Seymour angrily slammed the door of the plant shop behind him, stubbornly taking a moment to gaze longingly at his lovely future wife's apartment which I might be late to now because of that stupid plant rather than immediately setting off on his unplanned and unwilling late-night journey to Schmendricks'. Despite his strained efforts to catch a glimpse of her through the window, he couldn't see her. She's probably in her bedroom then. This thought left him with a sense of unease, and he couldn't articulate why until he had subconsciously patted his pants pockets and realized that they only contained a small box and not his wallet. Which was on a dresser in her bedroom. Because he had gotten a pressed and dried and vaguely-heart-shaped-if-you-squint petal of a pink lily out of it for her. And then stupidly forgotten his wallet containing the money necessary to obtain goods and services such as emergency midnight ground round after she had firmly driven any thoughts of it out of his mind by embracing him.
…How does she even put up with this, this is so stupid, I'M so stupid… At least I'll get to see her again before I pick her up to go find a hotel. And then we'll …hopefully? have the rest of our lives together, without that… goddamn vegetable. Seymour headed across the street to Audrey's apartment, attempting to make his posture somewhat presentable and hesitatingly manipulating the key she had given him in his pocket for a few seconds before knocking on the door. Several seconds later, he caught a brief glimpse of her peering cautiously through her window, followed almost immediately by her opening the door. She was probably saying something to him, but for once something had triumphed over her enchanting voice in a bid for his attention.
Her dress, presumably her wedding dress as he had never seen it before, complimented her elegant curves, her strong and graceful arms, her warm and rich brown eyes… her, the most wonderful and beautiful woman in the universe. The fabric almost appeared to be attempting and failing to compete with the softness of her mesmerizing touch, and he wanted nothing more in that moment than to sink into its green expanses of etched flowers. …Wait… green? Aren't wedding dresses usually… His thoughts were quickly scattered as he felt Audrey wrap her fair arms around him, and he regained the presence of mind necessary to return her embrace after a moment. "I'll take that as a yes, then?" Her voice sounded affectionately teasing, and he did not feel that it would be worth it to lift his face from her shoulder in order to reply properly, instead vaguely mumbling "Hmm?" She laughed slightly, putting church bells to shame, before pulling away from him and leading him by the hand to the chairs surrounding the table where she kept her phone, closing and carefully bolting the door behind them along the way.
"You like…" She flinched slightly before trailing off annoyedly as the phone rang, and she stared contemplatively at it for a few seconds before taking it off the hook, putting it back, and taking it back off. "You like my new dress, I assume?" He was just about to confirm how beautiful she was in it and in general when he noticed that she now seemed to be slightly wistful, her exquisite eyes holding a note of well-covered melancholy. Wait, does she not want to go through with this?! Why would she, she could get a prince by flashing a smile at him, she deserves better than someone who can be ordered around by an INANIMATE OBJECT… He was suddenly dragged out of his panicked and evidently not as well hidden as hers thoughts by her concerned voice. "Seymour? Are you okay?!" Great, she can't even relax around me without it being ruined by my patheticness as usual… She deserves a proper provider, not someone who forces her to be the provider… this stops now, I'm GOING to be that for her for as long as I can or die trying.
"...Are you? You seem a little down all of a sudden." Audrey stared at him in shock for a moment before dipping her head embarrasedly, appearing to be gathering the willpower to say what she needed to say for several seconds and not exactly helping his anxiety in the process. "...Well, now that you mention it… I don't really like my new dress…" Thank God that's her biggest problem with our plans at City Hall tomorrow. "That's okay, we can stop by a dress shop to get you a different one on the way to City Hall… Where'd you get this one? Were there any others that you liked there?" Audrey visibly stiffened and hesitatingly met his eyes. "...Yes… but they were white, and I liked this one the most out of the others… I don't think I'm going to find another dress I like more than this one that isn't white, so… that's okay, really." Despite his confusion, Seymour started running his thumb in circles on her palm comfortingly. "...You can get a white dress if you want one, I… can't think of any reason why you couldn't. We have enough money from that plant if that's the issue." Audrey shot him a pained look before shaking her head slightly.
"Seymour, no… white wedding dresses are for nice girls who haven't thrown away their purity with cheap and tasteless outfits… and the activities and lifestyle that make those outfits necessary…" Seymour felt a wave of love and concern for her, and he had moved his chair closer to hers so that their legs were now touching and started reassuringly running his hands along her arms practically before he had realized it. "Audrey, that's all behind you now, and it wasn't anything to be ashamed of to begin with. You did what you needed to do to survive in this awful place, with…" He hesitated slightly, not wanting to force her or himself quite frankly to think of Orin unless absolutely necessary. "...circumstances… that were far from being as good as you deserve. Even if they were, it's just a job, a way to make money, and it's not like you were lying to people or hurting them or doing anything else that would make it shameful."
Which is much more than I can say about what I've been doing with the plant… I'd do it all again to provide her with the life she deserves, but that doesn't erase the guilt… or the harm… He realized that Audrey had been carefully contemplating what he had said for several seconds, and she looked back up at him with a warm and still slightly melancholy gaze. "...Thank you, Seymour… I'm trying to believe that… there was this… one dress I really loved, and I think I have the tag for this one around here somewhere… if you're sure that would be okay with you." Seymour grinned, relieved that she seemed to be feeling better and attempting to reassure her further. "Of course, Audrey! I know you'll look absolutely stunning in it as always, I can't wait to see you with it, especially in… whatever the closest thing City Hall has to an aisle is, I guess the… hallway…"
Audrey laughed, appearing to be in much better spirits, and nearly incapacitated him with love and affection for her by playfully sitting in his lap. "Maybe we should avoid you seeing me in the dress before the ceremony, especially considering you already saw me in this one… I'd hate to invoke so much bad luck after everything we've been through." Seymour gently and protectively wrapped his arms around her. "I know it's a little early to be making vows, but… I swear to you, Audrey, I'll go to the ends of the Earth to protect you from anything that could harm you and to provide you with the kind of life you deserve." Audrey dipped her head, smiling widely, and took his hand in hers before running her thumb in circles on his palm. "And I swear to you, Seymour, I'll be right by your side building a secure and amazing life for us with you for the rest of our lives… on that note, I should really keep getting ready so we can check into a hotel sometime today…" She glanced at a clock and corrected herself. "Sometime soon." Regretfully, she stood up.
I hope we never have to be separated for long after tonight… this morning. Audrey looked at him quizzically. "Wait, what did you need to come back here early for again? I mean, not that I'm complaining…" Seymour felt and hopefully skillfully attempted to hide a flash of embarrassment. "Oh, I just… left… something in your bedroom… I'll go get it and be back here to pick you up in no time." Audrey nodded understandingly. "Oh, right, your wallet! I was gonna bring that out to the taxi with me." Great. At least things probably can't get worse than this in the short stretch of time before I get that taxi. And she's kind and amazing enough to not point out how stupid I am for leaving that here… I love her so much. Seymour dipped his head in embarrassment and headed into her bedroom, hesitating slightly at the threshold. He quickly located and grabbed his wallet and was about to very carefully ensure that it actually ended up in its proper place in his pocket this time when he noticed what appeared to be the white edge of a flower petal sticking out of it. Carefully opening the compartment the flower was in and removing it, Seymour realized that it was a white and red Sweet William flower.
…She remembered my favorite flower? And did this after I was so careless and stupid?... I have got to make this up to her and not do anything stupid like that for a while… and check to see what nice restaurants and other places are around the hotel… apparently downtowns in nice places are fun and safe places to be?... That's so hard to imagine, but hopefully it's true so I can take her on a proper date after we go to City Hall. I bet she'll love it. I hope she'll love it. Seymour carefully placed the flower back in its compartment and his wallet in his pocket before exiting Audrey's bedroom, and she paused her process of packing a suitcase and smiled at him. "I know it didn't have any heart shapes like yours, I couldn't find any like that in the Sweet William flowers. I hope you still like it!" Seymour returned her smile and basked in her beauty and general amazingness for a few moments before starting to head to the door. "I love it, I lo…" He almost violently dipped his head in embarrassment. "Thank you so much, Audrey." Seymour paused at the door as his love beamed at him. "Of course! I'll see you soon, Seymour." As Seymour hesitatingly left the warmth of his lovely future wife's presence and her apartment, he saw her absentmindedly put her phone back on the hook out of the corner of his eye.
