[Team 1] Mystery and Fisticuffs

[green-eggs101.livejournal.com]

~1000 words of g-rated snippet from a soriku fic I've been working off and on for the last three years-- a sequel to a floriography mystery fic. 

“How mad would you be if this was a scam just to see you?"

Sora laughed. “Oh no, my boyfriend is manipulating me into bringing him coffee to work.”

“Coffee, and your flower expertise,” Riku grinned, grabbing the offered beverage and kissing Sora on the cheek in return. “I could put in the research myself, but this seems quicker.”

Sora grinned, then shrugged. “I’ll see what I can do. Is flower symbolism common in dreams?”

“More than you’d think,” Xion said, handing Sora a visitor badge. “Your boyfriend forgot this.”

“Oh! Thanks!” Sora pined the badge on, and Riku couldn’t resist tweaking it a bit just to touch Sora some more.

“Ready?”

Sora nodded, holding a few floriography books close as well as a notepad and pen. Riku led him back to his office.

“It should be fine. I think you’ll recognize the Dreamer.”

“Oh?” Sora turned into the room, his eyes widening in surprise. “Oh! Hello again!”

“The flowershop guy?!” Flynn Rider asked incrediously, while Rapunzel’s smile lit up the whole room, even though she had been crying just a few minutes earlier.

“Oh wow! What a small world!” Rapunzel stood up, her hair cascading to the floor. “Those flowers you gave me were perfect for class, and they’re still alive! It’s amazing!”

Sora instantly relaxed. “I’m glad your taking care of them. I’m sure they’ll last a long while yet.”

Riku closed the door behind him for some privacy. “Sora has some experience with nightmares. He helped solve the Dreameater situation last year.”

“I’m not sure you can really say I solved it if I was causing it.”

“Gaston was causing it. You were just caught up in it.” Riku placed a hand on Sora’s shoulder, squeezing in comfort.

“Oh, that’s really impressive!” Rapunzel’s smile now tinged with abit of the exaustion that had been affecting her. “And might come in a little handy.”

“Thought your nightmares are happening in the middle of the day,” Flynn grumbled. “While you’re awake.”

“I know. It doesn’t make sense.”

Sora’s smile was reassuring. “Maybe start at the beginning? Riku said you mentioned some flowers.”

“Oh, yes— a whole garden of them.” Rapunzel pulled out her sketchbook. “I’ve managed to capture most of them— from what I’ve read up on floriography they seem pretty obvious in their meaning at first but—”

She opened the sketchbook and Sora could see where the issue might lie. While the flowers were quite recognizable— Rapunzel was truly an amazing artist, there was still something off about them. Some appeared in colors Sora had never seen in person, while others— some had an extra petal or a leaf shape that didn’t match the bloom.

“And then there’s this, which… I thought it was a lily at first but now— It glowed in the latest dream.”

Rapunzel turned the page. The flower did appear like a lily at first— the correct number of petals and all, but the stamina were oddly curled. Rapunzel had captured the plant’s stem as well, and it twisted like a vine instead of the straight stalks Sora was used to.

The color— a bright gold. Sora reached out to touch the drawing, gasping when it began to glow. “Is that your—”

Rapunzel shook her head. “I have some healing magic, but that’s about it. The drawings just sorta started doing this when the dreams started.”

“Huh…” Sora’s brow furrowed. He hadn’t heard of someone’s magic changing before. Generally a person’s affinity was present since birth.

“Show em the next page blondie,” Flynn said, placing a reassuring hand on Rapunzel’s shoulder.

Rapunzel nodded, turning the page.

Where the golden flower had been on the previous image, now the flower had warped, turning black, and the twisty stem had multiplied into vines, reaching out from the page, thorny and menacing. Sora reached outto touch this one as well, flinching when the drawing came to life, pricking his finger.

“Sorry!” Rapunzel apologized, grabbing Sora’s finger. It wasn’t bleeding much, but with a soft hum of song, Rapunzel’s hair glowed. She she let go of Sora’s hand, the wound was gone.

“Atleast your power still works on other people.” Flynn said.

“You can’t heal yourself?” Riku asked, taking notes of his own.

“I used to,” Rapunzel said. And I still can for most things, but—well…”

Rapunzel rolled up her sleeves. All along her wrists and half way up her arms were angry red welts, littered with bandaids where something had broken skin. “This is why Eugene brought me here. Because these…daydreams I’ve been having. Now they’re starting to affect me here.”

“Your daydreams… are attacking you?” Sora reached out ang gently covered Rapunzel’s hands. “I’m so sorry.”

Rapunzen sniffed rubbing the back of her hand across her eyes. “It didn’t bother me at first. I thought it was just an overactive imagination. But theyre becoming more frequen now, and I didn’t want to worry my parents and—”

Rapunzel was interrupted by the phone on Riku’s desk ringing.

Riku glanced at it, then back at Rapunzel apologetically. “I’m so sorry. That’s Minnie’s line and she wouldn’t call unless it’s an emergency.”

He picked up the phone. “Minnie?”

“Oh Riku, I’m so sorry to bother you,” Minnie sounded slightly distressed. “But the Dreamer you’re working with. I think she has a… very concerned visitor and—”

“Rider!”

A loud female voice echoed down the phone line. Riku turned to Rapunzel’s boyfriend and watched as all the color drained from his face.

“Oh I’m so dead.”

“Rider, you better have a good excuse for dragging Rapunzel into your messes!” The voice grew louder and Riku could only imagine the absolute shock on Minnie’s face as the visitor must have grabbed her phone. “Hey— Where are these! Why is the security here brooms?!”

The sounds of a scuffle came over the line before the woman shouted one last threat.

“Rider! You better square up— Fisticuffs and all!”

Next up is Nichi! I'll tag you on discord. your line is "You better square up— Fisticuffs and all"