Chapter 22 A Flower for You

Celia raised an eyebrow when she saw the store that Roy had taken her to. As he had been leading her, she had expected something more grand, more striking. After all, that was the type of thing to appeal to someone who had Albert's life. But no, the store wasn't either of those things. It was, in fact…

"A flower store?"

Roy nodded, his enthusiasm knowing no earthly bounds. "Yep!"

Celia looked between her boyfriend and the store. Her confusion was going off the charts, as was her incredulity. "Are…are you sure that this is the right place?"

"Positive." Roy stepped closer, smiling so wide. "Come on!"

Not knowing what else to do, Celia followed him. She looked at the flowers, studying them. They were beautiful to be sure; some of them had multiple colors staining their petals. Some had speckles, some had centers so bright and gorgeous that they reminded Celia of the sun. Yes, there was no doubt in her mind that they had their own unique type of beauty. But would Albert appreciate them? He didn't exactly strike her as the type to like the natural beauty of simple things. This was, after all, the boy who grew up with the best of everything.

With these thoughts in mind, Celia decided to question Roy as he leaned down and smelled a daisy. "Uh, Roy, what makes you think that Albert would appreciate something like this?"

Roy gave the daisy one more deep sniff before standing up and turning toward Celia. "When we were giving him a tour of the town, we stopped by this place. Albert told us that he wanted to be a florist when he was younger. However, his mom wouldn't let him."

Celia blinked. Wait, really? Huh. Okay, so not only was Alicia hostile towards koopas, but she wasn't even supportive of her son's dreams? Sure, there was something to be said about a parent encouraging their kid to choose a practical job that paid the bills, but…wow. Everytime Celia learned something new about her aunt, she ended up liking her less and less.

"So you think getting a flower for him will cheer him up?"

"Yep! He seemed extremely interested in one flower in particular." Roy put his hand to his chin, looking around the different blossoms that were on sale. "I just hope I can find the one…YES!" He grinned, even going so far as to whoop in delight. "There it is!" He made his way over to a purple tulip in full bloom. "Get a look at this Cee! This beauty is still here!"

Celia made her way over, keeping her eyes on the tulip. It…it did look rather nice. The color kind of looked like the color of Roy's shell, which of course was a plus in Celia's eyes. What's more, when a small breeze blew through the area, the tulip swayed in rhythm with it, making it look like the plant was engaging in some form of interpretive dance. Sure, was it Celia's favorite flower amidst this particular selection? No. However, she could at the very least see why her cousin found it appealing.

"So Albert liked this one." She smiled, the action feeling odd but not entirely unwelcome to her. "He's got good taste."

"Yep!" Roy picked up the pot, holding it delicately in his hands like it was crafted out of the most fragile of eggshells. "This is going to rock his socks off. I know it; I just know it!"

Celia continued to smile. Even though she had her reservations with doing this before, the sheer amount of excitement and confidence in Roy's voice was enough to make her forget about them. She imagined Albert's reaction to getting this flower from the two of them. His emerald green eyes would surely sparkle, and he probably would smile wide enough for the expression to be visible from the outer reaches of space. Sure, she wasn't one hundred percent sure if that was going to be her cousin's reaction to the plant, but even still, she wished that would be his reaction. She wished that the site of the gift, chosen carefully and precisely from Roy Koopa, would be enough to bring him up from the brink of sorrow.

With these thoughts in mind, Celia followed the goofily grinning Roy into the interior part of the store so that they could check out. Unfortunately, she would soon come to find her happiness to be short lived the second she entered through the doors. A toad stood behind the checkout counter. Even though her periwinkle mushroom cap and pigtails were absolutely adorable, their appeal was ruined by the sight of the clerk glaring at them. There was more venom in her stare than the bite of a snake, and it made Celia really uncomfortable. She put her hand on Roy's shoulder, both because she wanted him to protect her if something went wrong and also to show that she was willing to protect him. Roy patted her hand and, despite the Toad's death causing glare, still approached the check out counter with a smile.

"Hello. We would like to purchase this please."

The Toad looked between Roy, Celia, and the tulip. After about a minute, she sharply exhaled. "Very well." She turned toward the cash register. "A Koopa actually paying for merchandise instead of stealing it. Never heard that one before," she muttered under her breath.

Celia felt her face grow warm. She looked back at Roy, who just gave her a look. It wasn't so much an aggravated look so much as it was a comforting look, which thankfully was enough to keep her from snapping. She looked toward the Toad lady ringing them up, trying her best to appear civil and not at all bothered by her comments. Even though she ultimately succeeded, she still had to admit she was grateful when Roy paid the price and the Toad gave them their receipt.

"Thank you Ma'am," Roy said as he got hold of the tulip once again. All he got in response from the Toad was a sniff.

…

Celia and Roy stopped in front of her door. She exchanged a look with him, noticing how excited he was. It honestly impressed her, and even made her feel like she wasn't reacting to the situation properly. She wanted to be excited. She wanted to open the door with gusto and confidence. Unfortunately, all she felt now was nervous. Despite Roy reassuring her multiple times that Albert would like the tulip when they walked back to the house, she still had some very strong doubts. Doubts that she couldn't shake off even when she was minutes away from entering her abode.

"Hey Cee," Roy said. "Do you think you can be the one to present the gift?"

Celia did a double take. "Why? It was your idea."

"Yeah, but he's your cousin," Roy responded. "And besides, I think it would look really nice on your part if you do this. Like, it could give him the idea that his family really cares about him and stuff."

Celia thought about this observation. She did see it's validity for sure. However, she still shook her head in the end. "No. You need to do it. I think it'll blow his mind to know that a koopa was the one who thought about this amazing gift." If he even is going to view it as amazing.

"Oh. Okay." Roy put the grin back on his face and opened the door. Celia took in a breath before stepping inside. What met her eyes was Albert sitting on the couch and her mom sitting right beside him. Based on the way she looked at him, there was no doubt in Celia's mind that Ruby was trying to comfort her nephew. She didn't see Singe anywhere, which probably meant he was in the kitchen fixing breakfast or something.

Roy and Celia closed the dor behind them, all while Roy kept the tulip behind his back. As they walked toward the couch, Ruby looked up at Celia with an emotion that resembled relief.

"There you are. I was starting to get worried." She stood up and came over, "Where have you been?"

Celia smiled. "We were doing a little shopping."

Ruby blinked. "Shopping? But Celia, you hate shopping."

"I do." She looked over toward her confused cousin and stepped toward him. "However, this time in particular was done for a very special reason."

Albert blinked. He looked at Roy, probably just noticing that he had his hands behind his back. "W…what do you have there, Shady?"

Roy's grin somehow grew even bigger. He took a step closer to the young man. "Since you were feeling a little down because of the news you heard about your mom, we decided to get you something that'll help lift your spirits. And that something…was this."

He showed the tulip to Albert. When he did, the effect this had on the blonde human was almost miraculous. Albert gasped, putting his hands up to his mouth in what was the best kind of shock. He stared at the tulip, not moving his eyes away from it. After about a minute, he turned his eyes away from the plant and looked up at Roy.

"You…you guys got this for me?"

Cela smiled. The delight on his face was enough to wipe away all doubts forever. She stepped forward, her mom looking at her in awe and her father coming out of the kitchen to see what all the fuss was about.

"It was Roy's idea." She gestured toward her boyfriend. "He said he saw you having an interest in this plant when you were getting a tour of the town."

Albert's jaw dropped. With a sort of reverence that Celia would say was uncharacteristic of him, he reached toward the tulip. He took hold of the pot, carefully pulling it towards him as he looked at the strikingly colored petals. He smiled. A tear even grew in his eye, something that made Celia's heart well with happiness.

"It's still beautiful." He looked up at Roy. "You were the one who wanted to get this for me?" he hesitated for just a second. "Roy?"

Roy beamed. "Yep!" He nodded his head, looking like he had turned into an excited puppy dog.

For the first time for probably that day, Albert managed to smile. "Well…thank you!" He held the tulip to his nose and smelled it, his whole body seemingly effected by this flower's scent. "This is amazing! Thank you so much!"

Celia smiled as she looked at Roy. He didn't puff out his chest nor did he wear some sort of smug smirked. He didn't look prideful or boastful; he just looked genuinely happy and satisfied with seeing this young human man (the same young human man who previously hated him with a passion) getting all emotional over this gift. This ignited a sort of pride in Celia; she was extremely proud of Roy for displaying this type of humility, generosity, and (above all else) glee.

"You're welcome Al."

Albert continued to smile. After about a minute however, Albert's face fell, much to Celia's surprise. The emotions on his face were kind of hard to read; he looked mightily disappointed, but also somehow a little… scared?

"This is amazing you two. But…but Mommy would never let me keep it."

Now the faces of everyone in the room fell. Celia in particular felt a little bad. Again, she felt some sort of disdain for her aunt, not even allowing her son to keep ahold of objects of interest. It made her feel bad for her cousin, and it also made the fear she thought she detected on his face make a lot more sense.

"Oh." Roy seemed to sink into the floor. "I…I'm sorry."

Albert directed his gaze toward the floor, his face painted over with sadness. Celia looked over at Ruby and Singe, who also looked a little disappointed. Celia realized that Albert was in need of some kind of reassurance. She took a step forward.

"Why would it matter what your mom thinks?" she asked. "Albert, you're an adult! You should be able to keep this tulip if you want to."

Albert blinked. He touched the tulip's stem as he thought about a possible response.

"But…but Mommy will be mad! She'll be furious; she never really approved of my interest in flowers. Says it's "not a worthy job for one of her offspring." She…if she finds me defying her like this, she'll probably kick me out."

"Then let her kick you out!" Albert actually gasped at that. He looked at her like she had sprouted a second head. Regardless, Celia wasn't going to back down from her statement. "I know you have the strength to form a life for yourself on your own! You can become a florist if you want; you can grow your own flowers and set up your own business! If she doesn't approve, well guess what? She won't be the boss of you anymore, cause you'll be living on your own! You'll be forging your own path!"

Albert still looked hesitant. Celia realized that what she said was probably ludicrous to the man who lived his whole life under his mother's thumb. However, she knew that he needed to consider it. It would be good for him, living on his own.

"But…but…but I won't have any money…!"

"Then I'll give it to you!" Roy responded. He sat down beside Albert as everyone looked at him in surprises. "Al, I just so happen to be a prince! I can give you as much financial support as you need, and I won't even break a sweat! I can help you live on your own!"

Ruby actually laughed. "Wow Roy. Where were you over the course of the past sixteen years?"

"Growing up, mostly." Roy looked over at her. "But I know what you mean. I'll be willing to help you guys too." He looked back over at Albert. "I'd be willing to provide any help that anyone in this family needs."

Albert smiled. "Tha…thanks Roy. You…you're one of the nicest people I've ever met. No contest."

Roy laughed. "I try."

Celia laughed at that. She looked at her cousin, giving a koopa…yes, a koopa the most happy look she had ever seen from him. This moment almost seemed too good to be true.

Maybe this was why Celia had a lingering feeling that something was going to go wrong. She couldn't pinpoint why; it was a feeling deep in her bones. Why did she feel this way? Why…?

Celia sighed. She shouldn't focus on that. This moment was amazing for everyone involved (Roy basically promised her and her parents weren't going to live in poverty anymore). She should enjoy it.