myownface | Baltimore, Rawlings Conservatory, Saturday Afternoon

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Baltimore, Rawlings Conservatory, Saturday Afternoon

Oh, Sparkle was in a good mood. He'd had a place in mind in case of one of Leto's surprise visits for a while now, and it just so happened that said visit was going to coincide with his return from the ski trip (and surprise Christmas, damn him!) that he'd gone on with Atton. So Sparkle had called ahead to make certain they were even open to the public, and then had specifically asked about which areas of the conservatory had the most moisture in them, "because we've got someone here with respiratory issues."

Hey, a little white lie for the sake of Leto's comfort never hurt anyone, did it?

"Okay, so," he said, grinning as he practically skipped through the portal, "we want to avoid the Mediterranean house this time of year. They keep it wet and foggy for the benefit of the plants inside. And the tropical house is humid to the point of being misty in there. But there's a desert house which might have some plants you haven't seen, if you like, or an orchid room, which is, like, super colourful, and they make sure that everything that's on display is in bloom, or else they'll swap it out for another one. The palm house should be pretty okay, too, with big tall trees and flowers and things, but if you're not sure about it, we can skip that one."

And the outdoor public gardens, eh. They had trees in 'em, but they probably weren't quite the sight to behold in late December as they were in, like, mid-July.

[OOC: For that guy! NFB for off-islandness!]

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Leto fell silent for a moment, wondering what he should say in response to that. Of course Sparkle was right, but Leto was referring to the burden of millennia of memories. "A balance between them, then." He squeezed Sparkle's hand before letting go.

He added: "I wanted to ask you something."

"Yeah?" Sparkle leaned back again, giving Leto a little smile. "Well, I'm here to be asked. Fire away."

If he was being overly casual about that 'fire away,' it was mostly because, in his experience, questions that were prefaced with statements like 'I have a question' were usually the harder ones to answer. Sparkle tried to go into questions that were potentially loaded with at least some sort of casual attitude, just in case he needed to bail quickly to save face.

Some people got outright attitude from Sparkle when they said things like that. Leto had yet to give Sparkle cause for concern, so he was getting the benefit of the doubt.

It was entirely possible that Sparkle worried too much.

Leto didn't know Sparkle well enough to expect that reaction, but didn't think there would be any reason for Sparkle to be concerned. "I'm glad you arranged this," he began. "A surprise in the best sense." Here Leto smiled, partly to himself. "I enjoy your company, and I won't be going home until tomorrow, so unless you have other plans or commitments, would you want to spend the night with me as well?"

He could certainly take a no, and that wouldn't affect his enjoyment of the rest of the day, but considering how little they knew each other, asking plainly seemed like the best approach.

That...

That was much better than any of the questions that Sparkle had been afraid Leto might have asked! Not that he had any particular terrifying questions in mind, really. Hell, he couldn't think of anything specific that Leto might have asked that would have gotten messy, come to think of it.

He relaxed, visibly, and settled into an easy smile.

"No plans for tonight. I work, like, sometime tomorrow, but I don't even really have to hurry in. It isn't like the one other person I work with is going to care." Especially since he'd only hired her a few days ago. "Spending the night with you sounds pretty great, actually."

"Something to look forward to later as well, then." Leto took a step closer again and let his fingers nudge Sparkle's. He liked how Sparkle usually responded to that; that it could be both flirtatious, but perhaps even more just the comfort of touch and closeness.

"I think I'm tempted to look at desert plants now."

Sparkle smiled and let his fingers brush Leto's in turn. That was nice, that physical contact, that Leto didn't shy away from it at all. It didn't have to be anything but what it was, until they'd decided to let it be more.

Sparkle had never really had anything quite like it in his life.

"We can do that," he replied. "They're not a very far walk from here at all."

To Leto it came naturally to be physically close, but he had quickly noticed when he came to Fandom that that easily led to misunderstandings, at least in terms of expectations. That Sparkle seemed to understand what he meant by it felt so... safe, perhaps?

"You lead the way then." Sparkle had sounded like he knew this place, after all.

Sparkle had never been here before in his life! But he had called ahead for info, and then he'd studied the map on the internet before coming in, and the indoor parts were all fairly close together, so it was easy enough to fake that he knew what he was doing.

"Right, then," he said, guiding Leto out into the courtyard, then through the south pavilion of the building toward the desert house. "Let's go see some succulents, shall we?"

Which meant he was more prepared than Leto, who was anyway happy to let Sparkle guide him.

"So, will you tell me the story behind the pet cat?" Leto asked as they approached the desert house.

"Huh? Oh!" Sparkle laughed and gave his shoulders a shrug. "Sure, why not? See, I had this cat, like, not all that long ago. Had him from a kitten when Fandom was doing the weird rain thing it sometimes does? He just sort of stuck around. But I had to give him away when I graduated, he's living with one of the students at the school now, and I can't have a cat where I'm at, so Atton got me this guy, instead."

Sparkle reached back to his bag and gave the little toy a pat on the head.

"Velcro rode around like this all the time, so sticking this guy here like this just kind of seemed fitting. And it's a step up from playing dress-up with the houseplants."

Which he was still going to do anyway.

Leto was used to more eccentric things than keeping a plush toy as a pet or playing dress-up with houseplants.

"Well, perhaps the houseplants would have appreciated this trip more," he commented with a laugh.

"Yeah, but if I take Pauline for a field trip here, I'd have to convince the staff that I'm not stealing her when we go to leave again," Sparkle declared. "And she gets so overwhelmed in strange places!"

Sparkle had never taken Pauline the houseplant out of the apartment since Atton had brought her home. Even Sparkle had his limits. Sort of.

"True," Leto agreed, "if she's a species belonging to any of the climates created here." See, he had noticed the correct pronoun here. "And if she gets overwhelmed, challenging her fears from time to time would be the right thing to do."

Sparkle gave this revelation all of the consideration that it was properly due, and then nodded seriously.

"Maybe when the weather on the island is a little less wintry, I'll start taking her for walks. I bet she'd love the park, just so long as the flamingos don't get any ideas."

"Perhaps a wise choice," Leto agreed. "The cold might harm her, and the flamingos are unpredictable, I have to admit. I might have brought them to the island, but I take no responsibility for their actions."

It had taken some effort to get flamingos delivered, after all.

"Unless these ones are another flock," he added, after a moment's thought.

Sparkle needed to take this moment to just cackle.

"The man who started it all, huh? This is probably the same flock. Maybe it's gotten bigger or something, who knows? But I'd be surprised if more found their way to the island without somebody helping them out."

There was a pause, and then he added, thoughtfully, "I guess it is Fandom, though."

For all he'd known, they were just another random invasion that never quite went away, or something.

Leto gave him an amused look. He was actually rather pleased that there were still flamingos on the island. He had to agree with Sparkle though: "Yes, it is Fandom. I wasn't sure if they would stay, but my reason for getting them in the first place was that Alice had expressed a wish to play flamingo croquet."

... Oh, those poor birds. Sparkle took a moment to try to envision how a game of that would actually go.

"I'm guessing the flamingos weren't as interested in playing croquet as you two were, huh?"

He'd met those birds. The ones at the park and the ones who had taken up residence on Hannibal's lawn. None of them really seemed like game birds, in that particular sense.

"They were not," Leto confirmed. "And they have sharp beaks, so if that bothers you I wouldn't recommend it. My daughter persuaded me to try it again the last time she visited though." He grinned, and was perhaps a little less concerned about the birds than Sparkle.

The dry air of the desert room felt familiar, although compared to most places in Arrakis there was more moisture in here. The plants adapted to this climate offered a harsher kind of beauty that felt more like home.

Yeah, Sparkle didn't trust himself not to get his ass handed to him by a flamingo. Even one of the smallish ones. He probably wouldn't be in line to sign up for a flamingo croquet competition or anything, no.

"And did that attempt go any more smoothly?"

That made Leto laugh. "I think I've failed to give a proper description of the game if you think it would ever go smoothy. And if it had, Hania wouldn't have enjoyed it very much. But I hope the birds won't torment your plant."

"I'll just have to be extra careful where I take her when I go on walks," Sparkle laughed. "I don't think it'll be much of a problem."

He was still smirking as he looked around.

"So, what do you think?"

About the desert plants. Not necessarily about flamingos.

"These plants might be able to withstand a flamingo attack," Leto replied. "Being able to defend yourself is required both of desert creatures and desert plants." He gave Sparkle a teasing look and nudged him.

You know, unlike the weak, fragile house-plants.

Okay, so Sparkle was a bit of a houseplant! He couldn't help it! He did laugh a bit when Leto nudged him, though.

"So really, what Pauline really needs is for us to stop watering her, and to make sure she gets more harsh life lessons? Maybe I'll introduce her to a nice cactus or something..."

Actually, Leto guessed Sparkle was a little sturdier than a houseplant - unless possibly when it came to flamingo croquet - which was why he got teased about it.

"It might take a few generations," Leto admitted. "The cactus could be intimidating."

He reached out and pressed a fingertip against the spines of the nearest cactus.

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