Chapter Text
The evening light spilled through the hallway windows in long golden rectangles, dust motes drifting lazily through the beams. Saps stood at the far end, one hand gripping his backpack strap, the other gesturing wildly.
"Hurry up Micro!!!" Saps shouted across the hallway, his voice bouncing off the walls. "We're gonna be late!!"
The echo rippled through the empty corridor, but Micro remained rooted in place, barely registering the noise. His gaze was fixed on the balcony where Jophiel knelt among the pots, her fingers gentle as she tended to the leaves and petals. A soft breeze carried the scent of damp soil and blooming flowers through the open door.
She glanced over her shoulder, letting out a quiet sigh as she checked the clock. The minutes were slipping, and middle school waited for no one.
"Shouldn't you already be going?" Jophiel chuckled, her voice warm like the late afternoon sun. She reached out and ruffled Micro's hair, her fingers brushing through the soft strands.
She had noticed the way he lingered these past few days—the way his eyes followed her hands whenever she watered the plants, the way he leaned in just a little closer when she talked about sunlight and soil and how often to water each one.
If it wasn't obvious enough, he wanted something from more, or more like he deeply wanted to take care of something specific.
Micro fidgeted, his cheeks warming as he looked up at her, pointing shyly at the flowers Thomas had given him. "C-could you ummm teach me how to take care of them?" His voice came out quieter than he intended, but there was a light in his eyes—something soft and earnest that made Jophiel's smile widen.
She let out a gentle sigh, nodding. Finally, mercifully, Saps' shouting would stop.
Saps glared daggers at Micro as they finally started moving, his footsteps heavy and irritated against the tile floor. "I swear you and those flowers! Don't you know that we're already gonna be late and—"
Micro let the scolding wash over him like white noise, barely catching a word. Instead, he smiled to himself, a quiet, secret kind of excitement blooming in his chest. He was more excited to see the flowers be taken care of him instead.
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The afternoon sun beat down on the street, casting sharp shadows across the pavement. The chatter of the city hummed around them—distant cars, a bicycle bell, the clatter of a shop shutter being pulled down. Thomas had been quiet the whole walk, his gaze unfocused, trailing a few steps behind Flux without really meaning to.
"Thomas."
Nothing.
"Thomas!" Flux snapped his fingers sharply in front of the brunette's face, glaring as he thrust the vanilla ice cream forward. It had melted into a sticky, dripping mess, running over his fingers and pooling at the base of the cone.
Thomas blinked before getting pulled back in reality"O-oh my God I'm sorry I was just—"
"Spacing out? Again?" Flux let out a disappointed sigh, finally handing the melting delicacy over. He pulled a handkerchief from his pocket and wiped the sticky residue from his fingers with a look of disgust in his face. "I've been trying to get your attention this whole time! Look at the mess this ice cream has given to me… Eugh."
Thomas stayed silent, bringing the cone to his lips. He bit into it and immediately flinched—brain freeze stabbed through his skull like a tiny ice pick. He squeezed his eyes shut for a second, shaking it off.
Flux kept talking while purposely slowing down just enough so Thomas didn't have to rush to keep up. But Thomas' attention had already wandered again, snagged by a small pot of baby's breath displayed outside a flower shop. The tiny white blossoms swayed gently in the breeze, delicate and unassuming.
He abruptly stopped and stared at them which led to Flux nearly tripped when Thomas halted mid-step.
He clicked his tongue and followed the brunette's gaze, landing on the same pot of flowers. His expression turned into something no one could describe—something filled with mockery and pity.
A beat of silence stretched between them before Thomas cut through it.
"You think Mic misses me?" Thomas asked, his voice quiet, almost lost to the ambient noise of the street. His eyes didn't leave the flowers.
Flux looked at him, disappointment and something sharper and obvious distaste flickering in his gaze. "No he doesn't. Actually he probably hates you."
Thomas frowned, the words settling in his chest like a stone. It was probably true. He had left without a word, after all. Even brought flowers and acted like nothing was gonna happen.
They stood there for another long moment, the awkwardness thick enough to choke on. Then Flux coughed, nudging Thomas hard in the shoulder. "Are you done thinking about him yet or do I have to wait any longer?”
"I—I wasn't thinking about him!" Thomas hissed, his face flushing a soft pink.
Flux bit back a laugh, his shoulders shaking as Thomas stomped ahead, trying to put distance between them. "Hey wait up!" Flux giggled, jogging to catch up. He looked at Thomas with a sly smirk, enjoying the reaction way too much.
Thomas didn't like Micro. It was foolish to even think about that.
He didn't like Micro…
He… Didn't like Micro…
Yeah. That was it. Flux was just spouting nonsense.
As Thomas continued to convince himself, an image carved its way into his mind of a boy with eyes like pearls and soft hair, dancing in the wind. The other kid was giggling, breathless, as Thomas bombarded his cheek with kisses, their laughter echoing into the open air.
Flux watched whatever internal war Thomas was fighting, the way his expression flickered between denial and something softer. He just sighed.
"You're hopeless…"
"I am not!" Thomas immediately fought back, shaking his head violently as if he could physically dislodge the thought.
"God, let's just hurry up. Cyn is waiting. And your ice cream already melted into liquid, loser."
Thomas bit into the cone with a huff, the crunch loud in the afternoon air, and rolled his eyes.
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The classroom was stuffy, the drone of the teacher's voice filling the space like background static. Micro sat near the window, chin resting on his palm, his pen spinning lazily between his fingers—round and round—catching the light with each rotation. The teacher at the front continued speaking about something Micro had already stopped processing. His mind had already drifted somewhere, somewhere between Jophiel guiding him between soil and showing a familiar brunette the flowers he kept treasured.
He could feel a small smile creep onto his face and didn't realize he had started swinging his feet in excitement.
When the bell finally rang, Micro lit up like a switch had been flipped. He shoved his notebooks and pens into his bag with reckless speed, not bothering to organize anything, and stood up to leave.
But before he could even turn to leave, a girl about his height appeared at his desk. She was fidgeting nervously, her fingers twisting around something hidden behind her back.
Micro blinked in confusion, curiously tilting his head.
She pushed a chocolate bar toward him, her eyes wide and expectant. "I-its for you…" She twirled a strand of her hair, her cheeks already burning.
"O-oh,” Micro stared at it before continuing “uhh, thank you." He took the chocolate awkwardly, and the girl immediately spun around and ran back to her friends, who erupted into hushed giggles as she buried her face in her hands.
"Oooh~!"
Saps appeared from nowhere, draping himself over Micro's shoulder with a grin so wide it looked painful. "Someone likes Microooo~!"
Micro slammed his shoulder into Saps' chest, shoving him off with a scoff.
"Ah! Okay okay I get it!!! You're probably thinking about Thomas, aren't ya?"
Micro froze entirely. His entire body went rigid, and then he was swinging, hitting Saps relentlessly, his face turning a deep, burning crimson.
"I don't like Thomas! Are you crazy?! I hate him, I hate him, I hate him!" Each word was punctuated by another smack against Saps' arm.
Saps whined, ducking and dodging before breaking into a sprint, bursting out of the classroom like his life depended on it.
Micro huffed, chest heaving. He caught a glimpse of the girl covering her face, probably thinking he was blushing about her gift.
He walked past her, still red to the tips of his ears, replaying Saps' words in his head.
"I don't like Thomas… what nonsense is he even spouting." The words came out as a mumble, barely audible.
"Hey Micro!"
He looked up to see Neptune was waving at him from down the hall, grinning ear to ear. "Come on, let's hang somewhere!"
The heat in Micro's cheeks finally started to fade as he returned a casual smile. "Sure!" He jogged over, falling into step with his friends like nothing had happened.
I mean it was better to ignore it than have everyone fussing over his stupid little crush.
Panzer threw an arm around his shoulder, and immediately the conversation shifted. The noise of it filled the space around him, making everything else forgetable.
Micro pulled the chocolate bar from his pocket and tore open the corner, taking a bite out of it. As he chewed slowly his eyes furrowed into something disappointing.
"Strange… These taste different…"
"Huh?" Banana looked at him, confused, and reached over to take a piece without even asking. As he continued to chew he shrugged looking at Micro with normal causality. "What are you on? It tastes the same."
"O-oh, it's nothing. What were you saying?" Micro brushed it off, taking another bite as his friends continued talking around him.
But the taste lingered on his tongue. Familiar, but off—like a song played in the wrong key. He swallowed and let the conversation carry him forward, shoving the thought to the back of his mind.
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The front door clicked shut behind Thomas, and the silence of the house settled around him like a blanket. He trudged up the stairs, each step heavier than the last, until he finally reached his room and flopped onto his bed. The mattress groaned under his weight as he let out a long, deep sigh, the tension of the day bleeding out of him in waves. His limbs sank into the sheets like they were made of lead.
He was just about to drift off when his phone buzzed against the nightstand.
He groaned into his pillow, face-down, before blindly reaching out and grabbing the device. His fingers moved on autopilot, typing in the familiar password.
520013815
The screen lit up, and he squinted against the sudden brightness, rubbing his eyes. A message from Snowbird.
Yo Thomas are you still up to play with the conspiracy?
He stared at the text, his eyelids heavy, before typing back.
Nope can't, Flux might be able to play tho.
Kk
Thomas tossed the phone back onto the nightstand and rolled onto his back, staring up at the ceiling. The shadows of evening crept across the room, the faint glow of streetlights beginning to seep through the curtains. His mind, freed from the distraction of the screen, started to wander—drifting from nothing to something, settling on an image he'd been trying to shake all day.
Those flowers. The baby's breath. Small and white and delicate, swaying in the breeze outside that shop.
"Ughhhh… I really want to get those same flowers…" The words slipped out before he could stop them, barely a whisper in the quiet room.
He scratched his head, messing them up more as he thought about it clearly. Maybe he could ask Crow to buy them so that he won't be teased by Elanuelo and Turkey…
He clutched his pillow harder, pressing his face into it as he just sighed and blinked slowly until the world faded into darkness.
As sleep took him, his hands instinctively dug into the fabric, gripping it like it might disappear if he let go.
"Mic…" The name came out soft, muffled against the pillow. He nuzzled deeper, his shoulders relaxing, all the tension finally melting away. "Mmhhf…" He turned over, pulling the blanket up, and drifted deeper into rest.
Behind the door, Flux was climbing the stairs, a bag of chips balanced in one arm, ready to stay up all night and get scolded for it in the morning. He froze mid-step when he heard the name slip through the crack in the door.
He froze for a second before a grin spread across his face. He stifled a chuckle, careful not to make a sound, and pulled out his phone. While walking to his room he opened Snowbird's contact and typed with one hand.
Lol I think I just heard Thomas talk about the kid he liked.
Flux watched as Snowbird saw the message and immediately started typing.
LMAO?!
Oh my god bro our bestfriend is chud...
Flux was about to send another message before being interrupted with Snowbird's response.
Who even is his crush I never even knew them lowkey…
Flux started giggling as he laid back into his chair, dropping all the snacks he had and started typing with both hands.
It was this Micro kid. He was like reallyyyyy quiet and allat just some weird loser.
Whta
The immediate reaction of Snowbird made Flux tilt his head.
What's up bro?
MICRO??? AS IN MY BROTHER MICRO???
Flux froze and nearly dropped his phone from the message.
He's your what
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