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The day before Yuuta leaves overseas, Toge gifts him a pot of white clovers.
Yuuta doesn't know much about flowers. They're pretty and they grow in random places. They come in a variety of shapes and colors and sometimes they smell good and other times they smell like nothing, and sometimes they stink. Dandelions aren't flowers but weeds, and some plants that bear flowers aren't really considered flowers. Inumaki likes flowers a lot for reasons he hasn't explained, and the flowers that Inumaki takes care of and devotes his time to are as pretty as he is.
That's as far as Yuuta's knowledge about flowers go.
Inumaki doesn't say anything when he thrusts the pot into Yuuta's arms, barely jostling the tiny flowers inside. The pot is a dark black, made of stained ceramic and feeling new. The shorter boy must have just gotten it and filled it with the flowers, because the pot is a bit shiny and slippery with that new, not-quite-worn-out feel. Yuuta tightens his group so he doesn't drop it.
White clovers are one of the flowers that grow abundantly in Inumaki's garden, and Yuuta only knows their name because of the Herbs and Flowers handbook Toge had lent him. The flowers are small with tiny white petals, stemming from a green and gold center. They look more like weeds than dandelions do and they grow kinda grass-like, leaves and stems everywhere, but somehow Toge has managed to take a small portion and pot it perfectly. White clovers don't have a strong smell and Yuuta has to bury his face in the pot to smell anything at all, and even then he gets a tiny whiff of something vaguely perfumey.
Inumaki looks nervous in front of him and Yuuta doesn't really understand why. The pot is light enough for Yuuta to carry but it's uncomfortably big, so he puts it down by his feet before looking up at the other boy. Toge's hair is floppy off-white and his eyes are that same bedazzling amethyst that Yuuta can't get used to. He almost looks like a white clover budd himself, white and a little yellow and lots of pink-purple.
"These are for me?" Yuuta asks.
Toge nods his head, eyes bright but downcast. Yuuta can see his ears turning pink, the bridge of his nose and the tops of his cheeks that peak out from his collar turning the same color. Cute, it's so so, so cute. The way Toge looks nervous for once, long eyelashes fluttering as he tries to look up at the taller boy without catching his eyes.
Yuuta can do nothing but smile. "You want me to take these with me?"
Inumaki just nods his head again, spilling a low " shake" from his lips. He's bold enough to look Yuuta in the eyes now, royal purple into shining teal. He reaches his hands up to sign something, makes sure to do it slowly since Yuuta is still learning.
Plant them, wherever you go. They're pretty and they grow easily.
That much was true; they filled giant garden beds behind the school, growing in the crevices between concrete walkspaces. Kinda invasive, the type of plant that others who weren't Inumaki wouldn't want in their garden, but Toge welcomed them. Let them breed as the weeds they were because they were tiny and pretty and provided a different type of life that the other, more profound flowers didn't.
"I will," Yuuta promised. He may not be as knowledgeable about plants and gardening that Toge was, but he could put some weeds in the ground and water them when he had the time if it made the white haired boy happy. "But why these?"
There's a beat of silence where Inumaki freezes, eyes going wide as he tenses. White clovers were definitely not the most convenient flower to give, especially to someone who would be going overseas, but Yuuta isn't complaining. Toge stays tensed before he relaxes, shrugging his shoulders and signing once again. ' I like them. Don't you?'
"Yes!" Yuuta almost shouts, blushing in embarrassment. "I like them a lot. They're kinda cute, you know. Like you." He didn't mean to say the last part, definitely didn't, but it's out now and Inumaki's gem-like eyes go wide once again. Yuuta can feel his own ears burn red.
' Well,' Inumaki signs back. 'It's good that you like them. They also remind me of you.'
Warmth blooms in Yuuta's chest with the words, even if they aren't said aloud. He knows he's blushing heavily now, heat radiating from his neck up to his cheeks, and thankfully Toge keeps quiet about it. The other boy clearly sees it though, with the way he's snickering into his collar, lashes fluttering as his eyes close with the bend of a smile. Yuuta wishes he could see it.
They don't talk about how Yuuta will be leaving tomorrow, even if they can both feel it through the aches of their smiles. Yuuta can feel the weight of it in the back of his chest as a simple reminder that this, looking at Inumaki face to face and seeing him laugh and be happy, will come few and far between once he leaves. They'll still talk—Yuuta knows this for sure—but it'll be through the crackles of phone speakers or the blurry camera of a video call, not in person. Yuuta won't be able to see Toge just like this, pale skin a little pink and off-white hair glinting in the sunlight, the tinkle of his laugh and a pot of white clovers at their feet.
He'll miss this more than anything. Misses this, Toge, so much already. But Yuuta pushes the feeling back a little farther, tells it to wait until the inevitable tomorrow, where he'll let it come out full force. Now, he wants to bask in Inumaki, of the purple eyes staring at him with fondness and a soft something else Yuuta couldn't place. Wants to go into the shorter boys garden and count every single white clover that grew in the ground and say this, this number times a million is just a little fraction of how much I love you.
Yuuta settles for picking up the black pot at his feet, holding it tight to his chest. And maybe the clovers smell a bit stronger now, a little bit sweeter.
"I'll plant them everywhere." Yuuta says, and watches as Inumaki's face glows.
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Herbs and Flowers Handbook, 3rd Edition, Page 231: Elizabethan Flower Symbolism Meaning: "Think of me."