Chapter Text
Yellow holds onto Blue's shoes as they walk back to the greenhouse. As they walked, Blue caught snippets of conversation from the other Darkners. He gathered that most of them thought of Kris and Susie as their "bosses," and that there used to be a man named "Mr Tenna," another Darkner Kris and Susie had once recruited, but he'd been "adopted" by a Lightner and had now disappeared. A shame. Blue might have wanted to meet this Mr Tenna, even though he had no idea who or what he was.
"Dears?" Blue calls as he opens the greenhouse door. "Are you all in here?"
He and Yellow poke their heads in the greenhouse. The youngest flowers all circled Green, who had one hand on Aqua's head and the other on Seth's, with Orange balancing on their shoulder. Aqua was the first to jump up, circling Yellow and Blue's ankles instead as they stepped into the light of the greenhouse.
"Bluuu, you're back, you're back!" She hops about, flopping her sleeves around. "Where were you, where were you? We all woke up and— and you were gone!"
"I'm sorry, Aqua," Blue says, leaning down to pat Aqua's head. "A sense of wanderlust overcame me..."
"You went outside?" Aqua asks, jumping back. She puts her sleeves over her mouth in surprise and turns to the other flowers. "He went outside! He went—"
"We— know— that," Seth says through gritted teeth. They remain by Green, who kept a hand solidly on their head, looking fretful. "He shouldn't have— it's not safe! Tell him, Green, tell him. Flowery would want us to stay in here until he gets better, right?"
"Is that what this is about?" Blue says, kneeling to meet Aqua's eyes. "You fear for Flowery, don't you?"
Aqua nods. The vines in Blue's head began to turn slowly. What was it Yellow had said? He'd begged, he'd bribed, he'd done everything to try and convince the other flowers... except, perhaps...
"Aqua," Blue says slowly, holding Aqua's little hands in his own.
"Uh-huh?"
"Do you think..." Blue looks up at Yellow, who had his head tilted down at Blue. Blue gestures to Yellow— just see. Yellow nods subtly, watching as Blue turns back to Aqua. "Don't you think, Aqua, that perhaps Flowery would like you to have fun while he recovers?"
"Uuu, I don't get what you're saying."
"Flowery just wants us happy," Blue continues. "And if he knows we're all happy... he'll heal faster, won't he?"
"Mm, maybe," says Aqua, fidgeting with her sleeves. "But I can be happy in here, can't I? And Flowery will know?"
"Wouldn't you be happier outside playing?" Blue coaxes. "There aren't very many games to play in here, are they? And if you try, you may break all the pots..."
"Breaking all the pots sounds fun!"
Blue tries to hold back a grimace. He puts his hands on Aqua's shoulders before she can run off and try to break all the pots. "Does cleaning them all up afterwards sound fun?"
"...No."
"So, it might be more fun to find other Darkners outside to play with, won't it?"
"Hmm..." Aqua thought for a moment, holding her sleeve to her mouth as she pondered. "Okay!"
Aqua pushed past Blue and Yellow and scampers outside to find new Darkners to play with. That was easy, Blue thought, looking up at Yellow again. Yellow seemed to recognise Blue's strategy then— his eyes light up, and he nods quickly, looking back down as Orange jumps from Green's shoulder and scurries over to the two of them.
"Try all you want!" she squeaks. "I'm not going out there. You can't make me do anything—"
"There's nothing to be afraid of out there, Orange," Blue says, moving his gaze to Orange. Though he tries to comfort her, he appears to only do the opposite— he can almost see the veins pop in her mousy little forehead, her shoulders going stiff.
"I'm not afraid!" she retorts. "I'm just— I'm— YOU CAN'T TELL ME WHAT TO DO!" she squeaks loudly, hopping around Blue as though she intends to fight him. "With Flowery hurt, I don't have to listen to anyone! Not until he comes back!"
"Sounds to me like yer scared, Orange."
Blue looks up at Yellow then, surprised. It is so very unlike him to goad someone in such a manner— but then he realises what Yellow is trying to do. He's following Blue's lead. Integrity guides justice. Blue can only pray it works...
"I'm not afraid!" Orange repeats. She moves her hopping around Yellow's ankles now, putting up her dukes. "I bet I could beat up any chibi out there! But... Flowery wouldn't want me to, would he?"
"Well, how are you s'posed to know what Flowery wants if he ain't here?" Yellow asks. Orange ceases her hopping, staring down at her fists thoughtfully.
"I... I..." Orange grumbles and continues hopping around Yellow and Blue. Blue can practically see the angry steam pouring out of her round little ears. "Well, maybe it doesn't matter what Flowery wants!" she concedes. "I don't want to go out there, and you can't make me! Got it?!"
"Why don't you want to go outside, Orange?" Blue asks.
"Because— because—" Once again, Orange stops hopping about, and she crosses her arms petulantly. "Do I need a reason?!"
"Well, if you refuse to go out there without a reason," Yellow says, "I'd hafta assume it's 'cause yer scared."
"NO! I'M! NOT! I'll— I'll PROVE IT! Right now!" Orange looks at the greenhouse window, swallows, then barrels between Blue and Yellow. "Aqua! AQUA! Wait for me...!"
Yellow stares after her, looking entirely shocked that his plan actually worked at all, and slightly torn at the idea of having to— what word would he use?— trickify Orange into leaving the greenhouse. "That was clever of you, Yellow," Blue whispers before Yellow can start spiralling. It's endearing, admittedly, how the slightest praise appears to calm Yellow instantly— he sighs and turns back to Blue, staring at him for a moment, before he turns forward again.
Seth still hides behind Green, staring at Yellow and Blue from behind their glasses. Blue's shoulders deflate slightly. This might be the hard part, won't it?
"Seth, my friend," Blue says, beckoning Seth away from Green. "Come on, it's quite alright. Aqua and Orange did it."
"Wh-wh-why do you want us to go outside so badly, anyway?" Seth asks, cowering further behind Green.
Blue and Yellow glance at one another. Why did they want the other flowers to leave the greenhouse with them? It only seemed natural for them to leave before, and nothing had happened... but the two of them supposed there was no real reason to leave. But this answer would not satisfy Seth, would it?
"Seth," Blue says, turning back to face them. "If we all stay here indefinitely, then... then I fear that we will wilt, without fresh air or fresh company..."
"We've only had each other until now," Seth argues, though they do take one tentative step away from Green. Small victories. "I don't see why it's suddenly a problem now."
"Because we had no other choice. But now we do... There are plenty of other Darkners for us to be with. We can branch out here, in a way we couldn't before..."
"Then— then what's the point?!" Seth spits. "What's the point of being a family at all, if we're not always with each other?"
"Just because we aren't literally around one another doesn't mean we aren't with each other in other ways," Blue explains patiently. Seth looks down at the ground, shuffling their shoes against the terracotta.
"I don't get it," they admit quietly.
"I know this is all terribly new." Blue stands and moves to Seth, kneeling to meet their eyes. He ducks his head. Something tells him that, like Orange, Seth will not explicitly tell him why they won't go outside. He allows Mr Butterfly to take the reins, hiding his face from Seth. He knows, of course, Seth is intelligent enough to know Blue and Mr Butterfly are the same soul... but still, he hopes it can still be a small comfort to confide in another visage.
"I..." Blue hears Seth swallow nervously. "I-I just want things to be like they were," they mumble. "I know they can't, but... I'm scared." From his view of the floor, Blue can see Seth's shoes begin to tremble. "I want Asgore back. I want Flowery to be okay. I want to be in Flower Castle again... this new place... I don't know what it's like. It's a complete unknown. It's... It's scary. I don't want to go out there alone."
"You don't have to, Seth." Blue looks back up, smiling warmly. "I didn't go out alone the first time I stepped out of the greenhouse... I had Yellow with me the whole time. If you're worried, you don't have to go out there by yourself."
Seth looks back down, fidgeting in place. Blue looks up at Green, who, despite everything, looks as serene as ever. "I know I can't force you to do anything, Seth," Blue says. "And I do not wish to... but if you do want to go out, I'm sure Green will be a dear and escort you?"
Green looks at the trembling Seth, then at Blue, and fidgets slightly.
"Green, it ain't so bad out there," Yellow chimes in, coming to stand next to Blue again.
"Indeed," Yellow agrees. "It is ever-so-peaceful outside of the greenhouse walls... and with Flowery injured, the children... they need your serenity now more than ever, Green."
Green fidgets again, then pulls out a piece of cardboard from their apron. On it, they write, I can try. I'm a good babysitter.
"Oh, wonderful!" Blue says, standing back up, ignoring Seth's protests of I-I don't need babysitting! "Thank you ever so dearly, Green, I really was worried... if we stay cooped up in here forever, then... then we may all go mad." He looks back at Seth, who has reluctantly taken Green's hand. "Castle Town is a lovely place," he promises. "I'm sure you'll make many new friends there, Seth."
"...if you're sure," Seth mutters. Green smiles peacefully and leads them out by the hand. The greenhouse door creaks shut between them.
Blue sighs, looking up at the ceiling and closes his eyes. He feels Yellow's lanky arms wrap around him, and he grins.
"Thankin' ya so much," Yellow says into Blue's hair. "I was runnin' in circles tryin' to get 'em out myself."
"Oh, I hardly did all the work," Blue says, turning to face Yellow and putting his hands on his shoulders. "It was incredibly clever of you, convincing Orange outside..."
"Y-you think I did a good job of that?" Yellow removes his hat— a nervous habit. He holds it against his chest, fiddling with the brim. "I hated to goad 'er on the way I did... it wasn't right of me, was it, Blue?"
Blue cups Yellow's face in his hands, coaxing him to look at him again. "It's for the better, isn't it, Yellow?" he says softly. "Imagine how much worse things might have been if she'd been left to wilt away in here..."
Yellow seems to consider it, and his face falls.
"I know it's not easy being a Justice, my dear." Blue leans in and presses a kiss to the corner of Yellow's mouth. "There are things that one must do that may seem bad in the moment, but in the future, they will blossom into good... you understand that better than anyone, don't you?"
"I-I s'pose I do," Yellow concedes. "But it ain't gettin' any easier..."
"I know, I know." He keeps Yellow's handsome face in his grasp, watching as his beady black eyes appear to crawl over Blue's shoulders and throat. "But you can do hard things, Yellow. I know you can."
"I... yeah." Yellow puts his hands on top of Blue's, smiles, and closes his eyes. "Yer wonderful, Blue. You've always got the right thing to say to me..."
"It's what I do best, my dear." Blue wraps his arms around Yellow's neck, and the two of them sink to the greenhouse floor in one another's embrace.