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“That is the dopest plant I’ve ever seen in my life.” Jungkook fondles the bottom of the cups of the plant that’s caught his attention, leaning over to peer into them. He’s sure there’s a Pokémon based on it or something. Inquisitive still, debit card burning to get his attention in his back pocket, he hazards a try at sticking a finger in. The back of his hand grazes the lip at the top and he-
“No, no, excuse me,” a voice says from across the room, coming louder the closer he gets, making Jungkook jump like he was freed from the trance of the plant. “Excuse me, please take your finger out of that Nepenthes. It wants flies in there, not your fingers.”
Jungkook screeches in embarrassment, hand jolting back to be cradled into his chest by his other. He looks up and sees the shop assistant come to a stop next to him, hands on hips. His brows are pulled into a concerned frown accompanied by a delicate pout and it pains Jungkook to see that his concern is directed at the fucking plant instead of him. He could’ve died for all he knew.
Caught red-handed with nowhere to run, he does what anyone else would do - babble. “I’m sorry I just saw it and I’m sure I was stuck in a stupor or something like, have you seen this thing? It looks like a fuckin-uh- what’s it called? Victreebel! Y’know? The Pokémon? I’m sorry I didn’t know that was bad for the plant. I don’t even know why I did that, it seemed cosy in there. You see, I uh, I’m not making excuses I promise, I’m really sorry but my therapist said it could help to ground me when my thingy, my- my- dissociation kicks in because it gives me something to focus on when I’m floaty and stuff. It’s not so bad, I can deal with it, but I forget things sometimes, like hours or whole days and having something to take care of might help but I don’t know anything about plants. This was a bad idea maybe, I’m sorry again, I’ll just-“
“It’s okay.”
“I’ll just- what?”
The shop assistant sighs. “I said it’s okay. You wanna take a few breaths? Breathe with me?”
Jungkook’s sure it probably looks odd to the other shoppers flitting around but he nods. He follows the other lad’s breaths, likes how he ticks his head slightly with each second because he must know the timings for controlled breathing.
“You good?”
Jungkook nods again. “I’m good.”
“That’s good then. He’s cool lookin’, huh?”
“The plant?”
“The Nepenthes,” the shop assistant corrects, an eyebrow raised with a grin.
“The Nepenthes,” Jungkook echoes, “is the coolest thing I’ve ever seen.”
The shop assistant hums his agreement, runs a gentle finger along the length of a leaf. Jungkook watches the movement, trails his eyes back up to his face to catch the soft look in his eyes. He hates that he could’ve missed this- missed him- if he’d let the adrenaline from his anxiety power him into running. He’s beautiful. Beautiful and at home, surrounded by greenery in a green apron with a green thumb. “Were you thinking about buying one?”
“I don’t know much about plant care but I thought one that needs regular care would be best. Not necessarily that plant, just one I can adopt. I was thinking about a plant that needs something at least once a week.”
“So I wouldn’t go for a Nepenthes as a beginner, might be overkill.”
Jungkook nods, only grieving the plant just a little. Waving goodbye to it in his mind. “Could you recommend one? Or two? Or five?”
“Of course,” the shop assistant says, grins, “I’ll even write down the care needed for the one you choose, how about that?”
“I mean, you can place it in the house yourself if you want,” Jungkook comments, he’s joking, or he thinks he is.
The joke lands when the assistant giggles, looking Jungkook up and down. “You don’t even know my name yet, Nepenthes Boy.”
Jungkook scoffs, following behind the other lad when he turns to take him to other plants, letting his eyes graze over the plants above and around them, stroking down a vine of one falling to near his face. He watches in the corner of his eye as the assistant rotates plants or carries another to a different area as he goes. “I’d like to know yours, Plant Angel. My name’s Jungkook.”
“Plant Angel, I like the sound of that. Nepenthes Boy and Plant Angel, who’s the superhero and who’s the sidekick?”
“I know when to defer to experts. I’m quite comfortable being a sidekick right now.”
When Jungkook turns his head back he grinds to a halt when he’s near colliding with a broad back. He takes a few steps back out the way as Plant Angel turns on his heel. He’s holding a white pot with a plant of sprawling, lopsided leaves coloured in a pattern of purple, pink and green in one hand and his free one outstretched, which Jungkook takes to shake. “My name’s Taehyung and this baby is my expert-certified pick.”
Jungkook raises a hand to lift a single leaf with the back of it. “It’s incredible,” he says, tilting his head to catch a glimpse of weirdly hairy stems, “what’s it called?”
“Begonia Rex. A rewarding first plant if you get to know them.”
“Rewarding?”
Taehyung holds out the pot for Jungkook to take the plant instead, which he does, with a little more caution than probably needed. “With proper care and repotting, they can grow quite quickly. Otherwise, they’re prone to getting root bound, which can also cause its leaves to lose colour. Being a beginner and getting a new friend to grow up so much can be a big boost of confidence.”
Jungkook coos at the plant, too enamoured to be embarrassed. “You’re just a little baby then, right? What about when you’re all grown and about to get a mortgage because you’ve outgrown the house?”
“I have a Dieffenbachia back home that I measured recently and I actually let out a few tears when she’d grown to 4 foot tall. It seriously felt like my daughter was all grown up. You know those plants? They’re also known as Dumb Cane.”
Jungkook snaps his head up. “Dumb Cane? I don’t think I know them. That’s a pretty unfortunate name. Have you got a picture of her?”
“Of course I do, wait one second,” Taehyung says, pulling his phone from a little pocket in his apron, “they’re actually called Dumb Cane because if you ingest the sap it can make you temporarily unable to speak. My daughter is so threatening in her own way. Okay, here.”
Jungkook beams so wide when the phone is turned his way. On the screen, a proud Taehyung smiling at the Dumb Cane, with the tell-tale redness around his eyes and a tape measure standing next to her to show off just how tall she’d grown, despite being half the size of her father. “She’s a wonderful lady, so big and strong. Does she have a name?”
“Isn’t she just. She’s called Lemon Curd,” Taehyung says, grabbing the bridge of his nose between his free thumb and index, letting out a painful sigh before he continues, “after my worm on a string that my friend’s dog ate and passed out a few days later.”
Jungkook waits a few extra seconds for the added ‘I’m kidding’ and doesn’t even try to contain the explosive laugh he lets out when it never comes. “After your- after- worm on a string. No, I can’t- how? I’m fine- I’m- oh my god.” Taehyung ends up taking the Begonia Rex off him while he screeches, giggling alongside him even if he wasn’t gasping for breaths like the cute Nepenthes Boy.
“That’s why I don’t tell people her name.”
“Are you kidding? That’s the best sort of name. I want a cat in the future, to call binbag or something. Those names are the best.” Jungkook straightens up from where his spine had curved to accommodate the wheezes, puts on a put-together façade. “Did you retrieve Lemon Curd Senior, though?”
Taehyung grimaces. “I am not stooping so low as to go through dog excrement for my fallen child.”
“There’s nothing wrong with a recovery mission.”
“Absolutely not,” Taehyung says, waving his free hand in front of him. He passes the plant back over. “Do you trust me to give you the Begonia to take home, then?”
Jungkook feels the easy smile on his face when he sees the thinly concealed shyness in Taehyung’s eyes when they meet with his as if he’s a little worried that Jungkook won’t approve of the plant he chose for him. Now that he thinks about it, it feels a little personal, picking out a new plant for someone to love and cherish and watch thrive. Nonetheless, he has his answer. “I trust you.”
Taehyung stays silent, nodding his head a few times, a fond smile creeping up into the corners of his lips. He leads them away again to the till where he pulls a bag and a notepad. He grabs a pen from a different pocket of the apron from his phone and starts scribbling down notes.
“So, I’m jotting down what you need to do daily for light, water and pruning requirements. As well as repotting and how to repot. I put a quick list at the top for tools you should grab to make your life a lot easier and how to create a humid atmosphere without getting water on his leaves. I’m sure I’d be able to find the best place in the house for him but I can’t get off work early so you’ll have to do it for me.”
Taehyung rings up the cost of the plant and Jungkook pays on his debit card when it’s needed. He can’t help but feel like he read the situation wrong. That it was just a friendly passing comment and that his tone gave away too much because it now feels like Taehyung is trying to hurry him along and out the store. It’d make sense if he was maybe an electronics seller, able to claim extra in commission per sale, but he’s just the most beautiful boy in the most beautiful garden shop and Jungkook doesn’t understand. He finds himself deflated and a little irritated by the time he gets home, but not taking care of a plant out of spite would be the opposite of progressive and he doesn’t enjoy pettiness even if his instincts jump towards it.
Jungkook begrudgingly opens up the notes to scan down the list, softens with each asterisk at the start some important lines, softens even more with each smiley face or little heart at the end of others and heaves a sigh of relief when he reaches the end only to see:
Kim Taehyung – X XXXX XXXXXX – I trust you too
Jungkook calls his new son Taehyung Junior.