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D3rlord walks through the small patch of forest, intrigued by the sudden growth of flowers. It’s barely spring, and yet, here they are. He knows it was going to be an early bloom, but it’s still unusual to see it with his own eyes. Bees buzz busily around fresh petals, reporting back to their hives with sticky legs. The pollen in the air would be almost suffocating if it wasn’t all clinging to Avery. The late afternoon sun hangs lazily in the sky, hidden behind a blanket of clouds.
Speaking of, he glances over to see his friend leaned over a patch of lilies of the valley.
“These ones are so pretty, D3r!” Avery coos, plucking one from its stem. He walks over to show it to him.
D3rlord nods, his lips barely tugging into a small smile.
“They are also poisonous,” he says, reminding Avery despite how unnecessary it is.
Avery puts his free hand on his hip, smirking proudly.
“Heh. I know,” he moves his hand to sit under his chin, “I found out myself!”
D3rlord blinks.
“…Never again.” Avery adds unceremoniously. “Look! Not on purpose or anything, it’s just, like, you know. Being alone, trying to survive… I was hungry.” Avery tosses the plucked flower behind him. “Never would’ve thought something so pretty could be so deadly.”
D3rlord nods. The moment is oddly peaceful. For once, the constant noise of his thoughts feels distant. On top of that, Avery is here, rambling to him in a nice flowery patch. He wishes he could capture the moment and save it for later, on his worst days.
“I recognize most of these,” Avery hums, scratching his chin, “but some of these I’ve never seen before! Maybe there’s a… new species that’s caused it…!” Avery wiggles his fingers dramatically.
“Look at this one!” Avery chirps, pointing to a juvenile torchflower. Its vibrant, wavy petals are yet to open and its sharp leaves droop slightly.
D3r raises a brow suspiciously. A torchflower? The only way that could be is… no… it’s impossible. Nonsensical, even. Him and Avery are the only people here. Unless, it has sprouted here under ^its influence. D3rlord shudders, trying to ignore the thought. This is supposed to be a carefree moment.
After a long pause, D3rlord walks a little closer.
“It’s a torchflower,” he says plainly. He crouches down, plucking it from the ground like a weed. He absentmindedly discards the incorrect piece of terrain, clutching it much too tight in his palm. It wilts slightly.
“Wait, wait!” Avery waves his hand, wanting to see the flower again. He scoots nearer to D3rlord and gently grabs his hand, pulling it out to see the plant. D3rlord freezes for a moment at the contact for a beat, but says nothing. He opens his hand for Avery to take the flower.
“Your hands are cold,” Avery mumbles without thinking as he admires the torchflower.
D3rlord subconsciously hides his hands behind his back at the comment.
“Sorry?” He asks. He heard Avery loud and clear, but he’s simply looking to hear it again.
“Huh? Did I say something?” Avery asks, looking away from the flower with a confused expression. “Sorry if I did. You know, my mouth just runs itself!” He jokes with a tiny grin.
D3rlord looks down at his feet.
“No, I thought I heard something,” he lies.
“Oh. Alright,” Avery whistles, slowly dropping the flower back on the ground once he’s done with it. “Good thing I’ve got my jelly skin,” he dusts his hands off, “those thorns would’ve really hurt.”
Avery continues walking through the flowery clearing, humming to himself.
D3rlord glances over all of the flowers, his mind running endless calculations. Different species, their physical features, what they mean across different cultures, it all mixes into a faint noise.
“Oh! These are nice too!”
D3rlord looks over, Avery’s cheerful voice piercing through his thick veil of thoughts. Avery walks over to him again, holding a bundle of bright red tulips.
“Red tulips,” D3rlord says, his racing thoughts quickly spilling out, “From the Liliaceae family. They represent true love, and are sometimes gifted as confessions.”
Avery pauses.
“Didn’t know you were a botanist, D3r!” He giggles. He watches D3rlord quickly compose himself with a quiet clearing of his throat and adjustment of his posture. It’s always something Avery’s noticed. He tends to ramble on, almost mechanically, at random, then he immediately backtracks. He finds it kind of cute, really. It’s the most he ever hears him speak.
“I’m not.” D3r says quickly.
“I know! Just teasing!” Avery shakes his finger.
D3rlord never took well to any teasing from him. Despite having infinite knowledge of everything ever, it would be assumed it would let him read social cues better. Unfortunately, whoever thinks that would be steeply wrong.
Avery smiles. His mind drifts back to the moment before. Love confessions, huh? His face flushes a little, and he quickly looks away, pretending to be occupied with a different flower so D3rlord doesn’t notice.
Unbeknownst to Avery, D3rlord does notice. He always has.
“What’d you say red tulips are for again?” Avery asks, voice a little too small to be asking casually.
“In general, love,” D3rlord replies, voice too quiet as well.
Love.
It’s something Avery hasn’t really bothered himself with. He hasn’t thought of it a lot. He’s seats been too busy thinking of what’s his next breakfast or how to totally pwn noobs instead of something as fuzzy and abstract as love. D3rlord, however, has completely flipped that balance for him. As they’ve grown closer, he’s found himself completely fascinated by him. He wants to know what makes him tick, what silent weight haunts him, his favorite color, his silly habits, the impressive strength that hides beneath his armor, and, most importantly, if he would ever reciprocate.
It’s not something that pains him or keeps him awake at night, just a gentle curiosity. A curiosity that will eventually turn to courage.
He’s hoping a wonderful day like this could be the day.
“What do you think of love, D3r?” Avery asks after a long silence.
D3rlord takes a moment. When he speaks, his voice is laced with unsteadiness, as if he knows something Avery doesn’t.
“It’s never interested me,” he says simply, “but…”
Avery turns to face D3rlord, praying his face isn’t already bright pink.
“…I’ve changed quite a bit. As all things do.”
“Do you… uh, think you’d ever like someone? Like-like, love? Whatever you… wanna call it…” Avery looks anywhere but D3rlord’s face.
“Maybe.”
…
Avery still holds the tulips behind his back. He awkwardly rocks back and forth, sweat-like residue beading on his face from nervousness.
He opens his mouth to speak, but D3rlord beats him to it.
“I already know what you’re going to ask me, Avery,” He says blankly. The unreadable tone keeps Avery on edge, unsure if he’s about to cry from happiness or heartbreak.
“…I,” D3rlord hesitates, fidgeting with his hands, “I don’t…” he stops. The words ‘I don’t know’ itch to leave his mouth, but something else from deep inside tugs for him to stop. “I don’t want to be alone.”
Avery’s eyes widen.
“I can’t stand it. It’s so easy for me to get caught up in my own head, I… I just,” D3rlord’s usual stone-cold tone wavers, “you make things easy. You’re so… simple. I envy it. I envy it so much. When you talk to me about your Skywars matches or your little misadventures or, or your impulsive opinions, it really makes my day. It stops the noise,” he says without stopping.
“Ever since you ran into me that dark night. You complete me, Avery.”
Avery’s face burns a deep rose. What the heck? He didn’t prepare a huge speech!
“…U-um. Is that a yes?” he stammers, at a loss for words.
“Yes.”
Avery hovers in front of D3rlord, shifting to stand on his toes to try and be a bit taller next to him. D3rlord stiffens at the unfamiliar proximity, hoping his helmet can hide the pink flush of his face.
Avery jumps up with joy, throwing the tulips behind him and running to embrace D3rlord. He grabs him with startling strength, his warm body a rigid contrast to D3rlord’s cold. He lets the heat swallow him in the tight hug. He basically squeezes Avery in his grip, but Avery says no word of complaint. The two eventually pull away, and D3rlord takes off his helmet to reveal a broken smile, his face-framing box braids not in a bun spilling out from the armor. Before he can think, his bare face is immediately met by Avery’s lips. D3rlord flinches, but he refuses to let a second of it pass him by.
He grabs Avery by his chin, tilting him upwards to compensate for the height difference. After a long moment of heated silence, the kiss breaks, but the proximity stays. Avery blinks, noticing the faint green residue his lips have left on D3rlord’s lower face. He starts to apologize, but D3rlord simply wipes himself off.
“It’s alright,” he says quietly.
Avery smiles. He reaches his hand up to shakily trace D3rlord’s face. It’s probably obvious by how his green face is entirely pink now, but he feels like his heart might explode as he touches D3rlord’s skin. His finger starts from his chin, snaking around his lower lip and stopping just below his nose. He travels the length of his deep lip scar without a word between either of them. Honestly, the scar has always fascinated him. It’s one of the mysteries about him that keeps Avery on his toes.
“Where’d you get your scar?” He blurts.
D3rlord runs his free hand over Avery’s head, his chilly fingers brushing his sensitive antennae. Avery bristles for a moment.
“Fighting.”
“Well, duh. You’re not gonna tell me a story?”
“Sorry. I’m not one for words, D3rlord blinks, “usually.”
…
“It’s hard to explain,” he says quietly.
Avery smiles, brushing D3rlord’s hair out of his face before moving his hand to rest under his jaw.
“Don’t worry about it.”
He suddenly smiles widely, and his eyes feel damp. He brings D3rlord into another hug with a ragged voice now.
“I love you, D3r,” he says. It’s something simple. Something foretold D3rlord. Yet, hearing it for himself still sounds unreal. He wants to be able to properly reciprocate in some way, but his words get stuck in his mouth. Not from his own raving thoughts, not from daily headaches, but from something new.
From Avery. From the way his love smothers him completely. Comfortably. Like a weighted blanket. So, instead, he just holds Avery tight, hoping his gesture is enough.
“We could get more of those torchflowers if you’d like to,” he whispers into Avery’s shoulder.
“In a sec,” Avery replies, still far too occupied with being stuck in D3rlord’s embrace.
Maybe all those little moments really did pan out. From awkward preening to uncomfortable pauses, it’s all been worth it up to this moment.
Avery never wants to let go. Neither does D3rlord.
For now, at least.