Author's Note: Here's a story that I've been meaning to type up for some time actually. It was in the back of my old notebook from a summer ago when I began writing "Return to Skid Row" and started thinking about when Seymour would confess the deaths he witnessed to Audrey. The only thing that really held me back was the ending, which was radically different than the one you'll find here. So, with some work, I sort of re-worked this story into an angst-oneshot. I hope that you like it all the same.

*S. Snowflake.

Confessions

-A Little Shop of Horrors Story

Sunshine Street was usually a quiet little part of Greenville, but it would not be so quiet on this night. One little house in the very middle of the street was the focus of most of the neighborhood. A new couple had moved in just over a week ago and was now just getting settled. They were newlyweds named Seymour and Audrey Krelborn. The weekend before last, they had pulled up in their little blue car and everyday began to find pieces of furniture (many strangely coated in plastic), to put in their new home. They were usually out and about finding furnishings, but not on this day. Audrey spent the day cleaning the house while Seymour mowed the lawn.

By now as the sun set, Audrey had finished dusting and cleaning up the place. She stood at the window, grinning as she watched her husband raking the grass out front.

"It's everything I imagined," she whispered to herself, hoping to catch Seymour's eye with her own sparkling gaze. She was disappointed when she did not succeed, but smiled again when her husband walked back into the house. He was very tired.

"Hello, stranga'," she squeaked and messed up her husband's hair with her hand. "Haven't seen you since this morning. I've been so lonely."

Audrey was trying to be flirtatious, but Seymour looked distant. The look in his eyes reflected pain. "Yeah, erm…I missed you too, Audrey," he answered emotionlessly.

Audrey chuckled nervously at her husband's behavior, then kissed him on the lips, trying so hard to find in him what she desired, but when she was done, she felt nothing there. Seymour hadn't kissed her back. Something bad is on his mind, she decided. "Aw, Seymour darling, you've worked ya' self too hard out there. Maybe we should get some rest…"

"No, that's alright," he interrupted. "I've, erm, just got alotta' things on my mind t'night."

"Don't be so hard on yourself," Audrey said, wrapping her arms around him. "It was our first day really fixin' up the place, and we've been here for a week."

"I guess," he replied, still blank.

Audrey looked into her husband's eyes again. It was not just fatigue in those eyes; he was actually restraining himself from her advances and comments, though she didn't have any idea why. After a little thinking though, she got an idea. "Ya know what? We've been working so hard, we deserve a little break. Let's just go for a drive or somethin'. What d'ya say?"

Seymour turned and gave his wife at least a partial smile for the first time in their conversation. "Yeah, okay. But just a short drive, Audrey. I'm getting tired."

* * *

Outside of the suburbs and the town shops, there was a little broken fence that you would only look for if you wanted to be alone in a secluded spot. Seymour and Audrey came to this place and hopped out of the car. The first stars of the night came out to play over their heads. Audrey tried to once again get closer to her husband. She nudged up to him rather like a cat might do, purring to be friendly.

"It's so romantic," she whispered in his ear.

Seymour was not blind. He knew what Audrey was up to, but he rejected her again and moved further down the fencepost. "Please, Audrey…" he muttered.

"Playin' hard to get?" the blonde asked her husband and chased after him. "Come here you little…"

"No, Audrey!" he yelled and pushed away. "For God's sake, no!"

At first, Seymour's reaction hurt Audrey badly, but then that sadness turned into retaliating anger. Her face turned red and her mouth turned into a terrible frown. "So, this is how it's gonna be t'day?" she asked. "Every time I try t' get near you, you turn away from me. That's it then, you don't love me! That's it, isn't it? You don't love-"

"Audrey, Audrey, please," Seymour pleaded, "Audrey, I love you more than anything in the whole world. I married you, didn't I?"

"So, what's the problem?" she asked, crossing her arms.

"I-I can't… I can't tell ya." He turned his head away from her. "It's been bothering me since Skid Row, but you don't want to know. You wouldn't want me anymore if you found out."

Audrey looked at him, confused and desperate. "Seymour, I love you so much. You can tell me anything that's on your mind." She paused. "Even if it's about the past with… you know who plant."

Seymour looked up at Audrey and thought about it. She already knows that it ate blood, you have to tell her about their disappearances… especially him, he told himself. "I…I…" he started.

Audrey went to his side again, but this time it was solely for comfort. It was a silent way of reassuring him. She looked into his eyes and reassured him silently. It's okay.

Seymour sighed. "Okay… it's about Audrey Two. And it's about Orin and Mr. Mushnik."

Audrey read the look in her husband's eyes and breathed deeply. "They're neva' coming back from their trips… are they?"

Seymour knew he couldn't lie to her. "No, they're not."

Audrey almost began to cry and looked away. "You fed them to it?" she choked.

Seymour winced at her words. "Kind of… okay, so they both got eaten by it, but I didn't k-kill them." He stuttered at those last words.

Audrey sighed. "How did Orin die then?"

"Well, I went to his office-"

"What were you doin' there?" Audrey interrupted.

Here it comes, he thought. "I wanted to kill him, Audrey. I really did after all the hell he put you through. I saw him hit you one night and I couldn't take it anymore. I wanted you to be free and happy. So I headed down to the office with a gun…"

"Oh, god, Seymour…" Audrey cried.

"I didn't kill him! I couldn't kill him. But then he put on this gas mask…"

There was a long pause between them, "The nitrous oxide," Audrey finally muttered, trembling.

"Yeah, he put it on and asphyxiated inside." Seymour looked to his feet. "I didn't help him and then… I fed him to it."

Audrey sighed once and let a tear slip down her cheek. It took her a few times before she added, "I sorta' knew."

Seymour raised his eyebrows. "You did?"

Audrey nodded. "I figured that Orin met with fowl play and, well, afta' I almost got eaten by it, it all made sense." She stopped. "What about Mista' Mushnik?"

Seymour swallowed hard. "He was gonna turn me into the police. He thought I was a murderer. It was either go to jail, give him the plant, or let it eat 'im." He grimaced and clung to his wife's shoulder, trying to make sure that she was still with him. "He was like my dad and I just let him die."

Surprisingly, Audrey held him in return. She got him to open his eyes and look into hers again. "You're a good person, Seymour. It's all behind us now."

"-But, Audrey…"

"Shh! No buts," she said. "I love you, and nothin' can change that."

"But Audrey, I saw him… I chopped him…" Seymour tried to finish that statement, but never did. She kissed his cheek and hushed him up.

They did not talk for a while after that. Their tears and embrace made the wounds and reconcilement that was needed for this confession. It was as if they had been hit by an avalanche. The talk was necessary for things to continue on, but still earth shattering.

Only after a good hour of time did Audrey say, "Thank you for telling me."

Seymour thought about it and replied with a cracked voice, "Thank you for getting it out of me."

Audrey smiled once more and made her cat-like motion to snuggle closer to her love. Even now when the night was getting cold, she wanted more than anything to just stay there in each other's arms, feeling the warmth that only the other could provide.

It is strange and unusual to suffer all of the emotions of love, anger, and regret in one sitting, but it had happened to the Krelborn couple that night. Somehow though, they both guessed that it had been for the better in the end.