"Yes, yes," Wren grumbled as Octavian took a seat. He reached into a pocket on his apron and pulled out the pocket watch. It gleamed in the dimming light as he handed it over to the boy. Despite his grumble, he couldn't keep the smile off his face. Octavian's was simply too infectious and Wren was glad he was able to make one of his children so happy with something so simple. He'd had to barter with one of his neighbors for a part, but seeing Octavian happy had certainly made it worth it. He was also grateful that Pan had been willing to assist, as it'd been his cooking that the old man wanted.  Not that he could blame the man. Pan's cooking was amazing, so much so that he knew the boy had gotten offers of marriage for it...never where Wren could hear, except for once and he'd chased the man off with a broom. Pan had turned them all down though, polite and gentle as always.<br/><br/>The bell above the door chimed and Wren shifted his gaze to it. Pan slithered into the room with a soft smile on his lips and a basket in his hands. He'd never understood how such a sweet boy could share a resemblance with such a predatory creature. From the waist down Pan was a snake, thick enough around to crush someone several times the slender boy's size. From the waist up however Pan looked more human than any mutant the man had ever seen; with only slit pupils, fangs, and a forked tongue. A tongue that slipped past his lips to taste the air and find out who was in the room. The moment the golden-haired snake realized who was there with Wren his smile widened, "Octavian! I'm glad I caught you!"<br/><br/>He quickly moved around the room, tongue helping him navigate since his eyes couldn't. Wren had gotten Pan shortly after arriving in town all those years ago, he was the same age as Octavian give or take a year. Though he'd been protective of Octavian growing up he'd been even more so of Pan, always worried that his adoptive son's lack of sight would be used against him...even after he found out that Pan was venomous.<br/><br/>"Wren told me you had a date and I was hoping I'd get the chance to give this to you before you left," He held out the basket to Octavian, correcting his angle a bit after a flick of his tongue.<br/><br/>Wren sputtered, "I never said 'date', I said he was going to see the man who gave him the watch again tonight,"<br/><br/>"You also said a lot more than that," Pan replied before turning his attention back to Octavian, "It's not much, just some fresh bread and a thermos of vegetable soup since it seems like it'll be cold tonight. From what Wren said I can't imagine your soldier gets to eat much. I do hope you both enjoy it...as well as the rest of your night,"<br/><br/>Wren knew Pan added the last bit-as well as the not so subtle-wink just to mess with him, but it didn't stop the older man from squawking like an indignant parrot.<br/><br/><div style="text-align: center">~*~<br/>​</div>Byron made it to his post just as the sun went down. The tired-looking man that Byron took over for looked at the small basket he held but said nothing. Instead, he picked up his rifle and left, something Byron was grateful for. He wasn't exactly sure what time Octavian would show up, just that it'd be after nightfall and he didn't want the person he traded off with to be one who'd stick around. Not that anyone would to help him or keep him company, but the Commander wasn't the only one who liked to ridicule him. Not only would it be dangerous if Octavian showed up with someone else around, but he didn't want the other man to see how they treated him. For whatever reason Octavian seemed to like his company and he didn't want the other to decide that Byron was not worth his time. Despite all the other man's words to the contrary, Byron couldn't see a single reason for Octavian to want to spend ime with him. Well outside of the gifts.<br/><br/>He took the box out of the basket and looked down at the list it held; yellow and purple Cyrsanthemums, Orange Spider Lilies, Tulips (various), Bird of Paradise, and Dahlias (various). Most of the flowers Byron hadn't seen before or even heard of, was there actually a flower called "bird of Paradise", but he hoped that Octavian liked them...or at the very least liked some of them.