Work Text:
Her old garden was doing much better than she expected. As she walked through the rows of tables, she was delighted to find the flowers thriving. They had plenty of sunshine, and for plants tucked away in shadowy corners, lamps had been set up to properly warm them. Haru noticed droplets clinging to the leaves of potted geraniums at the end of one long table, realizing that they, along with the rest of the flowers on that table, had been recently watered. Running her fingers through the wet soil, she hummed and smeared her thumb across the deep brown dirt clinging to her fur and nodded to herself. Whoever was in charge of the Cherryton gardening club certainly earned her approval with their meticulous care.
Her ear flicked as the hinges on the entrance door creaked. She squared her shoulders and tucked her hands into her coat pockets. Turning around with a smile, her mouth froze in a thin line. She slowly cocked her head, her ears bending forward as the tall wolf stared down at her, equal surprise written on her face.
“Oh, oh, Haru-senpai, you’re here?” Juno slowly asked, holding a tray of succulents by her stomach. She straightened her back and grimaced as the door bumped into her shoulder.
Haru noticed the gentle sway of Juno’s tail. She gripped her hips, asking, “So, are you in charge of the club now? I thought you were busy being an actress.”
Her comment made a chuckle tumble out of Juno. She cleared her throat, letting the door shut behind her and forced her tail into a stiff downwards angle. The floral scents wafted around her, fragrances she knew Haru also appreciated, and she let them calm her while her brain formed a response.
“Well, there used to be more members.” She sucked in a breath and glanced at her succulents. “These were supposed to be taken care of by the new members, but, well...”
Haru pressed her palm to her brow and shook her head. “Let me guess. The members left because of the segregation rule, right? Conflict between carnivore and herbivore members until you were the last one standing?” She shrugged. “I guess since you’re here, the club is certified ‘carnivores only,’ huh?”
The way Juno drew back elicited a harmless chuckle from Haru. She must have hit the nail on the head. Cherryton’s new regulations had impacted the student body so severely, causing rifts among all the clubs until the requirement was met. She knew the drama club still weathered the criticism and jeers of their peers, but the other clubs had lost their fervor for unity and obeyed.
But when she examined Juno’s face, she screwed her face in displeasure, her quip suddenly leaving a bitter taste in her mouth.
Juno’s once piercing eyes were bloodshot. A glaze seemed to cover them, making Haru wonder what she looked like in her glassy vision. A jitter ran through Juno’s left leg, causing it to bounce in place. Juno must have gotten the wrong impression, assuming Haru believed she was being impatient when she continued staring, because she pressed her heel down and cemented herself to the spot.
“Well, I know it's redundant, but what actually happened with the others?” Haru asked, gesturing for the succulents.
“From what I know, the club was joined by both herbivores and carnivores after you graduated, but-” She shrugged and set the tray in Haru’s hands. “-when that regulation was implemented, there was an argument over who the club belonged to. I tried mediating between them, but the carnivores couldn’t stand the herbivores, and the few herbivore members who stayed were…” Juno rolled her eyes. “...uncomfortable with me and quit in protest because I also refused to leave. That must have been a month or a month and a half ago, I think.”
“Uncomfortable with you? A rising Beastar?” Haru spat out a laugh and shook her head. “How gutless! And you didn’t even chase them!”
“Oh, you don’t have to bring that up,” Juno huffed as Haru spun around and set the succulents on an empty spot on one of the tables.
Haru tittered, Juno’s tail raising behind her. She could already see two problems, one with the succulents and the other with the club. But as the second question gnawed at her, she decided to deal with the easy solution.
“As pretty as these are, you can’t have them out here,” Haru said, grinning as Juno’s eyes widened. “Succulents are indoor plants. They need plenty of sunshine, but keeping them outside is like a death sentence.”
“They are?” Juno tugged at her collar and grumbled, “Oh, I knew I shouldn’t have listened to Bill. He doesn’t get flowers at all.”
“You got advice from him?” She snickered as Juno’s cheeks reddened, her embarrassment palpable. Waving her hand dismissively, she said, “Well, it’s fine. You can keep them in the shed behind us. There’s a spot under the window where the sunlight filters in just right.”
Juno nodded, a hint of a smile on her face. “Okay. Anything else I should know?”
“Well-” Haru rubbed her neck. “-it’s actually something I wanna know.”
Her tail flicked. “What is it?”
“Are you really the only member?” Haru asked, and the quiet twitch in Juno’s jaw as she grinned told her everything. “Jeez, this segregation rule is making you work overtime, huh? How come there aren’t any carnivores helping you out? Wouldn’t they be comfortable working with a wolf?”
“Most of them insist this is either a girly club or for herbivores,” Juno said, brushing the fuzzy petal of one of her succulents. She drummed her thumb against the clay pot holding a prickly succulent. “It wouldn’t be…” She looked at the array of flowers she had cared for, the rainbow hues of bulbs momentarily captivating her. “...well, I guess it wouldn’t be fair to let the club go out like that if I left, too, especially with how much hard work you put in to it last year.”
Her jet black eyes widened, the shine in them gone for a moment. She bit back her derision as Juno pass her, heading towards the shed. Her tail swished from side to side, a slow shifting like a pendulum. Watching her enter, Haru scratched her head as the door shut behind Juno, her curiosity replacing confusion.
Did Juno know enough about her to constitute that earnest answer? A part of her wanted to say it was fake, that Juno was doing it to enhance her college applications or Beastar approval. But that wouldn’t be kind to Juno, someone who took the time to care for the garden she left behind. Someone who made sure her old stomping grounds were taken care of was an animal who deserved admiration even when she had trouble wrapping her head around it.
“But you’re doing double duty,” she said when Juno returned.
“Do you mean the drama club and gardening club? I can balance them,” Juno replied, crossing her arms, an arch in her brow. “Are you implying I can’t do it?”
The edge in her voice eased Haru as she said, “Nah, not at all. I’m just surprised you’d go to these lengths to keep this club alive.” Her right ear lowered, and she fiddled with the tip of it. “Saying I put hard work in to it last year, I did, but you shouldn’t be burdened with all this responsibility.” Her lips stretched in a cynical smirk. “Trust me. I would know.”
Juno gazed down at her with deep seawater blue eyes so bright that Haru couldn’t look directly at them. She leaned forward and gripped her knees, coming to eye level with the smaller rabbit. Instinct ordered Haru to lean back, but she remained firm and squared her shoulders, Juno’s smile playing with mischief and sounding off the alarm bells in Haru’s head.
“Then, whenever you’re in the neighborhood, let’s work on the garden together,” Juno offered, reaching into her pocket and producing her phone. She tapped the home button and a few keys before presenting it to Haru, snickering at her dumbfounded expression.
“You know I’m a college student now, right? It’d be weird if I keep hanging around my high school,” she said, nonetheless taking the phone and entering her digits.
“I wouldn’t say that’s weird. Think of it like a senpai returning to occasionally help her troubled junior,” Juno retorted, taking her phone and grinning at the new number, “which also means the segregation rule wouldn’t apply to a graduate.”
A hum of agreement echoed behind closed lips. Her reasoning was sound, and Haru couldn’t think of any way to refute it. Though, she didn’t feel any intention to try. One sniff of the air mingling with the floral, fruity scents of the offspring of her labor comforted her from the worries of the world outside of Cherryton.
And if she had a chance to get to know Juno better, then being her gardening partner granted that perfectly. It definitely beat getting chased by her or watching her dance when they could finally have time to talk and learn about each other.
“I finished my papers for this month, and I’m not really planning on anything else, so sure! I’ll teach you tooth and nail about everything there is to know about gardening.” Haru tapped one polished shoe in front of the other as she came closer to Juno. She jutted out her chin, sneering, “But you better be a fast learner ‘cause I hate repeating myself.”
“We gray wolves pride ourselves on our ability to pick up things quickly, both figuratively and literally,” Juno replied, matching Haru’s smirk.
How about emotionally? Haru wondered as she followed Juno back to the shed, her mind abuzz with lesson plans and intimacy.