[Team One] honesty and moss roses

[green-eggs101.livejournal.com]

~1800 words of g-rated soriku from a floriography au sequel I'm working on

“All you had to do was ask,” Sora teased, giving the plant an extra drink of water.

Riku watched as the plant shivered in response, enjoying the attention Sora showered on it, both figuratively and literally with the watering can. “Do they actually talk back?”

Sora glanced back with a grin. “In their own way. Momo talks back to you, right?”

On queue his fluffy dream eater bat popped into existence next to him, fluttering about before landing on Sora’s head, chittering away as Sora moved to the next plant. “In her own way.”

Momo expressed a little “squee” in response, flapping over to land on his shoulder instead, nuzzling his cheek.

“Okay, okay,” Riku laughed running a hand through her soft fur.

Sora chuckled at the exchange, running a finger gently over a bush of tiny-petaled flowers. Mums? Riku was pretty sure that’s what Sora called them. He was learning most of the common plants in the shop, though some of the more obscure plant names still eluded him. “Look at you grow! You’ll be ready for autumn soon enough, so save some of those blooms for later!”

“What to they mean?” Riku asked, following Sora around the shop. It was his day off and Sora had to do some last-minute watering before they headed out on their date.

“Happiness, friendship— ooh these red ones can mean happiness in love,” Sora leaned in and touched those, grinning when they shivered happily and leaned in, reflecting his emotions. “I’ll be done in just another minute.”

“I don’t mind waiting, you know.” Riku loved how Sora moved about his plants, replenishing water in the cut florals, and giving off the good emotions they needed to thrive. The small greenhouse Riku had helped build just a few weeks ago in the small area out the back door now housed small potted plants for Sora to keep on hand.

The little bell above the door rang while Sora was humming to a shelf of potted herbs. “Oh, Riku, can you—”

“I got it,” Riku nodded, heading into the shop. Sora would take care of any complicated orders, but Riku could atleast help the customer get started.

“Hi, welcome to ___. How can I help— woah.” Riku blushed at his sudden and rude statement. But in fairness, it was a rather odd sight. “Er, I mean—”

“It’s okay dude,” the man in the doorway said, still holding the door out so it didn’t slam on the trail of hair that was still entering the building. “The 70 foot hair gives most people pause.”

“Eugene.” The girl sighed, wrapping the hair around in her hand like a rope. “I am so sorry about this, I usually have it braided, but it escaped the braids today. Honestly, most days it has a mind of it’s own.”

“Now, that I can believe,” the man, Eugene, drawled, picking up the last few feet and stepping into the shop.

“Anyway,” The girl laughed nervously. “My name is Rapunzel, I’m new in town and I—well, that is— I—”

“Art class, blondie,” Eugene said, his words a bit harsh but his eyes fond as he stared at her.

“Right!” Rapunzel’s brow furrowed in concentration. “We’re doing still life studies in this art class I’m in at the Radiant Garden University and we need to bring in our own items to draw and we… I mean flowers are technically alive and all, but I thought, well, that they wouldn’t mind being still for a bit. The flowers I mean.”

“I’m sure they won’t mind at all,” Riku laughed. “Hang on let me get Sora for you. He owns the shop, I’m sure he can help you find something nice.”

“Oh really?” The girl leaned against the counter in excitement, her sketchbook clutched tightly in the arm not holding on to her hair. “That would be great!”

Riku nodding, stepping in back into the green house to grab Sora, explaining the situation. Sora sat his watering can down, his brow furrowed in that cute way when he was thinking of the perfect arrangement. “I think I have something, but I’ll need to grab something from upstairs.”

Riku tilted his head. “From your personal garden? You sure?”

Sora grinned. “She said they were alive.”

With that statement Sora went back into the shop, waving briefly at the girl and her… boyfriend? Friend? Unlocking the door to the apartment upstairs, Sora bounded up them two at a time. Riku huffed looking at the customers. “He’ll be right back, he’s grabbing something from upstairs he thinks you’ll like.”

“Oh, blondie, you’re getting the special treatment.” Eugene grinned, and Riku could admit there was something rogushly charming about him.

“Atleast it’s not the kind of special treatment I got at that bar you took me to.”

“Hey, the guys at the Snuggly Duckling loved you. It’s me they can’t stand.”

“Riiight,” Rapunzel chuckled behind her hand. “Anyway, if it’s not too much trouble, do you have a—”

“Cree?” Momo poofed into existence in front of her, flapping her wings in question, and tilting until her whole body was nearly upside down. “Cree?”

“Oh!” Rapunzel’s attention shifted completely to the dream eater bat in front of her. “Oh, goodness you’re so cute!”

“Cree!” Momo agreed, tilting until she was almost flapping upside down again.

“May I draw you?” Rapunzel opened her sketchbook and grabbed a pencil that must have been hidden in all that hair. “Do you mind?”

With a grin, Riku realized she was asking Momo for permission. Momo fluttered a little bit before flying to one of the morning glory vines nearby. It was one that Sora had grown specifically for Momo, the supports he made for them strong enough to hold Momo’s body. “Cree?”

“That’s perfect!” Rapunzel started sketching, lost to the world while she studied Momo. Her friend, Eugene, watched fondly before amusing himself by looking around the shop, carefully avoiding tripping over hoses as well as Rapunzel’s own hair.

A thundering down the stairs introduced Sora’s appearance once more, tiny bouquets of small deep purple flowers in his hand, wrapped tightly so the delicate buds wouldn’t be lost. He busied himself around the shop, smiling as Rapunzel continued her sketches of Momo, the dream eater model loving the attention.

To the small bouquets Sora added some stalks of lighter purple flowers, and, after a glance back at Rapunzel, brows furrowed in concentration, he added a few sturdy branches of some kind of pine with small pinecones still attached.

The complete bouquet was a bit odd looking, but pleasing, witht he delicate flowers against a backdrop of sturdy pine. Rapunzel’s eyes lit up when she saw it.

“Oh, that’s perfect! So many textures and colors— I can’t wait!”

Sora’s grin grew. “And as long as you feel that way, they’ll survive for several days of sketches and studies. I hope you’ll come back to show me!”

“Of course!” Rapunzel grinned, taking the bouquet in gentle hands. “Oh, I’ve never had a floriography bouquet before. Your work is gorgeous! What do you think, Eugene?”

“It’s uh… flowers. With little green bits,” Eugene’s smile faltered for a second, but Rapunzel didn’t seem to mind. “But I’m glad they make you happy, blondie.”

Rapunzel’s face grew a little redder at Eugene’s words and any doubts Riku had about their relationship dissipated. If they weren’t already a couple, they were clearly getting there.

Eugene manuevered Rapunzel’s hair to one hand so he could dig out his wallet from his pocket. As he did so, a a few small flower buds fell out of his pocket as well, their colors or red and pink just peeking out of the dark, leaf-like parts that surrounded the flower. Eugene froze at the site, his eyes widening as he glanced between three of them nervously.

“I didn’t! That is, I mean— I—”

“Eugene,” Rapunzel reached out a soothing hand on his arm. “I’m sure it’s okay.”

“But I didn’t take them, I swear Rapunzel, I—”

“I’m sure you didn’t,” Sora said, kneeling down to pick up the flowers into the palm of his hand. They were somehow even more delicate there, though they were still as fresh as if they were attached to the plant. “Sometimes these little guys just have a mind of their own. I guess they really wanted to go with you!”

With a reassuring smile, Sora tucked them into a small piece of tissue paper before handing them back to Eugene. “Maybe they’ll give you some luck? They’re the flower buds of a moss rose, I’m sure you’ll understand their meaning soon.”

Eugene’s face turned a slightly darker shade of red as he took the offer buds and handed Sora a few bills in return. “.... yeah. Maybe. Hopefully.”

“I’m sure it’ll be fine,” Sora reassured him.

Rapunzel glanced between the two in question but seemed to come to the conclusion that Eugene would tell her when he was ready. “Well… thank you again. I’ll come back with the sketches when we’re done. And to see this little cutie again.”

She gently pet Momo between her large ears, much to the bat’s enjoyment. Then the two of them left the shop, Rapunzel still holding onto her bouquet gently.

“Well… I’m done watering, but I’ll close up so we can head out on our date!” Sora grinned. “Can you lock the back door?”

“Of course,” Riku turned to do so, but paused as he noticed something on the ground by his feet. “Oh?”

He leaned down, picking up a piece of sketch paper. It must have fallen out of Rapunzel’s sketch book earlier. The sketch was of a flower, thought it was drawn over and over again in different styles as if Rapunzel had been trying to draw it from memory rather than from life.

“Hmm… what’s that?”

Riku showed Sora the image. His boyfriend ooh’d over it, but was puzzled by the flower itself.

“I’ve never see one like this before. It’s almost like a lily, but the number of petals is all wrong.” Sora’s brow furrowed even more. “But… it also looks a bit familiar.”

“Maybe you can ask her about it when she comes back?” Riku placed the page on the counter. Momo fluttered around the shop before poofing out of existence. Riku had a feeling he’d see her buried among the poppies later. “Ready for our date?”

“Ready!”

Riku grinned, opening the front door for Sora. “By the say…. What did those flowers mean? The moss flowers?”

Sora’s grin grew wider yet. “Oh… just something I almost wished I had around more often when we first met. They would have exploded in the shop with what I was feeling.”

“And that was?” Riku had a feeling he already knew.

“Love confessions,” Sora said, with a dreamy look. “It’s rather quite romantic, right?”

last line knittenkitten "it's rather quite romantic, right? "