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Logan has never actually stepped foot into the Gardens. He usually waited outside when Alex or Arthur had to duck inside, some weird urge they get soothed by the various greenery inside. Still, he's not entirely sure why he's surprised when he steps inside. The air smells slightly musty, the scents of blooming flowers by the entrance curling around each other as he lets his feet guide him.
A few of the plants tower over him, drooping slightly as he makes his way towards the succulents. Oscar was supposed to come with him, but he got caught up in some exam for one of his Potion Chemistry classes. Logan was vaguely glad he had dropped it at the beginning of the semester; he didn’t really think his own abilities were helpful in that specific class. Oscar was more Witchy then Logan, with his own Abilities focused more on the actual act of potion and spell casting.
Anyway, the succulents section was huge. There were shelves upon shelves of the tiny prickly things. Each one was carefully placed in its own little pot and Logan couldn’t help the curious nudge against some of their leaves; a particular cactus pushed up into his finger, digging its needles into the soft pad of his fingertip.
“Well, that's not so nice now is it?” Logan mumbled, eyes narrowing slightly as he nudged its dirt. The cactus seemed to almost reel back in shock as Logan smoothed the dirt back, patting it almost soothingly. He gathered a bit of the humidity, turning it into a centered group of dew drops. If the cactus was anymore animated, it would’ve shaken itself as the dew sinks into the dirt.
“If I wasn’t currently looking for something else, I would’ve taken you home.” Logan tells the cactus quietly. He feels silly for a second as the cactus seems to puff itself up in pride, clearly proud of its growth as Logan finally pulls his finger away. It sat in a cute little purple pot, the edges with a sort of wave to it.
He turns away, his heart nearly beating out of his chest when he sees someone watching him. The guy has on a dark green apron, LAWSON GARDENS etched across the chest with LIAM on the nametag. There’s a beat of silence as Logan fully takes him in, and well, he’s kind of cute even though it looks like he’s judging Logan. He smiles a bit awkwardly at the guy as he steps aside, realizing that he’s sort of right in the middle of the aisle. The cactus seems to sway at the sight of the guy who moves closer, eyebrows furrowed as he gently prods it.
Taking that as his sign to get the hell out, Logan spins on his heel, immediately heading towards the Garden section. Oscar has sent him for a stupidly specific herb and he's determined to help lessen the load on his academic-overachiever best friend.
By the time he rounds back to the front, herb in hand along with some pretty rocks he found, he realizes that Liam is the only one at the registers. With an internal sigh, he heads over, carefully setting the herb and his collection of rocks onto the table. Liam gives him an odd look as he scans the barcodes, the only sound being the beeping of the scanner and Liam pressing some buttons.
“That’ll be $34.97.” Logan makes a face at the price, but dutifully pulls his wallet out, tapping his card against the reader when he notices the cactus from earlier. It sits on the little shelf of the table, swaying slightly as he grabs his receipt distractedly. In a moment of pure mindlessness, he conjures up a little rain dew shower. The cactus shudders almost happily as Logan smiles down at it, carefully poking at it before grabbing his things.
“Thank you! Have a good day.” Logan says politely, because gods forbid his mother finds out he ignored the employee. It seems to catch Liam off guard as he gives Logan a nod, his cheeks flushing slightly. Logan gives the cactus a final prod before finally leaving, the satisfaction of being a good friend settling onto his bones warmly.
“I have a problem.” Is the first thing Liam says as he bursts into the breakroom.
“When do you not?” Isack grumbles from where he’s pruning a limp plant. Yuki snorts from where he's splayed out on the couch, his cap over his face as Liam starts pacing the small length of the room.
“Oh my gods, please don’t start with your pacing,” Isack whines, “You make me dizzy.”
“He came by.” Liam says it almost like a whisper, but with the way Yuki and Isack suddenly snapped to attention, you would’ve thought he announced it on the louder speaker.
Isack put down the clippers, eyes wide, “Like, walked in or lingered outside like he usually does when he comes with his friends?”
“He came inside, but I caught him talking to one of the cactus and I think it's more smitten with him than I am.” Liam says, a little smile on his face, “It screamed at me until I brought it with me to the registers. He gave it a rain dew shower and it giggled.”
Liam had gotten there when Logan had first prodded the cactus and stayed as the cactus trilled delightedly, enjoying the attention the Water Caster had showered it with. When Logan had disappeared before Liam could even gather the bravery to speak to him, the cactus had demanded to be taken to the front.
Now, Liam had a screechy cactus at the front register, screaming about Logan. Makes both of us, Liam thinks as he leans against the table. Yuki and Isack have been pushing him to talk to Logan since Alex and Oscar had become somewhat regulars at the Gardens. He never really stepped inside, only doing so when Oscar needs help hauling his new wares or when Alex needs a second opinion. Liam isn't a hundred percent sure that Logan knows half of what Alex is doing, but it's not really his problem.
The door jingles and Alex strolls in with George, the two in an animated conversation as they head straight towards Liam. George is shaking his head as they get to the table, Liam’s own smile on his face as he sees Alex roll his eyes.
“Hey mate,” Alex greets, fist-bumping Liam, “I put an order in a few hours ago.”
Liam nods, Yuki was putting it together while Liam had been on his break and they had switched off just as Logan had entered. George is staring at the cactus when Liam leaves, sharp blue eyes narrowed on the little guy as he nods. Liam can hear it chittering even as he heads to the backrooms, picking up the crate with Alex’s name. When he gets back, George and Alex are exchanging those glances that make anyone else feel like an outsider.
“Hey Liam,” George starts, his tone edged in curiosity as Liam feels dread pool in his stomach, “Why is it talking about Logan?”
Okay so, Alex and George’s friend group is small, but Alex is horribly kind to a lot of people which makes smaller friend groups. Liam is part of Alex’s immediate friend circle and Logan is part of the friend circle that Alex gatekeeps. Liam doesn’t know how it happened, but one day Logan was just there with Alex, the two almost attached to the hip every time Liam had seen them on campus.
“He was in here earlier.” Liam says, “And he got this little guy to swoon over him.” The cactus lets out another little chittering sound, agreeing with Liam. Liam’s Plant Communication skills are nothing to scoff at, but George is more advanced than him so really, he should’ve seen this coming.
“You have a crush on Logan? Like, All-American, likes fishing and listening to rap and country, his best friend is being coined the smartest Chem major of our whole school? That Logan?” George is teasing him and Liam knows he is, but that doesn’t stop the blood from rushing up his cheeks and over his ears.
“You are not a real friend.” Liam grumbles to the cactus as he slides Alex’s crate over. His friend has a huge grin on his face and Liam is immediately shaking his head, “No, absolutely not.”
“You don’t even know what I’m about to say!”
“You're going to say something dumb, or suggest something dumb.” Liam says, “Now shoo, get out of my store. Leave me alone.”
Alex and George’s laughter seems to haunt him for the rest of the day as he finishes it out. Isack and Yuki had left a bit earlier, both with their own teasing grins as Liam started cleaning. The cactus trills at him as he cleans, filling him in on all the gossip he’s heard throughout the Gardens. Most of it was interesting, which had surprised Liam on how gossipy plants actually were.
Liam doesn’t see Logan inside the Gardens again. He continues to linger outside, his back to the floor-to-window ceiling. The cactus screeches every time it seems to sense Logan, even with the windows and a few feet between them.
He doesn’t take it to heart, merely shrugging and continuing with his tasks; the cactus still screams every time Logan is around though.
Liam is busy organizing things under the register when the bell jingles. He almost pokes his head out from behind the counter, but Isack is weirdly insistent on leaving dead plants under here. His chest curls with slight sadness as he pulls out another limp plant and adds it to the graveyard he accumulated on the top of the counter.
“Do you guys have a crop murderer or something?” Liam freezes, still half under the counter before slowly inching out. Standing on the other side is Logan, a slightly confused expression on his face as he pokes the stem of one of the plants.
“Uh, Isack likes hoarding them.” Liam says, standing up and brushing the dirt off of his hands, “He keeps forgetting that they need sunlight and water and now they’re dead.”
“Do you just dump them?” Logan asks curiously, his eyes staying on Liam despite him fiddling with the dry leaves of the plant he had poked earlier. Before Liam can respond, the cactus he had moved to the other counter starts screeching and Liam sighs.
He rolls his eyes as he walks over, picking it up and walking back to Logan, "Please take it with you, all it does is scream at me.”
Logan grins as he takes the little pot, his expression narrowing slightly as he conjures up dew drops, lightly shaking his finger and the drops fall onto the cactus . It lets out a little satisfied trill, its roots curling deeper into the dirt.
“I was wondering if someone had bought it,” Logan says with a small smile; it’s a horrible, soft thing that makes the vines behind Liam sway. Logan seems to notice, his eyes leaving Liam’s to watch the vines sway back and forth.
“Did you need anything?” Liam asks, hoping it pulled Logan’s attention off the vines—and, embarrassingly, back onto him. He can’t help the smile off his face when Logan turns his gaze back onto him, his eyes a bit darker than the usual green he had seen.
He carefully twirls the little pot in between his hands, the catus letting out another happy trill as Logan opens his mouth, "Yeah, I know this is, like, sudden, or whatever, but I was wondering if you wanted to get coffee or something if you’re free later?”
Liam’s heart is in his throat as he stares at Logan in surprise, “Alex didn’t put you up to this, right?”
Logan snorts, “Yeah, like if I'll let Alex tell me what to do.” He says, shaking his head, his gaze still soft, but unrelenting, “No, I’m being serious.”
Liam nods once, feeling his body flush and he can feel the heat radiating off of him as he pulls a post-it from behind the register, scribbling his number on it. Their fingers brush when Logan takes it from him and Liam has to stop the maniacal giggle that tries to escape him.
“I’m done at four.” Liam says, “We can meet here, if you want.”
“Okay, I’ll be here before then.” Logan says, before slightly lifting the pot, “Thank you for this.” The cactus lets out a happier trill, almost wiggling in its place.
True to his word, Logan comes to pick Liam up at four on the dot. Liam had basically ditched all the clean up for Yuki and Isack mostly as punishment for one, leaving a mess in the first place and two, letting innocent plants die. Obviously he didn’t tell them why he was actually leaving on time either or with who.
They make small talk on their way to the small diner, their hands occasionally brushing against each other before Liam finally reaches over and intertwines their fingers. Logan had flushed a bright red, stumbling over his words and then falling silent much to Liam’s glee.
Logan finds out that the Gardens does actually belong to Liam’s family, but Liam runs it as he’s the only one with the actual Plant attribute.
“I used to have a sprout when I was younger.” Liam says once they’re inside and sitting at a booth, their legs interlocked under the table. Logan lets out a laugh, eyes scrunching in a way that makes Liam want to crawl across the table and make him do it again.
“There’s no way,” Logan says in between giggles, “That’s like saying I had gills or something.”
Liam lightly kicks Logan, pulling his phone out and finding a picture of said sprout. Logan immediately coos over it when Liam shows it to him, eyes bright with something warm as he looks at Liam.
“Can you grow another one?” He asks, handing Liam back his phone, “I think you would look cute.”
Liam makes a face at him, shaking his head, “I don’t think so. It fell off when I was like nine.”
“Aww, I think you’d look cuter with one now.”
The flush is back in full force as Liam hides behind the menu even though they have already ordered. Logan lets out another laugh, deep and warm as he knocks his leg against Liam’s, letting the weight rest there.
They continue to talk about anything and everything, Logan’s family in Florida, how he was raised by the water so it only made sense that it was his Attribute. Liam tells him stories of New Zealand and all the shit he got up to with his friends.
Time slips between their fingers like honey, their time spent gooey and warm until they had their fill and started the walk back to Liam’s place. The twenty-five minute walk almost turns into an hour as they end up wandering around watering drying plants much to Liam’s enjoyment as the plants trill at him in appreciation.
By the time they get to Liam’s apartment, the moon had started its ascent into the sky. They linger outside for a bit, enjoying the cool breeze as they sit on the half-wall.
“I had fun.” Liam says, leaning into Logan, his eyes feeling heavier by the second. Logan lets out a little hum, his hand going up to brush through Liam’s unruly curls, his fingernails digging slightly into his scalp.
“Me too,” Logan says softly, “We should do this again.”
Liam nods, pulling away to stand in front of Logan. His hands immediately go to Liam’s waist, holding onto him as Liam leans in. Logan’s heart feels like it’s going to beat out of his chest as Liam gets closer, his lips brushing against Logan’s cheek.
He catches them both off guard with the dissatisfied noise he makes, the sudden need to know what Liam’s lips feel against him. He can feel the way Liam smiles as he slowly tilts his head, their lips meeting in a soft press. Logan presses into it like if it’s the last thing he’ll ever do, his hands pulling Liam impossibly closer.
Liam lets himself be pulled, months of his crush on Logan through second-hand interactions and unnoticed glances culminating to this. He has him right here, putty in his hands as the flowers in the small garden behind them dances.
The fountain bubbles and the flowers sing and Liam is exactly where he wants to be.