altimit | ›› 2nd round

[ Of course he remembers that conversation. It meant a lot to him. Even in real life, Brambles rarely meets other men who are interested in flowers around his age. Those who regularly visit the flower shop are women and older ladies, but never men who share similar hobbies with him like reading and playing video games. YJH is special.

Hearing him describe the flowers that he likes just makes him smile brightly. ]

Then we're going to make something really special with them.

[ Time for them to find some more flowers! ]

Did I ever tell you my favourite flower?

[ While he meant to ask, Joonghyuk got flustered and basically ran away before getting to learn what Brambles' favorite flower is. Actually, a part of him wants to turn on his heels after hearing that they're going to mae something really special, but that doesn't happen. ]

No. But you should tell me now.

[ He should because Joonghyuk wants to know!! Simple. ]

[ There's no running away now. Brambles just stops mid-walk and glances up at Joonghyuk before delivering his answer. ]

Daisies.

[ A sweet, simple answer, for a sweet simple flower. ]

[ That makes Joonghyuk stop as well, his eyes open wide when Brambles gazes up at him. Something about him is— ]

Sunflowers and daisies go well together... I think.

[ Joonghyuk looks away as he presses the flowers he's holding closer to his chest. ]

Let's go find some.

[ He nods and smiles. ] Right you are. You've definitely got the makings of a florist. Big flowers always go well with little flowers.

[ Which says something about their height difference, too. I mean. ]

I like daisies because of how carefree they are. They just grow wherever they want, modestly adding little pops of white to what would otherwise be a plain grassy field. They don't need to be big, beautiful and extravagant ... they're just small and brilliant. I love that.

They always go well together?

[ It sounds like a generalization, but at the same time it's not like he has that much experience with flowers. Actually, he probably shouldn't tell Brambles that he has murdered a few potted plants. ]

They look nice, though. And you are similar... kind of.

Mhm. You'll sparsely come across an arrangement without diversity in the size of the blooms.

[ Every flower arrangement sold in flower shops or grocery stores always follow this same sort of pattern. Big blooms accompanied by smaller blooms, oftentimes scattered with smaller ones like baby's breath.

There's an interested sparkle in his eyes as he smiles at Joonghyuk. ]

What makes you say that?

But they can also be sold alone.

[ He's not sure why he's said this in the first place. Obviously, Joonghyuk is getting a little flustered because talking about flowers and then comparing Brambles to one of them might make him think that this is some kind of a metaphor and—

Why is he concerned about what Brambles is going to think in the first place? Joonghyuk shakes his head. ]

You're also carefree. [ It's impossible not to recall Brambles telling him that he ate stuff from the ground. ] Maybe even a bit careless.

... They can be, yes. One single flower might be a simple but effective way to brighten someone's day.

[ Just like how his own day gets brightened whenever Joonghyuk logs on. Hmmmm. ]

Careless? [ He giggles. ] How's that?

[ HMMMMMMM. ]

Let's assume we find jacket potatoes with baked beans on the ground... what will you do?

[ This action will have consequences. ]

Well in a game I'd pop it in my inventory, of course!

[ And eat it later! ]

But in real life? I wouldn't go anywhere near it. That's careful!

It might be a cursed jacket potato with cursed baked beans, though.

[ If he pictures he's seen are anything to go by, no one needs to curse that meal, it does great on its own. ]

You need to be more careful in the game, too. With all these bugs popping up...

That's true. At least the flowers aren't buggy ... I think.

[ Behold, he has found the daisies! He crouches down to take a look. ]

Hmm. It might be hard to make something with these ... their stems aren't very long. Tall daisies like gerberas work better in arrangements.

[ Disappointing, but ... ] Let's try over there.

Sure.

[ Brambles knows more about botany, so he believes in his judgment. Besides, if he learned something about arrangements is that the longer the stem, the easier it is to knot it, especially if you make mistakes. ]

If you don't have anything to do back in the city... we could stay here until you have to log out.

[ Maybe this time he won't run away when he gets flustered!! ]

I'd like that, yeah.

[ Their last time was cut short by Joonghyuk's family emergency, after all. ]

Oh look ... [ He points to a flower bed of some daisy-looking things along with some other miscellaneous plants and flowers. ] Caulescent flowers. Exactly what we're after.

[ He picks a few up and puts them into his inventory immediately. ]

For some reason... it feels like this was added just for you.

[ While Joonghyuk was close to say for us, he didn't in the end. ]</small

No, for us.

[ Bramb has no idea that he read his mind. With a sunflower in his hand, he picks a white daisy-looking flower and lays it over the top. He holds both flowers in his hand and smiles. ]

Look, our favourites. They look so good together.

[ It feels weird because he mentioned this once to the Admin. Should he be grateful? Well, this is a very basic feature in games, so... maybe someday he's going to say thanks. ]

They do.

[ His eyes linger on the flowers while a bright blush spreads across his cheeks. ]

I'll try to recreate the arrangement we make today offline. And I will send you a picture.

[ Brambles wanted to see his previous attempts, so that's the least he can do. ]

[ He's blushing too. His heart is pounding madly in his chest. Is this just the thrill of gaming? Is this what being a pro gamer is? Picking flowers with another guy online and being immobilised with warm feelings?

(No, Brambles, it's not.) ]

Really? [ Brambles giggles. ] I'd love that! I'll have to make sure I'm a good teacher for you today, then.

[ He picks more daisies and some other miscellaneous pretty pink flowers. As he does, he blabbers about petals and the shapes and other exciting flower things. At least, they're exciting to him. ]

You're always a good teacher. I'm looking forward to what we make today.

[ Joonghyuk just listens in silence because it's nice when Brambles talks excitedly about things that aren't potatoes or food items found on the ground. ]

And you're a good student!

[ He offers the demonstration, which results in them producing something like this. ]

Haha, whenever I hold one of these, I always feel like I'm about to get married. Even though I know I can't get married, it's a nice thought. [ oh fuck why did he say that-- he's been so good at keeping his sexuality a secret-- ]

[ He didn't expect marriage to come up with one of their conversations, so Joonghyuk just looks away and hides his flushed cheeks behind his hand. ]

You can't get married? [ There's only one possible explanation... ] Does that mean you're married already?

[ what is this reaction, joonghyuk-- ]

N-No, God no-- I ... [ THIS IS MEANT TO BE A FLOWER SESSION ] It's not important! We can forget I said anything. We need to work on the flowers. [ PANIK ]

Why it's not important?

[ Guess who's going to be very adamant to pursue this topic and find out why Brambles can't marry!!! ⬆️ THIS GUY ]

[ Sigh. ]

Because you might stop playing with me.

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