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“Gelatin?” Flower called out, poking her head from around the corner as she exited her boutique. Since the end of BFB, Flower and Gelatin has since grew closer. It was actually Gelatin’s idea to even merge his steakhouse with Flower's boutique. With this new improvement, Flower found herself working right next to her friend. Sure, it was rather odd at first, with how contrasting their work was but Flower found herself growing accustomed to the weirdness that follows with it. Since Gelatin was always working just next door to her boutique, he often stopped by to pay a visit, maybe bring her some lunch and they would sit and talk, about whatever was on their minds that day.
Though, it was late now, Flower had just finished her newest fashion line when she heard a loud crash from outside. After staring at the clock and realizing it was almost 2 in the morning, realization hit Flower like a truck. Has she been engrossed in her work THAT much that she lost track of time?! Without a second thought, Flower began packing her things to close down for the night, grumbling to herself for having been too distracted to keep track of the time. Walking out of the boutique, Flower put the keys to it into her bag, but a thought began forming in her head. Who made that noise earlier?
And as if someone had answered her rhetorical question, Flower noticed that Gelatin's steakhouse hasn't closed yet, quite odd since Gelatin is always the one clocking out before her. Heck, the fella has to nag at Flower to close down since Flower was always stubborn to keep working even though it was past midnight. So, seeing how Gelatin was still probably in his steakhouse at this hour was strange to Flower. Walking up to the entrance, Flower hesitantly pushed open the door, hearing the bells jingle as she stepped into the steakhouse.
“Gelatin? You there?” Flower shuddered at how dark and quiet everything was. It was obvious that it was closing hours, but there was still light coming from the kitchen, meaning there was still someone in the diner. And seeing how late it was, that person had to have been Gelatin since he's the one who closes everything down at the end of the day. Flower swallowed the lump in her throat as she dragged her feet on the ground, getting closer to the kitchen door before she tried to listen in for any commotion. Upon hearing slight shuffling, Flower sighed, twisting the knob as she opened the door leading to the steakhouse’s kitchen
“Gelatin, it's 2 am! Why are you still her-” Flower stopped herself after seeing Gelatin sitting on the kitchen floor, a pot over his head. Hearing her voice, the green block of gello shook his head back and forth as the pot fell off, clashing against the ground. Gelatin broke into a fit of giggles after seeing the pot roll on the ground when it fell of his head. Flower paused, seemingly processing everything before she sighed, walking over to Gelatin as she knelt down to look at him, “Wha- why are you still not home yet?” she asked, seemingly confused at her friend's strange behavior. Gelatin stared at Flower, blinking one eye at a time before reaching to lightly smack Flower in the face with a playful “Boop!” before he began running out of the kitchen, giggling like a gremlin. “Ack! Gelatin! Where are you going!?” Flower quickly ran after him, what was up with Gelatin today?
Running out to the diner, Flower quickly reached for the light switch as she cringed when the lights went on. Taking little time to adjust her eyes to the blinding florescent lights, Flower looked around for Gelatin. It didn't take long until she spotted the little guy, crouched under one of the tables. How did she find him? The obvious giggling and snickering Gelatin was making, it'll take a person with a slightly working brain to find him. “Gelatin- what's up with you today?” Flower mumbled to herself as she crouched down to pick Gelatin up. Upon being lifted off the ground from under his amazing hiding spot, Gelatin squealed, “You found me!” He giggled, looking up at Flower who only gave him a confused look. “I- uhm.. I guess I did?” Flower said, not really understanding the situation. Gelatin was childish at times, sure, but she has never seen him like this before. “Why are you still in the steakhouse?” asked Flower as she placed Gelatin back down on the ground. Gelatin only looked at Flower before trying to run off again when Flower quickly yanked him back, “Hey! What in plants' sake is up with you today?” She deadpanned, holding Gelatin by his shoulder as she looked down at him, did he hit his head or something? Why's he suddenly so hyperactive today? Gelatin squirmed in her grip, making an annoyed sound as he tried to get away from Flower, seemingly wanting to go back to running around.
Flower sighed, retracting her hands as Gelatin immediately ran off without a second thought. Flower was ready to run after him when she stopped herself. She was still processing the whole situation when she remembered she could just call Lollipop. Sure it was late, but what other choice does she have? So, the flower found herself dialing her friend. The phone beeped a few seconds before Flower heard Lollipop’s voice. “Flower, it is… 2 in the morning. What do you want?” Lollipop groaned, still groggy from being woken up in the middle of the night. “Hey, Lollipop! Sorry for the inconvenience but uh- I think something's up with Gelatin.” Flower said, feeling rather bad for having to wake the other up as she continued talking over the phone “He's acting all… kid-like? Like, running around and he refuses to answer any questions. Do you know what's wrong? I'm kinda worries” Flower soon heard Lollipop mutter something, probably a tired “oh my goodness” before Lollipop spoke back, “Yea- uh.. keep an eye on him for a bit. I'll be there in a moment" she said, hanging up before Flower could say anything in response. Flower paused, looking at her phone before heaving out a sigh, switching it off before going to find Gelatin again.
Flower found Gelatin once again, this time the latter was lying face down on the ground outside the steakhouse. “Gelatin? You good?” Flower asked, concerned as Gelatin grumbled something before lifting his head up to face Flower. Like she expected, he said nothing as he only made another grumpy noise before lying face down again. Flower sighed, walking over as she sat down next to her friend. “You've been acting all weird tonight, buddy. What's up?” Gelatin hummed, pushing to sit up as he looked at Flower before leaning towards her, wrapping his arms around her into a hug, mumbling something. Flower froze for a moment, not expecting his sudden reaction, but she just let Gelatin cling onto her. Gelatin soon let out a yawn as he leaned his head onto Flower's body, snuggling up to her, “oh? You uh.. you wanna sleep?” She asked, reaching to pat him on the head as Gelatin nodded before dozing off in her arms. Flower awkwardly looked around before sighing, relaxing her body as she now had a sleeping Gelatin on her hands.
They sat there for a moment, with Gelatin snoring soundly while Flower sitting still as she didn't want to wake up her friend. The sound of Lollipop’s voice caught Flower's attention as she looked up to meet her eyes. “Oh. Would ya look at that.” Lollipop hummed, raising her brow upon seeing Gelatin sleeping on Flower. Flower chuckled nervously as she scratched the back of her head “He uh- fell asleep on me. I think it was because he was running around so much” Flower explained. Lollipop hummed before reaching down to take Gelatin into her arms, earning a grumble from the lad before he rested his head on her body, trying to find a good spot before falling back asleep. “Yep- sounds like him.” Lollipop said, looking down at Flower, “Uh- thanks for lookin' after him, Flower” Flower nodded in response, giving her a smile “You're welcome! But uh… is he always..” Lollipop sighed, “Well- not always. He usually has times where his brain just goes on autopilot so he acts more stupid than usual. Again, apologies if he caused you any trouble” she gave Flower an apologetic smile.
“It's alright! He wasn't too much trouble for me!” Flower nodded, getting up and dusting herself of. Lollipop hummed, nodding her head before adjusting her hold on Gelatin who stirred a little in response, “Anyways, I better get this one home. See ya, Flower” she said, before turning to leave with Gelatin in her arms, whining a little in protest as Lollipop mumbled something in response before both of them were out of view. Flower stood there, watching for a moment before she realized something. “Oh petals- the steakhouse!” She rushed back to close the steakhouse down. It wasn't hard to clean up the mess Gelatin left in the kitchen but hopefully no one robs the place tomorrow as Flower sadly didn't have the keys…
Oh well! Maybe Gelatin wouldn't mind if a steak or two was stolen... Would he?