maderr | Happy Birthday, EvT!!!

Okay, it's not much so far. You said I could change whatever I wanted/needed, and so I've changed a whole whole lot. One change you probably won't like, but I made it for various reasons and if you don't like it I'll just change it back.

Some bg: These two started out a long time ago from a joke that basically sealed our doom XP. Our initial attempts weren't the greatest, but we had fun and now I'm attempting to revamp the story and make it a bit more solid. Rose is her character, and I'm no doubt taking extreme liberties with him.

It isn't much so far, but I hope you like.

Great Falls: Flower Boys

"You've got to be kidding me."

"'Fraid not, Mr. Signet." Tipping back his wide-brimmed hat, the realtor attempted to look ashamed and apologetic. "Still don't know what caused the fire, but I'm sure in a few weeks they'll have everything cleared up."

"And when are you going to have the house I just purchased?" Marigold asked frostily. "Because I haven't yet signed all your papers, and I won't be paying you a dime until I see that house exactly the way it should be. Nor will you be giving me a different one. From what you've related, the fire was your fault entirely. And where exactly am I supposed to stay while you're working on rebuilding it?"

"Well now, I know of several right nice hotels about town."

"Mr. Carter - I am not staying in a hotel for what will most likely be several months." Marigold narrowed his green eyes, somewhat mollified when the realtor took a step back. "Now, I'll ask you again - where will I be staying while you fix my house?"

Carter shifted nervously, "Well…I could put you up in one of our other houses, if'n you like."

"I don't like. You'll forgive me if I find you less than trustworthy at this point."

"Well…" Carter fidgeted some more. "I do know a guy who lets out his spare apartment, and he just recently evicted his last tenants. I tend to keep an eye out for him, I'm sure he'd be more than willing to put you up for a bit." He rifled through his wallet a moment, and finally pulled out a battered looking business card, brightly colored with pink and green lettering.

Marigold accepted it, sliding it into an inner pocket of his blazer, "And you'll be paying for my rent, of course…"

"Of-of course."

"Good. Call my cell if you need me." With that, Marigold spun away from the doubly sickening sight of the overweight realtor and the remains of his new house. "Electrical failure…" he muttered to himself. "More like brain failure." Sliding into the backseat of the car he'd hired to take him around town for the day, he pulled the business card from his pocket and handed it to the driver. "Can you take me here?"

"The Pink Petal? Of course, sir. Should take about thirty minutes."

"Very well." Marigold sat back in his seat, still frowning. He hadn't been in town an entire day and already things were going wrong. Story of his life. Heaving a mental sigh, he pulled out his palm pilot and skimmed his email for any important messages, double checking the times of his meetings even though he knew them by heart.

As an afterthought, he pulled out his cell phone and dialed the number on the business card. He should've left all the arrangements to the idiotic Carter, but he trusted the man about as far as he could throw him. The time on his watch said ten o'clock, so he knew he wasn't calling too early.

A groggy voice answered, "Who the hell is calling me at this hour?"

Marigold frowned, "I was calling to speak with a…Nathaniel Rose."

"Call me back at a respectable hour."

"Since when is ten not a respectable hour?" Marigold asked, growing annoyed. "Especially as I was hoping to speak with you about renting an apartment."

Some muffled curses, and Marigold realized the man was struggling to get out of bed. "That idiot. I told him I don't do this sort of business before noon. Well, I'm awake now. Drop by around eleven, I'll show you the place and we can talk." The man hung up before Marigold could respond.

"It looks like I won't be doing anything until eleven, Davis. Can you recommend any worthwhile coffee houses?"

"Piece of Cake is rather a nice little spot, sir. And it's only about five or ten minutes from the Petal."

"That will suffice." Marigold could feel a headache coming on, and reminded himself sternly that anything, even a burned down house and the rest of his trying day, was better than going back home.

*~*~*~*

"Whoa, you look like you woke up next to a pissy mountain lion." Pansy looked at her boss with a mixture of sympathy and amusement.

Rose glared at her over his coffee cup, "Shut up, Pans. And yeah, that sounds close enough. Except Mr. Pissy Mountain Lion woke me up calling about the damned apartment. I've told Carter I don't know how many time not to let anyone call me before noon." He paused to swallow more coffee, "Why does the world insist on waking me up at this hideous hour on my day off?"

"Because you're so pretty when you're rumpled and snarly," Pansy winked at him. "And really, you're the only one who thinks 10:30 is early."

"I'm prettier when I'm in a good mood," Rose plopped into the seat behind the cash register, ignoring Pansy when she rolled her eyes. "Shouldn't you be sweeping or arranging something?"

"No, no. Mornings are reserved exclusively for customers and laughing at you."

"Shut up Pansy, before I decide to dock your pay for disrespecting your boss."

Snorting, Pansy went back to flipping idly through her magazine. "So is Mr. Lion still interested in the apartment, or did you piss him off with your lack of morning manners?"

"I dunno," Rose paused with his mug halfway to his lips. "I think I hung up on him."

Pansy sighed and shook her head. "You're such an idiot."

"No, I am not. I know my gorgeous hair and looks make everyone think that, but grouchy and idiotic are not the same thing."

"Right. And snarling at a potential tenant is the intelligent thing to do."

"Didn't I tell you to shut up?" Rose groused, frowning angrily at his empty cup. He shoved it at Pansy, "Here. Get me more coffee and I won't fire you."

Rolling her eyes, Pansy never the less took the cup. "Yes, oh lord and master. Try not to growl at any customers, would you?"

"Yeah, yeah." Rose sat glowering for a moment, then rifled a moment through the shelf below the cash register, finally coming up with a brush. With painstaking care he began to run it through shoulder-length, white-blonde hair. As fine as it was, it tangled all too easily, and it took him several minutes to work all the knots out and finally pull it back into a neat tail. He smoothed the front of his dark rose sweater and brushed some lint from his dark brown slacks. "Took you long enough," he groused as Pansy reappeared.

But Pansy didn't reply, too busy staring out the glass front of the store at the man striding toward the Pink Petal. "Oh my god, what is that? He looks like he should be on the front cover of GQ or something."

"That or city-boy took a wrong turn. He's not from around here." But Rose was watching him just as avidly, liking instantly the way the man seemed to stalk rather than just simply walk, like everyone and everything was his prey. The wind did its best to ruffle his dark auburn hair, but the wavy strand stayed firmly in place.

The man stepped inside the shop, tall and intimidating in a black, hand-made suit, his dark green tie the only spot of color to soften his presence. He approached the counter, expensive cologne not the smelly, annoying stuff Rose would have expected. "I'm looking for a Nathaniel Rose?"

Rose put on his best smile, the one that convinced his customers they could always use more flowers. "That would be me. I apologize for my rude behavior on the phone earlier. I am not the best morning person, especially on my day off."

The man didn't seem affected, just stared at Rose with his dark green eyes.

It was quite the stare. Rose mentally shook himself, "Are you still interested in the apartment? If you'll come with me, I can show it to you."

"Very well," the man replied.

Rose exchanged a brief glance with Pansy as he moved around the counter out onto the shop floor. This is a weird one the look said. Pansy's look said she agreed.

"I’m sorry," Rose continued to smile, "I didn't catch your name."

The man hesitated, and Rose would swear he winced. "Signet. Marigold Signet."

Rose managed not to laugh, but from the way the guy's eyes went all dark and angry, he figured his amusement was obvious. "Well, most people just call me Rose."

"Mari will be fine."

"Then come this way, Mari. The apartment's next door. It's probably still a bit of a mess - my last tenants had a rather, um, interesting occupation and I'm afraid they were forced to leave in something of a hurry. I haven't had a chance to clean it yet, but I can…" their voices faded away as they left the shop.