(Untitled)

[playswithboys]

Time: July 16, 2000
Setting: The greenhouse
Status: Public (Crowley's gardening expertise needed!)
Summary: Pepper's having issues with the greenery

Comments

[anthony_crowley]

Crowley was casually leaning against the greenhouse door frame, arms folded over his chest and one immaculately pressed leg crossed in front of the other, watching the scene inside with amusement.

"You could just ask," he drawled, "though you're pretty close already."

[playswithboys]

Pepper was in too much pain to jump into the air at the sound of the voice. Instead she whirled around in the direction it came from and got stabbed in the arm by one of the barbed potted horrors next to her. She dropped the watering can and put a knuckle between her teeth to stop herself from making another sound. It clearly wasn't helping her, yelling and swearing, so she might as well shut up.

Her other hand clenched into a fist. Of course. Of course someone had to be there right when she was looking completely ridiculous. She really hadn't met anyone in the manor yet, and naturally this would be her first introduction. Her luck was just unbeatable. She picked up the pruning shears and started making little clipping noises with them, feeling better with something to squeeze in her hand. "Close?" she asked quizzically. Pepper wasn't sure she wanted to look up just yet, so she concentrated on her bleeding finger. She really needed to wrap that in something

[anthony_crowley]

Crossing the distance between them in a few short strides, Crowley caught Pepper's hand in his and gently touched her cut. As he did, it sealed itself closed and stopped hurting. The blood disappeared and he let go.

"You've just got to show them who's boss," he said as if he'd done nothing out of the ordinary. "Or rather, tell them."

Crowley turned to the plants. "All right, you lot. What did we say about growing? Who's going to be the first to get fertilized with fire?" He looked them over carefully and picked up a sulky one on the end. "You then." Ripping it out by the roots, he carried it outside and there was a burst of flame. He came back in. "I'll just leave the empty pot there, shall I? The rest of you have one week to straighten up. I want to see flowering, got it?" The plants seemed to stand taller and he smirked. "Simple, really."

[playswithboys]

Pepper should have hit him. She had programmed her instincts that way: any unwarranted contact, especially by someone male that she didn't know, and they got a nasty jab to the face or stomach. But he was careful and then suddenly her finger didn't hurt at all, the whole thing was... gone. Like she'd imagined it, only it kind of tingled where the cut had been. And he hadn't done anything out of line really. Something was bugging her, though