For once, Audrey was on time for work the next day. Seymour hadn't known exactly what her reaction to that phone call of Orin's would be; he couldn't even really pin down his own reaction to it as he had been haunted by the circumstances that had led to it and the decisions he had made in them, the part he had played in them in the sleepless night that followed them, waiting in an alley near the shop for Mr. Mushnik to arrive rather than going in there and facing the plant and its wrath empty-handed, but he would not have expected her to be completely dazed, with no trace of relief in her countenance. She might be struggling to believe what had just happened, sure; he could hardly believe it himself, but why didn't she seem to be happy about this development? Had he completely misjudged the situation? Did she actually… like him? Or was she scared that he might not really mean it, that he might hurt her again? He knew it, he shouldn't have done what he had done yesterday, it was such a mistake, Audrey's security was worth so much more than Orin's life and it had been so incredibly stupid of him to fall for that little show Orin had put on and save him to terrorize her with his mere existence another day…

The day passed in a blur, even as the customary tidal wave of customers that Audrey 2 always brought to the shop continued on in their usual role of seemingly collectively pressing down on him with their endless questions and demands, now including some about the plant's current condition, and for once Seymour met the portion of the day where Mr. Mushnik left the second the shop was closed, leaving him and Audrey to take care of the closing duties together, with dread instead of joy and relief. He wanted to talk to her about this even while desperately hoping to never have to speak of it again, but he couldn't unless she brought it up; he wasn't supposed to know about it. Unless… he had never told Orin to not tell Audrey of his involvement in all of this, what if he had done just that?! …She would be more upset with him if he had, right? After a long moment of hesitation, Seymour approached Audrey, listlessly wiping down the shop's counter, and for lack of any other ways to try to get some of the tension in his body and mind out started to help her as he struggled to figure out what to say. "...So… anything interesting happen after work yesterday?"

Seymour immediately reeled from how bad that had just sounded, how suspicious it made him look, and his anxiety only increased as Audrey froze, suddenly clutching her towel hard with hurt written all over expression, before turning away from him and dejectedly casting her gaze at the floor. "...I'm not even good enough for a creep…" Seymour could barely make out what she had just said even while straining to do so, it was so quiet, and yet his heart sank at the words. "That's not true! W-What happened? It'll-It'll be okay, Audrey, really." He didn't believe that last thing at all, so why did he expect her to? She shook her head, tearing up as she moved further away from him and negated his awkward, poorly planned out attempt to offer her the chair behind the counter. "Orin broke up with me last night, over the phone and everything… he would always say the only thing I can do right is lie there and take it… I guess I can't even do that right anymore…" Seymour could barely hear that last part over her no longer suppressed sobs, and after a moment he managed to force himself to move to her side through his horror. "H-He was wrong, Audrey, you're so much more than that. He was a fool to give you up when any guy would be lucky to go out with you." As Audrey met his gaze, the hurt in her expression not removed or alleviated despite his efforts, Seymour felt like the real fool. "They wouldn't."

As she moved away from him and to the other side of the counter, he could only uselessly answer with "They would!," and she looked back at him with a pained resolve, shaking her head despondently. "You don't know the half of it! I've led a terrible life, and apparently I didn't even deserve a creep like Orin Scrivello, DDS… You know where l met him? … In The Gutter." The Gutter… did she mean… "The Gutter?" She moved her gaze from him to the counter, tearing up again, before once again meeting his gaze. "The Gutter. It's a nightspot. l worked there on my nights off when we weren't making much money. I'd put on… cheap and tasteless outfits, not nice ones like this. Low and nasty apparel." As she started crying again at that last part, looking away from him, he gathered his courage enough to bridge the gap between them. "That's all behind you now. You've got nothing to be ashamed of. You're a very nice person, l always knew you were. Underneath the bruises and the handcuffs, you know what l saw? A girl l respected. l still do." After a pause, Audrey wiped her eyes, looking up at him with a mix of remaining hurt and hesitant relief and what he wouldn't dare hope was affection or anything resembling a return of his feelings towards her.

"Really? You really still feel that way about me?" A few more tears escaped her eyes, prompting Seymour to quickly offer her a Kleenex from his pocket, which she took gingerly with a warm smile that made his heart skip what had probably been several beats before dabbing it against her eyes. "Of course. I would never blame you for… that, no one with any sense would. You were strong enough to do what you had to do to survive in this place, and you shouldn't be ashamed of that." Seymour got so wrapped up in the pained realization that Audrey would definitely not approve of what he had nearly done with the plant he had named after her partially under that same goal of surviving and maybe even escaping this place but mostly to protect her, he didn't realize how close their heads were, how close she had moved hers to his until she responded. "You're so sweet, Seymour, you're… you're the greatest…" Suddenly, Audrey was kissing him, somehow, her lips pressed oh so sweetly against his… this was actually, really happening, it wasn't just a fantasy anymore! Audrey deepened the kiss, allowing him to regain his bearings enough to wrap his arms around her and pull her closer, and an overwhelming thrill and love coursed through him as she returned the gesture, pressing them even closer together.