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Sunflowers are a sign of loyalty and admiration. A sign of having a faith in someone so strong that it consumes you, and in turn they become someone you depend on, someone you trust when the world is at its cruelest. That might not always be a good thing, trust when given too freely can easily be turned against you. But when you’re able to trust the right people, loyalty is a valued treasure.
To be able to put those that you care about before yourself is an incredible one, a trait that makes a person strong and dependable, an ability that allows anyone to become a great friend and a valuable asset to any team. Sunflowers are a sign of joy and prosperity, flowers that look for the sun, no matter how dark it may be. A sign of optimism and perseverance through the most horrible of times. A beacon of light that outshines all that surround it.
This is exactly why Easthies associates them with Lulucy, whose loyalty has never failed her. The strongest person he knows, both physically and mentally, who’s always there for him when he needs it most. He’s known Lulucy for almost ten years now and there’s not been a single moment in those ten years in which he hasn’t been extremely thankful for her presence. She’s his anchor in a way, a grounding force in the chaos that is Easthies’ life. She’s dedicated and determined, kind and nurturing. All the things that Easthies isn’t.
So it’s a surprise to him when he sees a bouquet of sunflowers on his desk, Soft and warm — a shade of yellow that rivals the celestial body that it was named after. They gleam in the light coming from the window, brightening the usually gloomy office space in a way that Easthies can’t help but admire. He picks up the bouquet, checking for a note or any insinuation of who the flowers might be from. As a declaration of love, Sunflowers are definitely not the thing that Easthies himself would have had in mind, but he knows that’s not what these flowers are for. These are a way of giving thanks.
Sunflowers are symbols of admiration, but never struck himself as the type of person somebody would admire, he’s harsh, uncaring and ambitious — trying to achieve what seems to be an impossible dream — and is aware that people view him as such. He knows that he has admirers, notices the way that some of the girls at the Assembly look at him, he can only observe as they twirl their hair in a desperate attempt to flirt with him. This feels different, he knows it.
He’s so focused on the flowers that he doesn’t notice Lulucy walk in, holding a stack of documents Easthies can only assume are for him. Lulucy places the aforementioned documents on his desk before speaking. “Easthies, I’m sorry to bother you but Sage Vinnana wanted me to give you these.”
“That’s fine. I’ll be done with them as soon as I can.” Easthies replies absentmindedly, not fully paying attention to what’s happening around him. Which isn’t usually like him, he’ll allow it though. Just this once.
Lulucy stays for a few moments, as though she were observing Easthies. She notices the flowers in Easthies hands, a light smile painting her features. “You seem to be enjoying those flowers.” Lulucy comments after a while, picking one of the Sunflowers up. “Do you know who gave them to you?”
“Not yet, but I have a feeling.”
“A feeling?”
“Correct me if I’m wrong, but thank you Lulucy.” Easthies replies, placing the flowers down so he can look up at her. “The flowers are beautiful.”
“I promise you it’s nothing.” Lulucy stammers, unused to such direct praise. “What made you realise they were from me?”
Easthies can’t really give her a straight answer, It’s difficult to put his gratitude for Lulucy into words, he’s not even fully sure as to why she’s thanking him. Easthies hasn’t done anything particularly noteworthy — not that he can think of anyways. So it takes him a few minutes before he’s able to think of anything to say.
“I don’t understand what you’re thanking me for.”
“That’s not answering the question, Easthies.”
“I know. But the point still stands, I don’t think i’ve done anything that warrants your gratitude”
“Don’t say that, you’ve done plenty of things that deserve to be thanked for. Despite what you’d like to believe you have many redeeming qualities. You’re a confident and decisive leader. Kind, understanding, and most importantly you stand up for what you believe in, even if that makes you unpopular with others.” Lulucy gives Easthies another warm smile, like she’s been wanting to say that for a while. “I could go on, but I don't want to bore you.”
It takes Easthies a few moments to register what Lulucy has said, he’s never been one for receiving compliments. (he’s never really been one for giving them either, but that’s neither here nor there). The idea that people look up to him will be something that he’ll never truly be able to comprehend — maybe that’s just his low self-esteem talking, maybe it’s the fact that praise is something he’s never really expected (especially in his line of work — people will always hate the Knights more than they will like them after all)
“I honestly don’t have any words, but thank you. I think very highly of you as well.”
“Like I mentioned before, it’s the least I could do. Your office could really use some brightening up after all.”
“That’s very true. It does get very dull here from time to time.” Easthies comments, Lulucy makes an excellent point, there’s not very much in his office besides his paperwork (which only serves to make the gloomy atmosphere worse), a small pride flag and a two framed photos —- one of which is from his graduation party and the other a photo of the knights from that time they went drinking together (an incident, that while never forgotten, will never happen again).
Easthies does have to admit that the Sunflowers are a nice contrast to the overwhelming feeling that his current space provides him, their bright, all-encompassing warmth and security a nice change from the dull feel of the greys and beiges that usually surround it. Maybe they’d even be able to boost his productivity — he says this like he’s not already extremely overworked, but that’s a problem for a different day.
“Exactly. So accept my thanks and take the flowers.”
“I will.”
“Perfect, I should probably get going now so as to not distract you from your work.” She laughs to herself quietly, as though she just told herself a funny joke. “Although I don’t think that's going to be a problem.”
“I guess I’ll see you later then. Easthies replies. “I’ll drop the papers outside Sage Vinnana’s room as soon as I can. And again, thank you Lulucy. For everything.”
And with that Lulucy leaves Easthies alone, leaving him to deal with his own thoughts once again. Mostly about her. Lulucy, who reminds him of Sunflowers, who’s kind and admirable and as loyal as they come, who’s talent and effort will forever go unrecognised. His best friend, the person he trusts above all else. He’ll express his own gratitude properly, one day and when that day comes he hopes that Lulucy will be able to see how much she means to him.
He will never understand why Lulucy admires him, that’s not important. But he’ll forever be thankful for her, and he supposes that’s enough