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Fedyor looked up as the bell on the shop's door rang and Aleksander Morozova sbandswalked in. He attempted to keep a cheery smile on his face as he privately wished that it was Ivan's turn in the flower and gift shop. His husband got along with Aleksander much better than Fedyor did. But no, Ivan was working in the greenhouse today.
“Welcome to Hearts and Flowers!” Fedyor said. “Are you looking for anything in particular today?” While Aleksander was a much more pleasant customer than his mother, he still had very specific tastes and expectations. Fedyor braced himself to be interrogated about what phase of the moon the flowers had been harvested under, or which planetary sigils had been inscribed on the containers they had been grown in.
“Yes,” Aleksander said, and for a second a flicker of uncertainty crossed his face. It was an expression that Fedyor had never seen on the face of Os Alta's most famous mage. “I'm...I'm looking for a bouquet of irises.”
“Irises?” asked Fedyor. “Which kind?”
“The blue ones, not the white,” Aleksander said, and then didn't elaborate further.
“Hmmm,” Fedyor said, and walked over to one of the shelves of cut stems. “I have these Tall Dutch irises that are very blue. And some bearded irises as well, but they're more lavender. Although I have to say that both of them were harvested on the Full Moon, and I know you prefer the dark of the moon instead for your magic.”
Aleksander shook his head. “No, no, that doesn't matter - these aren't for a spell. The Tall Dutch will be perfect. A dozen, please.”
Fedyor selected the nicest blossoms he could find, and wrapped them up with some plant food. At Aleksander's request he tied them with a black ribbon. From anyone else, the effect might have been funerary, but for Aleksander it was just part of his overall aesthetic. Throughout, he seemed distracted and preoccupied, a far cry from the Darkling the entire community of magic users and supernatural beings in Os Alta knew by reputation.
During the transaction, Fedyor was polite as always, but inside he was bursting with curiosity. Ivan was going to love hearing about this.
*
After Aleksander left, Fedyor still had a few hours to go before the shop closed. He straightened a display of succulents in decorative pots and unwrapped some new garden statuary he had just gotten in. He was putting a small ceramic gargoyle on a shelf next to its fellows when the bell rang again.
It was Luda, another of his regular customers. She came in nearly every week for a bouquet of pink and red carnations. As far as he could tell, it was for her own enjoyment, not magical purposes. Although - carnations were used in some spells for healing, especially healing the heart (literally and metaphorically.) It would certainly fit with Luda, who was a magical Healer as well as a trauma surgeon at the nearby Os Alta University Hospital.
Luda was also sometimes the cardinal who perched in the trees near the flower shop, her brown and red plumage elegant, singing loudly.
Today she was decidedly human, though. “Hi, Fedyor,” she said, and went straight for where the pink and red carnations were displayed.
“Hi, Luda,” he said.
She glanced at the now noticeably depleted Tall Dutch irises. “Was Sasha here already?” she asked.
The diminutive threw Fedyor off. He had to think for a moment. “You mean...Aleksander, right? Morozova?”
“I do,” said Luda with a wide smile. “I know he was looking for blue irises.”
Fedyor knew that Luda and Aleksander were fairly close, although he wasn't sure about the exact nature of that relationship. Neither was the Os Alta magical community, in fact, a testament to how private they both could be. “Yes, he got some about an hour ago,” Fedyor said.
“Good to know,” said Luda. “Since he took care of that already, I’ll just get my usual bouquet.” She picked out her carnations and paid for them, and Fedyor wrapped them up with a crimson ribbon.
She left with a cheerful wave, and no further explanation.
*
Ivan came by a few minutes after the shop closed, carrying a tray of pothos cuttings in small pots. They had rooted and were now ready to be sold. He set them down and kissed Fedyor.
“Did I miss anything interesting?” he asked.
“Aleksander Morozova came by,” said Fedyor.
“Was everything okay?” Ivan asked.
“It was. And Luda calls him Sasha apparently.”
Ivan actually raised his eyebrows at that. Fedyor was very familiar with the subtleties of his husband's expressions, but that one wasn't subtle at all.
“I guess that's not surprising,” Ivan said after a moment. “The past few times I've seen him outside the shop he has smelled a bit like carnations.”
Fedyor sometimes forgot how sensitive Ivan's nose was at all times, not just during the full moon when he was in wolf form.
“Oh,” said Fedyor, pondering this bit of gossip. “Well, they both mentioned getting irises for someone...any idea who that could be?”
“You mean for the same person?” Ivan asked. He moved some spider plant cuttings aside to make room on the shelf for the pothos.
“Seems to be, yeah,” Fedyor said. “It reminded me a little of when Nikolai, Zoya, and Mal were getting together. Hopefully less stormy though - literally.”
Ivan laughed once, then looked thoughtful. “No...I don't. Although...last week when I was in the shop Genya came by with Luda, and they were talking about a friend who's new to the magical community – a witch who discovered her powers last year.”
Os Alta was a big city, but sometimes it felt like a small town, especially when it came to the various closely connected communities of magic users and supernatural beings. Fedyor thought he knew who Ivan was talking about. “Oh, Alina? The witch with the affinity for sunlight magic?” He didn't always have a lot of time for socializing with how much of his time the business took up, but he did remember meeting her at an Os Alta Magical and Supernatural Chamber of Commerce social event. “Her powers and Aleksander's would certainly be a contrast. And from what I know of Luda, they'd probably get along.”
“Sounds like you're rooting for them,” said Ivan, with one of the tiny fond smiles Fedyor knew so well.
“Yeah, I guess I am,” Fedyor said.
*
About a month later, after the three days of the full moon had passed and Ivan was once more in human form, he and Fedyor went out for brunch. Their employee Nina had recommended a new place near their neighborhood that had great waffles.
Apparently lots of other people knew about it too, because there was a line at the host stand and a bit of a wait to be seated. The host said they could wait at one of the bars, so Ivan and Fedyor chose to get a pair of mimosas from the bar on the outdoor patio to sip until they could be seated.
“Hi Fedyor! Hi Ivan!” a familiar voice called from the corner of the patio. In either bird or human form, Luda's voice was both sweet and carrying.
“Hi Luda!” Fedyor said, and Ivan waved.
She waved them over to the table where she sat, one arm around Aleksander and one around a woman who looked vaguely familiar. After a moment, Fedyor recognized her as Alina, the sunlight witch. She smiled brightly, and the dappled shade fell across her face and her short black hair in a way that looked like she had conjured it on purpose. Maybe she had. Aleksander's smile was almost as bright, which was a rare occurrence in Fedyor's experience.
“Have you all met?” Luda asked. “Alina, this is Fedyor and Ivan—they own Hearts and Flowers, where Sasha got you those irises.”
“The two of us met briefly, at least,” Fedyor said. “That Chamber event a few months ago?”
“Oh yes,” Alina said. “I thought you looked familiar. Good to see you again. And good to meet you, Ivan. Those irises were just exquisite.”
“Thank you,” said Ivan.
“Do you still have any of those black succulents I saw last month?” Aleksander asked.
“How very on brand,” Luda teased, and kissed him on the cheek.
“I know, I know,” Aleksander said. “But you and Alina are winning me over to the value of houseplants for enjoyment, not just for magic.”
“Yeah,” said Fedyor. “We still have some black echeveria and aeonium left, and we should be getting more black haworthia in next week. They're all pretty easy to take care of. Haworthias are related to aloes, and echeverias and aeonium look a bit like roses. All very striking.”
“Ooh, aloes are nice too,” said Luda. “Been meaning to get one of those.”
“We should all stop by sometime,” said Alina, cuddling closer to Luda and holding Aleksander's hand across the table.
“Kaminsky, party of two!” the host called, before Fedyor could feel like he and Ivan were intruding.
“That's us,” said Fedyor. “Good seeing all of you!”
“Same,” said Luda.
“Enjoy!” said Alina. “The waffles are delicious!”
Ivan squeezed Fedyor's hand as they walked away. “You were right,” he said, once they had been seated at their table.
Fedyor drained his mimosa. “About the three of them getting together? I'm glad, I really am.”
“They seemed really happy,” said Ivan.
“Yeah,” said Fedyor. He looked at the menu. “Ooh, strawberry waffles...” Around them, the happy chatter of the brunch crowd, magical and otherwise, continued.