A/N – And you think I've written Fluff before. Even my teeth hurt a little after this one, but I couldn't pass up the challenge. Thanks to BroadwayFanGirl91 for prompting me to write something involving Butterflies and Gumdrops.…

Butterflies and Gumdrops

In the college town of Ackerton there was a quiet little neighborhood adjoining the State University campus, and in this quiet little neighborhood, on Vine Street between Athenian and Euclid, stood a tiny bungalow. Like most of the houses that surrounded it, the tiny bungalow was over ninety years old, but it carried the years well, thanks mainly to the recent facelift and fresh coat of paint supplied by the current occupants. After decades of bland beige or bare white, the old house was now decked out in a new coat of bronze green with vellum trim. The concrete porch and basement foundation had enjoyed a good power washing, the weathered single-car garage in back had been demolished and replaced by a new replica twice as wide, and the property had never looked better.

The mastermind behind these improvements was currently on his knees in front of the porch, trowel in hand, and a flat of zinnias on the ground beside him. He was a tall, slim young man, not yet twenty, with a distinctly square shape to his nose, and touseled hair in a striking shade of green. His name was Ferb Fletcher, and he was a student at the University – not in horticulture, but you might have thought he was, judging by the flower bed, lush with not only zinnias but dense marigolds and delicate cosmos, in a riot of yellows, ivories, oranges and magentas.

Ferb was sitting back on his heels for a breather when the screen door opened, and a young woman came out onto the porch. He looked up at her and smiled, for she outshone all the flowers with her beauty, and perfectly completed the scene. Her dark, shoulder-length hair was pulled back and fastened behind her neck, and she held a milk glass candy dish in one hand. Looking down at the green-haired gardener, she asked, "Is it on?"

"Fresh batteries this morning," he nodded, getting to his feet, "and set to Exclude." Bolted into the concrete porch column, behind the flower bed, was one of Ferb's own inventions. It appeared harmless enough, just a small, gray box the size of an electrical outlet, with a little dial and what looked like a shallow speaker cone protruding from the front. It was his Bee Excluder/Pacifier. His lady love was allergic to the stinging insects, but they were beneficial to the flowers, so he had come up with this compromise. When set to Exclude, it repelled the bees completely. When set to Pacify, it allowed them access to the flowers, but rendered them more docile. His patent was pending.

"Mmm, Vanessa, what have we here?" he remarked now in his delectable British accent as she descended the front steps.

She met him in the yard and offered the white, hobnailed dish. "Guess what's finally ready to eat," she smiled proudly. The bowl contained a mound of sugar-coated cubes in an array of colors even more varied than those of the flowers. "And, since you've managed to keep your fingers out of them for the past three days, you get the first one."

"I'm the guinea pig, am I?" said Ferb, with a twinkle in his eye.

"Yes," Vanessa wrinkled her nose at him cutely. "Yes, you are. The red is the cherry," she added, pointing out his favorite flavor.

Ferb raised his hand toward the dish, then realized, "Blast, I'm all dirty!"

Vanessa had the solution to this. "Open your mouth," she commanded, plucking a red cube from the pile and popping it in.

"Hmm," Ferb considered, chewing the sticky, sugary treat. "Delicious. I never thought of making home-made gumdrops. What other flavors do you have?"

Vanessa named them off, pointing at the various colors as she did so. "Grape, orange, cherry, lime, lemon, and strawberry. Maybe next time I'll go more exotic, but I thought I'd start with the basics."

Ferb requested a lemon one next, and gave this his seal of approval as well. "And you keep telling me you're not much of a cook," he scolded her.

"Candy making's more like chemistry than cooking," she protested, trying the lime. "Mmm, not to pat myself on the back, but these are pretty good."

"What's the strawberry like?" Ferb hinted, and Vanessa fed him a pink gumdrop.

"Now you can go inside and wash your hands if you want any more," she decreed.

Ferb was ready for a break, and knelt to gather his tools. Crouched on the grass, he froze, and whispered, "Vanessa… look at this. Quietly," he breathed, as she laid her hand on his shoulder and knelt beside him. Amongst the marigolds, two butterflies were flitting. Their wings were orange and black, with black markings on the orange, and white spots against the black. "Painted ladies," Ferb whispered to her, then added, "I'll bet you don't know the scientific name."

Vanessa gave him a sidelong smile as she murmured, "I'll bet you're right."

"Vanessa cardui." Gently, he extended a hand toward the marigolds.

"No way," came her delighted whisper.

"Mm," Ferb gave the softest affirmative sound he could, staying as still as possible. Vanessa held her breath as one of the butterflies made a tentative approach, fluttered back around for another attempt, and landed lightly on Ferb's finger. Together, they watched in fascination as the delicate insect flexed its wings a few times, before flitting back to feed on the flowers.

Exhaling, Vanessa quietly said, "I wonder if they like gumdrops."

Ferb gave her a puzzled, Are you kidding? look before her playful smile sank in and coaxed a smile out of him in return. "One way to find out," he replied, reaching for the candy. Vanessa instinctively pulled back the dish, but he chuckled, "The butterflies won't mind a little dirt." Carefully picking an orange one off the top so as not to soil the rest, he set it at the edge of the flower bed.

Using his shoulder for support, Vanessa got to her feet, and Ferb followed. With a last look at their garden guests, they climbed the porch steps, her arm looped through his. Pausing at the door, Vanessa fed her sweetheart one more cherry gumdrop, and he thanked her with a kiss on the cheek.

It was just another summer afternoon at the little bungalow on Vine Street.

THE END

A/N – TRUE STORY – Back in the early 20th Century, Sears Roebuck sold build-it-yourself House Kits. I have a book that is a modern reproduction of the 1926 Catalog of Sears homes. When I started imagining the bungalow that college girl Vanessa was renting in Ackerton, I had a pretty good idea of what I wanted it to look like, but I went through the Sears House catalog to pick out a specific model for reference. I found one that instantly made me say, "That's it!" – just a simple little thing with a living room, kitchen, two bedrooms and a bath. The Sears house models had names, like "The Avalon" or "The Lexington." Believe it or not, the model name of Vanessa's house is "The Olivia." I couldn't make that up! (If you do a Google Image Search for "Sears House Olivia," you can see it.)

Oh, and yeah, I was looking up butterflies to decide which to use, and when I saw the scientific name of the Painted Lady, that was it. Who knew?