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When Reo asked Nagi where he wanted to go for their first date, he wasn’t expecting to end up in the middle of a plant nursery. It was hot inside the greenhouse, and painfully humid.
Nagi was walking up and down the aisles, pointing out cool or weird looking plants. “Look, Reo,” he said. Reo followed Nagi’s gaze and snorted when he saw a tall, roundish cactus.
“Kinda looks like a dildo,” Reo said. Nagi threw a blank, unimpressed look over his shoulder and sighed dramatically.
“Then we are not getting that one,” Nagi said, already moving on to the next cactus.
“Why a cactus?” Reo asked. He bent down and watched a little ladybug crawl along a plant’s long leaf.
Nagi picked up another smaller pot and turned it, narrowing his eyes. “Because cacti are supposed to be hard to kill,” Nagi said, setting the pot back down.
Reo hummed and eyed a particularly shriveled looking cactus. “Since when do you know a bunch about plants?” Reo asked.
Nagi grabbed a cactus at the very end of the shelf and grinned. “I don’t,” he said easily, “but I want a kid, and I know we couldn’t keep an animal alive.”
Reo almost laughed embarrassingly loud. Nagi held out a cute looking cactus. It had two smaller parts growing from the main part of the plant settled deep in the dry soil.
“Kind of looks like—”
“If you say a dildo, I’m breaking up with you,” Nagi interrupted.
Reo did laugh loudly this time. Apparently too loud, if the strange look the old woman watering some plants shot him. “I was gonna say a bunny,” he finished, wiping a tear from the corner of his eye.
Nagi’s shoulders slumped in relief—as if the idea of Reo calling his chosen cactus a dildo would cause him genuine emotional turmoil.
“What should we name him?” Nagi held the plant up towards the sun. Reo was sure he’d seen a movie scene that looked exactly like this.
“You’re supposed to name plants?” Reo asked.
Nagi nodded quickly. “Of course,” he said.
“What about Choki? It’s kinda shaped like scissors,” Reo offered.
Nagi’s mouth formed a small ‘o’. “Like rock paper scissors,” Nagi said. He held the cactus—Choki—out again and nodded with a sense of finality. The same old lady that stared at Reo rung Choki up and gave them a small receipt.
“That type of cactus should bloom once it reaches maturity,” the woman said. Nagi’s eyes widened and he took another moment to admire his new plant. “What color?” Nagi asked.
“Probably a melon yellow,” she said with a small smile. “Maybe a blush pink. It depends on the exact variety you have.”
Nagi nodded and bid the woman goodbye. He really did hope Choki would bloom.
On their walk back, Nagi cradled Choki to his chest like you would a small child. “So which one of us would be his mother?” Nagi wondered out loud.
It was less humid outside of the greenhouse, but Reo was eager to get back in the cool air inside Nagi’s apartment.
“We’re both boys,” Reo said, “and you’re not very mom-like.”
Nagi nodded in agreement. “You’re definitely mom-like, Reo,” he pointed out, “but Choki can have two dads.”
When they made it back to Nagi’s place, Choki was set gently on the living room windowsill. He pulled the blinds up and let bright sunlight wash over the room. Reo filled a cup with a little bit of water and handed it over to Nagi. He poured some on top of the soil and watched Choki quickly drink it up.
“Choki was thirsty,” Nagi mumbled. He watched the cactus closely, almost as if he was expecting it to do tricks.
"Remember not to water him too much,” Reo said, “he’ll get root rot or something.”
“I should take him over to your house for visits,” Nagi said. Reo ruffled his hair and chuckled.
“Sure. I’ll reserve a spot on my window for Choki.”
Nagi’s smile made the silly little cactus run worth it.