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Minho and Jisung have been friends for a very, very long time.
Minho was too shy to be friends with anyone, and Jisung was too popular with all the kids to even have time to think about being friends with nerdy Minho.
But fate must have been playing that day, when Minho found himself sharing a bus ride home with the new cool kid. It was shy glances from a barely thirteen years old Jisung at first, that ended up with Jisung sitting beside Minho until he dropped off one bus stop before Minho. And Minho still didn't understand why Jisung chose to sit beside him, when he never talked to him.
That changed one morning, just when summer vacation was around the corner. Jisung sat on his usual seat beside Minho on the bus, but this time he offered Minho a hand and a shy blush on his cheeks.
"I'm Jisung," he had said, voice so shaky that Minho thought him impossible to be the coolest kid in school.
Still, Minho had no friends and, even if he was scared of being associated with him, there was a tug on his heart that told him he had to shake his hand.
"I'm Minho."
That's how their friendship started. Minho, just about to start with his last year in High School and Jisung, somewhere in the middle but way more known than any of the oldest kids already. He was just that popular.
But that didn't stop Minho from finding his best friend in Jisung during that summer. Because Jisung never gave a single damn about anyone else the second they shook hands. He kept growing in popularity, being invited to parties he wasn't still allowed to go to, but all he did was spend endless hours beside Minho on his bed, playing games and reading manga.
Minho never questioned their friendship. He saw Jisung in a different light compared to anyone else, saw who he really was. He saw the shyness hidden behind a snapback, the insecurities behind the flannel shirts he started wearing at eighteen.
Minho grew to go and live his life as a future physicist, and Jisung followed two years later to the same university, to study marine biology. It was a surprise to everyone, that Jisung was into science. But it wasn't a surprise at all to Minho, the one that went with Jisung countless times to the aquarium, who watched nature documentals beside him until it was early morning once again.
So many things changed in their lives, but Minho and Jisung wasn't one of them.
Minho had presented as a stamen a few hours after he became friends with Jisung. He was a late bloomer, everyone told him, to the point he was sure he would never show as anything and stay a calyx. But the moment he arrived home that afternoon, a single daisy appeared on his arm, and it never stopped blooming since.
Jisung presented as a pistil a few days later. He was just in time, exactly when he was expected to bloom. A pretty, strong brown stem on his back, ready to be bloomed in the faraway future.
And it stayed like that for many, many years. Minho with daisies in every crevice of his body, blooming stronger and stronger as the time went by, and Jisung with his surprisingly empty stem.
Minho got to understand why he bloomed more than other stamens when he was just about to finish his degree – when he realized he was in love with Jisung.
Every stamen he knew bragged about making others bloom through orgasms, something Minho couldn't understand. Something Minho thought he could never do, but something everyone deserved regardless.
It wasn't a surprise to him when he realized he bloomed every time Jisung made his heart clench. Every time they spent their time close, cuddling, a new daisy would appear in a place nobody would ever see, something only for him to know.
What was a surprise for Minho, though, is that Jisung never wore a single flower more than on one occasion.
It happened when Jisung started university and fell into the same popular life he had in High School. He met a pretty boy Minho was too jealous about in a party, a guy that left him a single, withering rose. But it left as quick as it appeared, and Minho had never seen one in his skin ever again.
Everyone thinks of Jisung as a fuckboy. He's popular with boys and girls alike, to the point everyone gossips about his body count, thinking that he likes to hide the flowers that come and go on his body. But Minho knows, when Jisung comes back to their apartment, that beneath his t-shirt Jisung isn't wearing a single flower.
Minho has asked Jisung about it before. His answer was simple: he wasn't interested.
And Minho understood, because he's not interested either, repulsed even. And Minho thinks Jisung deserves to be wearing the flowers of someone he loves, but at the same time he knows his own flowers won't be in anyone's body either. Not when the one he wishes to wear them is Jisung, not when the idea of doing such thing horrifies him to the core.
He could give Jisung his whole life, but that kind of intimacy... Minho could never.
Minho started to think they could be weird like that, together. Jisung would never bloom and Minho would never make anyone bloom, and it would be okay. Jisung always looks more than okay with it, and all Minho wants is Jisung's happiness. Only that.
The thoughts of them just being together for the rest of their lives, even if only as friends, have been permanent in Minho’s mind. That, until Jisung started to behave oddly one day.
Middle of June, and Minho is working on his astrophysics masters degree. He's really close to finish his side project on black holes, right in time to get his and Jisung's dinner ready. Jisung should be back from the beach already, but he's late. That's a first, at least for the past year they've been living together.
When Jisung arrives Minho has already two bowls of steaming udon on their kitchen table, and Jisung is wearing a blush on his face and a too thick of a sweater for how hot it is outside.
"Welcome home, Jisungie," Minho greets him, a small, concerned frown on his face. "Isn't it too hot outside for a sweater?"
It's like Jisung comes out of a dazed state with Minho's words, his blush deepening.
"H-huh? Oh, uhm... not really? It's kinda chill outside right now."
Minho knows when Jisung is lying. He gets fidgety, exactly like when Jisung sits on the table, and avoids all kinds of visual contact, just like right now. But Minho knows better than to push it, because he knows Jisung's boundaries all too well.
Their dinner is quiet but nice, and it doesn't worry Minho. Their time washing the dishes is quiet as well, and it doesn't worry Minho. But, the second Jisung announces he's too tired for a movie and goes to his own room to sleep, Minho's heart clenches with something sour and ugly.
Minho grows more and more worried the more layers of clothing Jisung keeps wearing. He hasn't arrived late again since that day, but Jisung spends time outside home more and more lately, and Minho's heart breaks a little bit more each second he spends away from him.
Minho suspects Jisung has found someone. Someone that can finally give him what Minho could never, to paint him the prettiest flowers for everyone to see.
What hurts even more is that Jisung doesn't seem to want to share it with him. To tell him about the person he's been out so much for, to show him how beautiful his flowers are. And when Minho asks if there's something going on, all Jisung does is blush and quietly answer no.
It's the end of July when Minho can't stand it anymore.
Jisung has been avoiding him more than usual, barely coming home, saying that he's been too busy at the research center. But Minho misses Jisung's touch and embrace so much it hurts, so much to the point he would rather be told the truth so he can grieve something he knew he couldn't have from the very beginning.
It's late at night when Jisung comes back, late enough for Minho to be asleep already. That's why Jisung seems surprised when he sees his best friend sitting on the couch, only the table lamp lighting the living room.
Jisung looks alarmed when he meets Minho's eyes but, the second he takes in the deplorable state Minho is, his eyes grow concerned.
"Minho? What are you doing here awake?"
Minho tries to gulp the lump on his throat, but it's useless. His love is too thick to do so.
Jisung, wearing his now usual sweater, closes the distance to sit beside Minho, grabbing his hands. "Baby, what's wrong?"
It's been so long since Jisung has called Minho baby that a single tear threatens to drop from his waterline. He takes a deep breath, remembers he's in no right to question anything Jisung does with his life, and exhales.
"I just miss you so much, Jisung."
Regret and anguish paints Jisung's face, and in no time he has Minho in his embrace, holding him so tight that a tear finally rolls down his cheek.
"Minho hyung, I'm- I'm so sorry, I..."
"You found love, didn't you?"
Jisung breaks the hug to look at Minho, bewildered.
"What...?"
Minho dries his cheek and looks at Jisung, who has a growing blush on his cheeks. So he was right.
"Please, don't hide from me, Jisung." Minho swallows more tears, trying not to show too much of his heart on his sleeve. "You don't have to wear sweaters to hide the flowers from me. You don't have to lie to me. Just... please, don't run away from me."
Jisung's gaze goes back and forth from his eyes, and a single tear falls as if he's realized something.
"Minho, you –“
"Jisungie, I... I just want you to be happy," Minho interrupts him, grabbing his hands. "Whoever you are with, I'll always support you. But, please, don't disappear from my life like this."
The last few words are completely taken away with sobs, so loud and hard that Jisung embraces him again.
"Minho, no, this isn't... I –“
Jisung stays quiet until Minho's sobs are mere silent tears, until Minho has the strength to look at him again.
"Does he make you happy?"
Jisung looks conflicted, but Minho knows he will answer, eventually. He knows everything about Han Jisung.
"Yes, he does. He makes me the happiest."
Minho nods, but he cannot fake the smile he wants to show Jisung.
"And does he love you the way you deserve?"
Jisung grabs Minho's hands, and nods.
"He's loved me the way I deserve since the moment I met him."
Every single word is like a bullet to Minho's chest, only soothed by the fact that it sounds like Jisung has found the love of his life.
"Then why have you been hiding it from me?"
Jisung looks away at the question, that blush coming back to his cheeks. He lets go of Minho's hands to fidget with the hem of his sweater – Minho's sweater, actually. One he stole from him years ago and never saw Minho's closet ever again.
"I wasn't sure..." Jisung mumbles, looking too heartbroken for someone that has found love. "I wasn't sure he'd feel the same."
The moment Jisung takes his sweater off, Minho's world comes to a stop.
It's blind jealousy first, one that quickly morphs into complete confusion and a hint of hope in his chest.
Jisung, the Jisung that has been with him for almost half of his life, is covered from clavicles to hips with hundreds of small daisies, a perfect copy of the ones Minho has imprinted on his skin. They swirl and turn through every curve of his arms, making him look the prettiest view Minho has ever laid his eyes on. The prettiest and most confusing one, by far.
"H-how...?"
Jisung laughs at Minho's bulging eyes, as if knowing exactly what he's going through right now.
The younger one comes closer to him and cups the elder's face, with so much care that it's Minho's heart that blooms.
"I just wasn't sure you'd feel the same."
Minho's chest explodes the moment their lips meet in a kiss. Something he's been waiting for the longest time, better than he could have ever imagined. He feels his daisies tremble in excitement, as if he had a real garden blooming all over again, with just a simple press of lips.
Jisung's eyes shine when they part, and Minho is sure his own look exactly the same.
The eldest cannot help but trace all the small daisies on Jisung's skin, goosebumps appearing behind the touch of his fingers.
"How can this be possible?"
Instead of answering, Jisung kisses Minho again. Kisses and kisses, until they're both giggling and wondering why they haven't done this before, when it feels so right.
"Do you remember my research on sea horses?"
Minho blinks, as if Jisung is asking the silliest question ever.
"Of course I remember," Minho answers. "You've been giving this project all your heart for the longest time."
Jisung slowly links their hands back, flowers matching flowers.
"Did you know that sea horses mate for life?"
Minho shakes his head, and Jisung smiles.
"They do, they meet their loved one and they never let them go. It reminded me of you."
Minho's heart soars at Jisung's words, because he knows how it is. He feels the same, after all. Minho then opens up his mouth to speak, but Jisung stops him.
"It’s then when I realized that it's you who I want to spend the rest of my life with. And then they came, all almost at the same time."
Jisung lets go of one of Minho's hand to caress a bigger daisy than the rest. "This one was the first one. And then the rest came, growing the more I thought of a future together."
Jisung lets go of Minho's hand entirely to cup his cheeks again, getting impossibly closer.
"I realized you're the love of my life, and I've been drowning on flowers ever since."
It's Minho who closes the distance this time. It's Minho who kisses him with all the pent up emotions he's been keeping for himself for the past years, ever since he realized his flowers bloomed more and more because he was completely and utterly in love with Jisung.
It was a rare occurrence, something that didn't happen to everyone. People bloomed through sex, through carnal desire. But Minho kept growing his garden with nothing but adoration for Jisung, and now Jisung is full of his flowers because he feels just the same.
Soulmates, destined to match for the rest of their lives.
"You always deserved to have so many beautiful flowers," Minho mutters, his lips so close to Jisung's it's barely audible.
"And now I have the prettiest of them all."