Author’s Note: “Flirt with dessert”. This is the perfect prompt for my foodie boys. I was thinking about something ridiculous but I saw afternoon tea and I instantly knew where this had to go 😏

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“You know what I’ve only done once but miss a considerable amount?” Sylus sat across the table from me, leaning on his hand, staring out the window.

I tilted the screen on my laptop down to meet his gaze. “What’s that?”

“Tea.”

I raised a brow. “Tea? You have a cup every night before bed.”

“No no. Afternoon Tea.”

“What?” I replied flatly.

“Never done it? Tea and lots of little sandwiches and scones and clotted cream…” I watched his starry eyes wander off into the distance. “It’s so good.” He murmured.

“So good it has the Devourer mouthwatering?”

He chuckled. “It’s an experience, that’s for sure.”

“Alright then.” I closed my lap top. “Let’s do Afternoon Tea.”

Sylus craned his neck around to look at the clock hanging over the kitchen door.

“4 o’clock. That’s well within Tea Time.”

“There’s a specific time?”

“Of course there is! 3:30-5pm is Afternoon Tea. 5-7 is High Tea. High Tea is dinner-ish. Afternoon Tea is lil sammiches.” He pinched his fingers together.

“And you’d rather little ‘sammiches’ over an actual meal?”

“Have you had cucumbers and cream cheese? What about tapenade on pumpernickel?”

“You said you’ve only done this once?”

He nodded. “I turned a lot of it into car snacks for Dan and I. Easy little things to carry around. Not always the highest quality but a nice change of pace from PB&J seven days a week.”

I smiled.

“It’s always better when it’s made by people who know what they’re doing, though. Along side some scones and clotted cream.”

“Clotted cream doesn’t exactly sound… good.”

“Forgive the name, but its delicious. Spread across a cranberry scone?” He gave a chef’s kiss.

“Alright alright.” I slid out of the booth. “Let’s go. Just remember, I’m not a huge tea person.”

“Understood, but if you treat it as a, well, treat you don’t have to pit it against coffee. There’s sweet dessert-y teas out there!”

I offered him my hand. “Then take me to Afternoon Tea, big guy.”

His tentacles shimmered and danced as he jumped to his feet. Taking my hand he kissed it softly before whisking us away for tea.

---

Emerging on a cement sidewalk, we were met with a one-story brick building with an extravagant carvings holding large windows in place. Vines wove and flowers bloomed in wood. I looked down at the dim marks that trailed up my arm to beneath the eyepatch I wore over my Voidal eye. I understood why Sylus liked this place.

The weaving floral motif followed us inside. The podium upon which sat menus was made of towering, twisting wooden vines. Climbing reliefs pressed out from the white surfaces of the walls. Hints of gold flecks shimmered in the warm light of the entrance.

“Hello and welcome to the Rosebloom Teahouse!” A woman dressed in blank pants and vest over a white frilly shirt appeared behind the podium. “Do you have a reservation?”

“We do not.” Sylus replied. “Do you have any availability?”

“Hm.” She opened a gold-leafed book that sat upon the podium. “It seems we have one, however there is a charge for-“

Sylus raised a massive hand. “Understood. We’ll take the table.”

“Very well then.” She collected the menus and led us deeper inside the artificial garden.

As we made our way down the hall, I noticed different rooms had different themes.

One was filled with brilliant sunlight with arcing windows like a greenhouse. Green vegetation seemed to grow with wild, reckless abandon. Alabaster tables and chairs filled what little open space there was.

Another was dark and filled with more sensual blooms. Shimmering in artificial sunlight, beads of water caught my eye as they speckled black roses and winding vines. Onyx seating was filled with people in evening attire. Bioluminescence glowed in the dim light. It was almost claustrophobic without any visible windows, but for some reason it called to me.

The room we arrived in was plain in comparison to either of the others from before. Two tall windows greeted us reminding me of the towering windows of home. Trees tastefully lined the room, branches reaching inward. A single, plain iron table was available for us to sit at.

Before we even reached the table, I struggled to envision Sylus fitting into these pitifully small chairs. Heck, I was worried I wouldn’t even fit.

“Here you are.” The maitre d’ placed the menus on the table. “Your server Grace will be with you shortly.”

We smiled and nodded and hoped she’d leave before we made fools of ourselves trying to sit down. Luckily, she was quick to be on her way.

Sylus and I looked down at the tiny chairs.

“I’m going to break that.” He muttered.

“Can’t you regulate your weight?”

“Certainly, but that doesn’t change the fact that it’d take four of those to hold my ass up.”

I snorted as I reached for the back of my chair.

“I was a lot smaller last time I was here.”

Heat filled my cheeks.

“You okay, big guy?”

He shrugged. “This was my idea.” He pulled out the chair and swung his leg over it. “I’ll just, uh,” he sat down, “figure it out.”

“The chairs in the dark room looked nicer.” I mused aloud.

“And it’s probably reserved for months.”

“Maybe we should book it for another time, then?”

“Jeron, I am very uncomfortable, but my discomfort pales in comparison to my desire for tea and tiny sandwiches.”

Laughing, I finally sat down in my chair. It was horrifically uncomfortable.

“I can assure you, these seats are perfectly fine for normal humans.”

“Of which neither of us are.” I shifted my weight to redistribute the discomfort.

“Good afternoon, I’m Grace and I’ll be taking care of you today.” A woman around our age appeared beside the table. Fiery red hair framed a pale, freckled face. She wore the same attire as the maitre d’. “Can I start you off with anything?”

Sylus popped open the menu and skimmed it before I even picked mine up.

“Can we have the Tea for Two?”

“Absolutely. Are the designated sandwiches okay or would you like to make substitutions? You’re allowed two.”

“I think they look fine. Jeron?”

I scrambled through the menu trying to find what he was talking about. Folding his backwards, Sylus handed me his menu. Six sandwiches, four pieces each, and tea for two with our choice of brew.

“I, uh, turkey and cranberry?” I looked up to Grace.

“Fresh turkey and cranberry sauce made every morning.”

I looked back at the menu. I had no idea what anything else was.

“Th-that sounds good.”

“And for your tea?”

“I’ll take the dark bergamot.” Sylus replied without missing a beat.

“And for you?” I felt Grace’s sharp green eyes on me.

“I, uh, I have no idea…” There were so many options and none of them made any sense to me.

“What’re you in the mood for, love? Sweet? Savory? A little bitter?”

“Let’s go with sweet…” I replied slowly.

“Do you trust my taste?”

“I-” I looked up to find him gazing at me, his elbows resting on the table and his chin in his hands. “I do. Yes.”

“Blackberry Sage. And can we get some honey for the table?”

“Of course. I’ll be back in a few minutes with everything.”

“Thank you.” We spoke in unison.

It wasn’t long before a three-tiered tray of sandwiches showed up accompanied by a large kettle. A cup was set before each of us containing a bag of our chosen tea.

“Enjoy!” Grace smiled. “Let me know if you need anything!”

“Thank you.” We replied once more in unison.

I turned to Sylus. “So how does this work?”

“Pour the hot water over the tea and let it steep in the cup. About three minutes should do. In the meantime, have some sandwiches. They’re small, but they pack a lot of flavor.”

I filled my cup with the steaming water and watched as it turned a bright golden color. When Sylus did the same, his was far darker, almost black. Like coffee.

I bit my lip as I looked down at my cup. I trusted him to make a decision for me so I had to at least give it a try.

As my drink steeped I took a cucumber sandwich. How good could it be? Cucumber? Cream cheese? Bread? Surely he was overselling it.

He was not. It tasted so crisp and fresh I couldn’t help but reach for another.

When I saw Sylus take a sip of his cup, I figured it was time I tried my own. I sniffed it and couldn’t for the life of me tell if I liked the smell or not. So I took a sip.

I caught myself humming into the cup it was so good. Lowering it, I found Sylus leaning on his hands and smiling at me.

“Okay, it’s good,” I placed it back on it’s saucer, “but it is not a coffee replacement.”

“I never expected it to be.” He picked up and nibbled a pumpernickel sandwich.

The way he could be so gentle and delicate always filled me with inexplicable joy. I knew him as a warrior, a blood-stained, battle-hardened, eldritch weapon. But I also knew him as a simple man who loved his tea and little sandwiches. Both sides made my heart sing, but together they made up the missing half of my soul.

We talked of little things and avoided the bigger issues in life. We sipped our tea and ate our finger sandwiches. We smiled. We laughed. He hummed while he ate. I listened as Eternity reached out to me, threatening to drag me away from the moment.

Once all was said done, we had managed to get through Afternoon Tea without breaking any furniture.

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Author’s Note: I apologize for the somewhat sudden ending. Sometimes if I keep going things get too long and out of control. There was more I wanted to do, so I have a feeling this’ll either get a rewrite in the future or find its way into a future book. I really do love the concept of romantic meals.

Also, it appears Clyde’s getting a bit shy! I’ll see if I can get his big ol’ peepers in the next post!