful idea." Marianne said.

"But can you stay with me when I do?" Bernadetta asked. "It'll make me feel less nervous if you're there with me."

"Only if you promise that you'll stay with me when I do it as well." Marianne held up her hand.

Bernadetta smiled, before reaching forward and taking her friend's hand. "Okay! It's a promise!"

Bernadetta and Marianne's support level is now A! Their motivation has also increased.