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Fingers trembled mere inches from their target. If he held his breath, Kieran thought he could almost feel the cool green stem on his fingertips. He knew that was impossible though; He was hesitating.
Get it together Kieran. It’s a flower, it is not intimidating.
With a firm shake of his head and a set to his brow he plucked the unsuspecting plant from its body with maybe just a little bit too much force for picking a flower.
As he drew his fingers into a pinch around one of the delicate white petals, he found himself hesitating again. Maybe flowers were intimidating.
Kieran took a deep breath inward, steeling away his nerves, and—
“Loves me.”
The first petal of many fluttered away to the grass as the words left his mouth.
“Loves me not.”
Even uttering the words made Kieran’s heart squeeze like it was trapped in the grip of a wild Bewear. He had to urge himself to continue needing to shake off the eerie feeling quite literally with a grimace. There were many more tries to take, after all.
“Loves me.”
…
“Loves me not.”
“Loves me.”
…
His movements paused once more, staring intently at the root of his nerves.
It’s just a silly game, it doesn’t really mean anything.
Unless, of course, the result was in his favor.
With one more heavy swallow and a stuttering breath in, he pulled.
“Loves me n—”
“That won’t tell you anything, you know.”
The voice was gentle, if amused, and more than familiar, but still it startled Kieran, maybe more now with what he had been caught doing. The Kitakamian ripped his head around towards the source. He could feel how red his already heated face was, not even noticing he had accidentally pulled out more than a few extra flower petals.
“FLORian!” Kieran winced at the way his voice broke, straightening up as he turned the rest of the way towards the Galarian boy, flower now clutched tightly to his chest. “I— you— what are you doing here? I mean hi— I mean uhm—”
Stupid, it’s a public area. He’s here because it’s a public area. And it’s a public area in his favourite biome. Stupid.
Before Florian could answer Kieran shifted his gaze down towards the object in his hands. “Y-yeah, I know. It’s just a stupid game it doesn’t really mean anythin’ but—”
“I never said that.” Flashing an easy smile, Florian walked over, delicately plucking the flower from the trembling hands of the former champion. Kieran didn’t try to stop him. “The game isn’t stupid, you’re just playing the solved version.”
“The… solved version?” Kieran questioned, scanning Florian’s honey-brown eyes as if he could find the answer swirling within.
“Yeah, it’s a solved game. Like Tic-Tac-Toe. Ain’t much point in playing if you know the outcome before you start.” Florian’s answer just left Kieran feeling more confused, vaguely registering the smaller boy was studying the half maimed flower while twirling it between his fingertips.
“Tic… Tac-Toe? I don’t think— what do you mean, a solved game?”
“Ah, you don’t know?” The flower fell from Florian’s hands the same moment his lips turned back up at the corners. “Whoever goes first in Tic-Tac-Toe can always win, no matter what the other person does. Here, lemme show you!”
Faster than Kieran could blink Florian had backed away and shoved the toes of his shoe into a bare patch of dirt, dragging it across to make the lines of a game board. “See so— hmm…”
The champion ranked trainer stared down at his work, holding his chin between his thumb and forefinger with brow thoroughly furrowed. Right when Kieran opened his mouth though Florian pulled back his hand in a snap.
“I’ve got it! We’ll just use petals instead of exes and ohs.” Florian leaned over, sweeping up Kieran’s since forgotten flower as well as a new one of his own with stark red petals, contrasting with white of the former.
“Here, you go first.” He said, extending the flower for Kieran to take. “Put it in one of the corner slots.”
“Um… Okay.” Kneeling down infront of the board the Kitakamian plucked one of the delicate petals, moving it to hover over the middle of the board with an extra moment's hesitation before placing it down in the bottom left.
Is this really the best move? He isn’t just trying to trick me right?
“And now you’ve already won.” Florian chirped, plopping down right beside Kieran and hovering a red petal over the board. “No matter where I put this you can win in three more moves and there isn’t anything I can do about it. See? A solved game.”
Kieran stared at the mostly blank board, then back at Florian searching for answers in his face that he wasn’t going to get without opening his own mouth. “I don’t. What?”
“Mmm, see, say I put my petal in the middle— that’s the spot people usually think is the best one— it’s not at all though, you’ll see.” True to his word Florian placed the petal in the center of the board before continuing. “Then you put your next petal in the corner across from your first one.”
“Alright…”
“Okay, now it doesn’t matter a single bit where I decide to move next! When I put my petal in the top left corner, you just put your next move in the bottom right corner, or vice-versa.”
He waited for Kieran to play out the moves he suggested, a smile glinting in his eyes. “And now see, I can block you but I can only do it once! And you have two places you only need to put one more petal to win, it’s literally impossible for me to win.”
“Wowzers…” Kieran looked down at the board like it was some kind of witchcraft. He’d definitely have to use this sometime. “That’s so amazin’, I never knew! Mmm… But what if the other person uses their first move to get the other corner?”
“That’s fine.” Florian hummed, standing up and brushing off his knees. “Your main goal is to get three corners, or to win before that if you can. Cause if you get a corner next to your first they’ll have to use their turn blocking you or lose, and then you can get the third corner. Actually, that’s what you’ll wanna do anytime they don’t choose the middle, otherwise you may stalemate instead.”
“Eheheh, I’ll have to keep that in mind next time I play Tic-Tac-Toe with someone. I’ll win for sure.” Kieran mimicked Florian’s movements, putting a hand to his hip once he had rose.
“But!—” Florian shoved his index finger maybe just a little bit too close to Kieran’s face, causing him to recoil instinctively. “Only if you go first.”
“Ah— yeah, I guess that’s true… If they went first I guess they’d win…”
“Or tie, if they don’t know the solution. But even so, what’s the point in it?” Ever animated Florian poised his hands behind his head, looking up at the Terarium sky as he continued. “There’s no skill or mystery if you already know what’s gonna happen right from the start. At that point why even play at all? It’d be like flipping a coin that’s heads on both sides. It’s not a test of skill, and fate can’t tell you what it sees if you’re playing a solved game. It doesn’t count if you can manipulate the answer.”
Kieran’s brow furrowed as he took in what Florian said. “I—” Clicking his tongue and cocking his head he continued after another moment. “I s’pose that makes sense…”
It would kinda be like cheating if you knew what you were gonna get I s’pose… I’d definitely had manipulated the flower game if—
“Hey, hold on, what does this have to do with my flower?” Kieran fixed his yellow gaze on the Galarian boy like he was some kind of trick or puzzle to solve. “If you believe in fate after all, why'd you say it won’t tell me anything?”
Florian hummed, surprising Kieran when he bent down and plucked the same kind of white flower Kieran had had from the ground, holding it up to him and gesturing to the petals with a soft glint to his eyes. “Because, you were playing the solved version.”
The chestnut haired boy cradled the flower, holding it out towards Kieran like something precious. Kieran, almost on autopilot, obliged, holding out his hands for Florian to deposit the foliage into. Florian split his hands, letting it fall between his fingers, before allowing his palms to rest on the sides of Kieran’s open hold.
“The flower you were using- it always has ten petals.” Kieran just managed to register what was being told to him, his focus thoroughly split in favor of the warm hands still resting on his own. “So you always know what you’re gonna get is gonna be the opposite of what you start with.”
“Which, I think in your case would have ended up being ‘loves me not.’” Then just as quick as they had been put there Florian’s hands fell away and his eyes were set on the field of flowers or maybe the ocean beyond rather than Kieran. “For what it’s worth, I hope that’s not the case for whoever you had in mind when you started playing.”
Kieran’s mouth flapped uselessly like a Magikarp out of water as he tried to figure out how to respond to that. Too many conflicting thoughts in his mind made him miss the way Florian’s smile didn’t quite reach his eyes.
Finally, he managed to push something out. “Y-yeah, I hope that’s not the case for him either…”
With how fast Florian had whipped back around, he might as well’ve hit Kieran with Fake Out. Seemingly, the Galarian had startled even himself, or maybe realised he was giving off the same vibes as a Growlithe presented with the promise of a Poffin. He coughed into his fist, looking to gather himself before he spoke up. “Him?”
Kieran’s face paled, he hadn’t even thought about his choice of words implying anything, but they did, and had.
“You like boys?” Florian struck down with the hammer a second time before Kieran even got to reply, leaving the Kitakamian scrambling to regain his footing.
Do I like boys? I don’t know, I just like Florian.
Now that the situation had settled slightly, Kieran felt the colour of his face going in the opposite direction, feeling his cheeks grow hotter the longer he fumbled with his words. “I— well that is I um, I don’t— I mean I um— I—”
“H-hey uh, sorry, that was probably a rude question to ask, ahah.” Florian’s hand moved to rub at the back of his head, looking away with a sheepish expression; he almost looked as red as Kieran felt. “I mean uh, it’s alright if you do, you know. Um. I do. Like boys, I mean.”
The confession was like a slap in the face Kieran wasn’t expecting to get today, eyes going wide as all he could do was stare in response.
Florian likes boys?
Florian likes boys…
I’m a boys! Er, boy.
He of course had hoped that to be the case, but now it was confirmed to be the case, by Florian himself, no less!
Hold on though, other people are boys too… Florian had only said he liked boys, not that he liked me. What if he already liked some other boy? Which other boys could he possibly like?
“Who?” Kieran blurted out with exactly the same amount of tact as preamble. Without noticing he took a step forward, thoroughly getting in Florian’s personal bubble, although, the shorter boy had long since shattered that at this point.
“H-huh?” Caught off balance Florian took a step back, which only proved to be fruitless when Kieran followed after.
“Which boys do’ya like?” The Kitakamian pressed on, mind too caught up in pursuing the answer than to have any sense of propriety as he combed through a list of people he thought it could possibly be.
“Arven?” It wouldn’t be surprising, they had known each other for a long time, but still, as much as he liked Arven he hoped not.
“Crispin?” Doubt, but it was a possibility, they were friendly to each other and Crispin was a really good cook, and it’s hard to turn down a really good cook.
“Drayton?” He really hoped not.
“Someone from Team Star?” He had never met them, but Florian talked about them a lot, especially around Penny, and he was pretty sure at least a couple of them were guys.
“Someone else? More than one of them? A teacher?”
“W-woah, Kieran, woah wait a minute.” Florian interrupted his prattling with two hands held up, escaping Kieran’s notice that they had been held up for a while now, along with the flush that had spread like wildfire over his face.
The air fell silent around them as Kieran’s eyes widened, registering how close he was to Florian; he might as well have been looming over him. Blinking he took a flustered half step backwards, rushed to the point he almost stumbled. “S-sorry I— that’s—”
“I’m not sure I’m ready to talk about that yet…” Florian admitted softly after a moment's hesitation, the charming half smile on his face not quite matching the way his eyes met the ground, hiding under his lashes. “It’s not any of the people you said though… Your list is missing a pretty obvious name, I think.”
An obvious name?
Kieran’s mind went exactly where it might be expected to, his mouth opening for only a moment before returning closed.
He said he didn’t want to talk about it. I shouldn’t bring it up. But, it’s gotta be me, right? It has to be. I don’t know any other guys, I don’t think Florian does either. At least he’s never mentioned anyone else.
Kieran was historically bad at hiding his emotions, even he knew that. He could already feel the grin spreading across his face and in an attempt to cover it up he swung round, in one fluid motion turning his back towards Florian and looking up at the terarium sky with his hands on his hips. “Yeah, I understand… Sorry for pushin’. But— if you ever do um, want to talk about it, to anyone. I’m here, you know?”
Please please please please please.
“You’ll be the first one to know.”
Yes. “I’ll hold you to that.”
“You won’t have to, I’d be too scared to tell anyone else, ahaha.”
“Really?”
“Mm…” Kieran felt Florian walk past before he saw him, honey-brown irises turned up towards the sky as the faint sound of wind rustled grass enveloped them. It was the comfortable kind of silence, but it didn’t last long before Florian spoke again.
“You asked why I was here earlier.” The Galarian hummed, bending around to catch Kieran’s eye contact, the pose left his feet still firmly planted forwards and his torso twisting like it was trying to imitate a Purloin mid groom. “There isn’t really a particular reason. I just like it out here.”
“Ah… Yeah, it’s your favourite biome, isn’t it?” Kieran walked closer, Florian’s body slowly unwinding as he kept his gaze on the taller boy.
“Yeah, but not just that. This is my favourite place in the biome— well, one of my two favourite places anyway. I guess you know where to find me when I disappear now.” A delicate melody of a laugh escaped Florian’s lips, leading into a light and airy smile.
Suddenly the smile spread into a grin as he started pulling on Kieran’s wrist and hand with both of his own. “Lay with me!”
Florian graciously let go just in time to avoid dragging Kieran down with him as he allowed himself to fall back into the grass and flowers, honey-brown eyes fluttering closed. The way the light caught in the fan of chestnut hair surrounding his head like a crown had Kieran’s breath catching.
He’s so pretty… It’s not fair.
“C’mon Kieran, get down here, it’s nice!” Florian prompted again, this time meeting brown to yellow. “Unless you’ve got something else to do… which in that case, you should just ditch whatever it was and come lay with me instead anyway.”
Florian’s smile proved to be contagious as it quickly mirrored itself on Kieran’s face, followed quickly by a laugh that bubbled its way up from Kieran’s throat.
“Yeah, okay.” He replied easily as he lowered himself to the ground, he was, of course, powerless to do anything else.
The moment his back hit the ground he let out an involuntary yawn, warmth from the sun and comfort from the company lulling him quickly into a state of relaxation. It reminded him of more peaceful summer days in Kitakami, the sound of wind against the foliage even felt familiar.
Glancing over Kieran found Florian had closed his eyes again, his eyelashes fanning against his cheeks as he basked under the same light. He was so close, if he scooted over just a little bit their arms would be brushing.
No, don’t even think about it. Sure, he likes me, probably, but—
“So, do you have any crushes?” In the time it took Kieran to blink Florian had rolled over, propping himself up on one elbow and looking square at the purple haired trainer.
Kieran opened his mouth but no sound even tried to come out before he closed it, flabbergasted was the only word for it. Florian must’ve been able to see how hot Kieran’s face was getting as he continued without procuring an answer.
“Sorry, I probably shouldn’t have asked that after I couldn’t do it myself.” Florian chuckled, turning his eyes down to where he had started picking idly at the grass. “Hey, I know! What about celebrity crushes? I can share those, do you have any?”
“Celebrity crushes?” Kieran’s nose wrinkled reflexively as he rolled over to get a better look at the smaller boy.
“Yeah, you know, famous people you get a little blushy over.” Faint red bloomed over Florian’s face, suddenly seeming very engrossed in twirling a blade of grass he had plucked from the earth. “Like… uh… Champion Leon is one of mine.”
“Champion Leon?” Kieran’s brow joined the state of his nose, he of course knew who Leon was, even before he had met Florian, and even more after since Florian had always made it a point to watch all of his matches and would talk almost as much about Leon as Kieran did about him to anyone who would listen.
Well, his dedication makes a bit more sense now but—
“Ahahah ahh… Yeah.” Florian rolled onto his back, and Kieran could swear his face was just tilted a little bit away from him. “I mean, you’ve seen him right?”
Without thinking Kieran raised an eyebrow. “Is that a rhetorical question?”
“What? No— hey!” Giggling Florian launched his elbow half heartedly at Kieran before turning over to face him again with a smile. “He’s just so cool you know? Everyone back in Galar likes him— well not everyone but close to everyone, and he’s really strong— I mean he’s the champion and he’s really kind! I got to meet him once! Well, not really but his home town is right next to mine so I got to see him one time and everyone says he’s super nice so he probably is. And well I mean, he doesn’t exactly look bad either…”
Florian coughed into his fist, seeming to have realised he had been rambling. “So uh yeah.” His honey-brown eyes landed on Kieran, softly prodding for an answer of his own.
Kieran ignored the request however, focusing on an agenda of his own. “You said Leon was only one of your crushes— I mean celebrity crushes. Who are the others?”
“H-huh? Oh… Yeah, I guess I could share the others. I was the one who brought it up after all ahah. Just, you’re not allowed to make fun of me, alright?” At Kieran’s nod the Galarian boy continued. “Well… okay, so Leon’s probably top three— maybe third? I do really think he’s cool and like him and all but sometimes I do wonder if I don’t just like him cause like, it was the thing to have a crush on him in like high school or whatever.”
“Only third?” Gawking, Kieran’s eyes widened only to narrow, a tight feeling spreading across his chest.
Florian talks about that guy so much and he’s only his third crush? He never talks about me that much… Even if he does like me would I even stand a chance if he met any of them for real? He’s a champion in a real league, it could happen…
“Y-yeah ahahah. Only— only third eheh… uhm, my second.” Kieran felt himself tense further with each contemplative tap of Florian’s finger to his chin. Just how many people was he going through? “Is probably Christoph.”
“That guy who’s on the television sometimes?”
“Mhm, he acts sometimes too. There isn’t really a reason for it, he’s just pretty and I like his voice.” Florian made some kind of stifled sound, returning to picking at the grass— maybe in an attempt to distract from the faint pink on his cheeks. “I really liked him in Strike of Raikou…”
“Isn’t that the one everyone criticised for impractical outfit design?” Kieran inquired as he adjusted his position, popping himself up further on his hand. He kind of remembered seeing that movie once with Crispin, it was alright and had a lot of action scenes from what he recalled, but he couldn’t get all of the complaints he heard the other students talking about out of his head either. Apparently it was a deal breaker for a lot of them.
“Yeaahhh… Turns out a lot of people take issue to the fact an off the shoulder outfit isn’t the most practical thing for doing sword based combat with evil underworld houndoom.” Florian’s gaze had noticeably trailed away from Kieran’s face, lingering somewhere under it as his hand reached out idly. His finger started tracing something unknown to Kieran a few inches away from his skin, causing the Kitakamian to freeze in spot while Florian’s voice tapered into a distracted murmur.
“I just think the pectoral girdle is just really attractive…”
Suddenly Florian retracted his hand as if he had almost just touched a Slugma, and with how much Kieran felt like his skin was burning right now maybe he was right to worry.
Kieran managed to urge his mouth to open, but before a sound could even begin to form Florian was talking again, shuffling just a little bit farther away as he did so. “Anyway! Um, yeah so Christoph is second and um… my top celebrity crush is, probably… Well, it’s gotta be Gym Leader Blue.”
“Why?” Kieran’s face wrinkled, a visible frown forming on his face. All thoughts of the previous topic vanished from his mind. “He’s the one who was Champion for like, five minutes before Champion Red came and beat him right?”
“Well, yeah but—”
“And aren’t there a ton of accounts of him being a total ass to Red during their journey?”
“Well, yes, but, he got better.” Florian continued uninterrupted this time, leaning forwards just to make sure. “That’s why I like him so much, I think.”
Raising an inquisitive eyebrow, Kieran watched as Florian settled more comfortably on his side against the grass, pulling his legs up and tucking his hands under his head. A position Kieran ended up mimicking subconsciously.
“I’ve watched a lot of his interviews and matches and he’s still pretty overconfident but he’s nice about it too. Like I’ve seen him give pointers to gym challengers that weren’t able to beat him before, like full on going through the moves and demonstrating and stuff.” Florian’s honey-brown eyes were on Kieran, but he got the feeling he wasn’t the one he was looking at right now.
“The power to change.” With those words Florian’s focus snapped back to Kieran in a way that made the hair on his neck stand on end. “And to improve, and to still be yourself.”
“That’s one of the most admirable things, to me, I think… I know I probably wouldn’t be able to do it. I don’t think I’m strong enough.”
Not strong enough? Florian’s the strongest person I know! He could do anything!
The silence stretched on between them for a while, Kieran busy trying to solve the enigma of a boy in front of him, eyes darting back and forth as he studied his face.
“So yeah, I think he’s cool…” The smaller boy snuggled deeper into the pillow of his own hands, gazing at the dirt mere inches away from his face.
“I think you’re way cooler than Blue is.” Kieran blurted out before his brain could fully register what he was saying. “I mean, you’re the Champion here, and you’re a Champion back in Paldea too! Blue’s only a gym leader, and when he was Champion it wasn’t for any time at all.”
Florian blinked, gaze shifting back to Kieran before a laugh bubbled its way up from his chest, a genuine and gentle smile forming on his face as the noise faded. “Thanks. I think you’re cooler than Blue too.”
“So yeah though, Gym Leader Blue is my top celebrity crush, so now you know my top three.” Not giving Kieran time to linger on what he had just said Florian scooted just a little bit closer. “So who are yours? You’ll tell me now right?”
“O-oh well…”
Guess I have to but—
“I’m not really sure.” The former Champion admitted after some hesitation. He didn't want to disappoint Florian. “I mean there are people I admire, like Champion Cynthia or Champion Iris… But I wouldn’t say I liked them. I mean if either of them suddenly appeared in front of me I don’t think I’d feel anythin’— well, nothin’ like that anyway.”
“Oh, that’s fine.” The light and airy reply caught Kiean off guard. “That’s not really what celebrity crushes are about anyway. At least I don’t think so. I certainly wouldn’t want to like actually date any of them if I met them in real life… or like, kiss them or anything either.”
“Really?” As soon as the word escaped his mouth Kieran tried to downplay his excitement, cosying himself back up against the soft soil and ground beneath him.
“Well, yeah. I don’t know anything about them, not really. Anything I know about them is because they’re famous and do interviews and stuff, it’s all curated, it's not really them.”
I wonder if Florian’s ever done interviews before. Surely at least a few after he became a Champion in Paldea. Florian probably has so many people who like him.
Kieran meandered for a moment, fidgeting in place until the question in his mind got the better of him. “If you like someone you know and they happen to be famous, does that count as a celebrity crush?”
“Naw.” Florian answered easily, his eyes fluttering closed. “Not unless you like them because they're famous. But a crush on someone you know is just a crush on someone you know, famous or not.”
One of Florian’s eyes cracked open and a smile that looked a little bit too forced met his eyelids. “Why?” His voice cracked, prompting him to clear his throat before continuing. “Is the person you like in the public eye?”
“If he’s not, then he deserves to be. He deserves to know how special he is” Kieran shuffled even closer, his hand twitching under his head.
“It seems like whoever it is is really important to you.” Florian drawled, voice coming out slower than usual and sounding strained on his next sentence. “I really hope it’s— I hope whoever he is likes you back. He’d be stupid not to.”
Swallowing hard, Kieran’s hand started to move on its own. “Of course he’s important to me. He’s the coolest person that I know.”
Kieran, stop.
But he didn’t, his hand continuing to creep out towards Florian’s face. “And the prettiest.”
Now isn't the time.
“And kindest.”
Kieran’s hand only stopped once his fingers laid against Florian’s cheek, the skin feeling heated beneath his fingertips. Any words of warning from his mind faded away into static.
“He’s the most amazin’ person that I know and— and I can’t— I can’t—” Kieran closed his eyes, vaguely noticing a single drop of wetness cascade down his face, his fingers tightening reflexively before jerkily pulling them away.
“I can’t keep of pretendin’ like this isn’t eatin’ me up inside.” Black and red painted Kieran’s vision as the sun still tried to kiss his eyes through the lids, but they remained sealed shut. “I mean, I actually put some stock in usin’ a flower to try an’ find out for Arceus sake, and I felt like I was gonna throw up while doin’ it.”
He left out a lone huff of a laugh as he caged his eyes further under the palms of his hands. “Fuck.”
“I— Florian—” Kieran’s voice cracked as he uncovered his face, being met with a Florian who seemed just a little bit closer than before, with a soft gaze settled squarely on him. “I know I’m bein’ real selfish— when am I not though? But I really, really, really hope that obvious name I left out was mine, cause if it’s not I—”
Kieran’s breath caught in his throat when Florian’s fingertips made contact with the side of his cheek, he hadn’t even noticed them getting closer. The Galarian boy’s face hovered nearby, close enough Kieran could feel the warm puffs of life against his skin.
The way the light danced in Florian’s eyes made them look almost orange as he stared right into Kieran’s striking yellow, both shimmering now with extra moisture. He didn’t move; Kieran didn’t move. They stayed like that for what seemed like an eternity until Florian’s hand slid round to the back of Kieran’s neck, pulling his head forwards and bumping their foreheads gently together. Florian’s eyes squeezed shut, whether from the impact or something else, Kieran wasn’t sure.
A stilted breath left the Galarian boy’s mouth and then he dove, burying his head into the crook of Kieran’s shoulder. The hand on his neck retracted, readjusting itself around his waist as the other pressed against his chest, caught between the two of them and the ground.
Kieran laid stunned for a moment before he returned the gesture, hugging Florian in even tighter as his own eyes fluttered closed. Something taut he had been keeping in his chest fell away and he let out a breath he didn’t even realise he had been holding.
“Thank you.” Kieran finally croaked after a while, drawing back just enough to look Florian in the face.
“Don’t thank me, I’m being selfish too.” Florian smiled, brushing the stray bit of fringe from Kieran’s vision. “I was kind of… hopeful, you know. When I caught you with the flower. I couldn’t let you finish with it, you might’ve actually thought it was true.”
Light and airy laughter filled the air from Kieran’s lungs. “Nah. I only woulda thought it was right if it turned out good for me.”
“Ah yes, just a stupid game otherwise.”
“Of course.” Kieran stole Florian’s hand from the ground, pressing his closed mouth against the knuckles in a way that wasn’t quite a kiss, letting them linger there until Florian shifted to cup his cheek instead.
Eventually their joined hands returned to the ground, Kieran’s thumb stroking idly over the back of Florian’s. “Hey… if you’re being selfish, and I’m being selfish then— let's stay selfish together, yeah?”
“Yeah.” Florian’s expression softened as he sat up, pulling an inquisitive look from Kieran.
“Flowers.” The Galarian boy hummed as if that was an explanation, starting to pluck some of the ones near his legs, pulling away the leaves from the stems and creating a small pile.
“Whachu doing?” Kieran hoisted himself up, scooting just a little bit closer so that their knees brushed.
“Making a flower crown.” The smaller boy’s hands moved deftly as he started stringing together the flora.
“Why?” Kieran tilted his head, but the question lacked any malice the same word might have earlier.
“I want to make you one, cause—” Florian’s mouth snapped shut and he giggled before continuing the weave. “Oops, I almost said something really cheesy.”
“You could say it anyway.” Kieran leaned until their shoulders brushed too, any space seemed like a little too much now that he knew he was allowed to close the distance.
“Cause I don’t have a real crown, and how else am I gonna tell you you’ve always been the ruler of my heart?” Florian flushed as he said it, but Kieran might’ve flushed harder as he heard it.
Me?
“Florian…” His voice cracked but he didn’t have anything to say afterwards, how could he possibly put into words how he himself felt? Meekly, he settled on mimicry. “You too…”
“I come here a lot,” Florian continued unprompted, plucking a few more flowers. “And I guess when you’re in a field of flowers a lot, making crowns of them is just something you end up doing after a while. It’s kind of a special place to me… it’s not like I can control if people come here or not, it doesn’t really belong to me but— I still kind of think of it as mine. And you’re always welcome in my special spot.”
Kieran felt a warmth blossoming from his chest and he couldn’t help but express it in his smile, he tried to move in even closer but was thwarted by the way Florian had to move his arm to make the flower crown. “I don’t have a special spot but— if I did you’d always be welcome there too. Hey, I know, I could give you a key to my dorm, that’s kind of like a special spot!”
Prompting an airy chuckle from Florian he threaded another flower through the chain. “Maybe.”
I’ll have to get that printed soon. I wonder if he’d let me have one of his or not.
“Um… Hey, earlier you said this was only one of your favourite places—?” Kieran trailed off, letting the question hang in the air, only to be caught if it wanted to be.
“Mmmm, yeah. I could show you the other one sometime, if you wanted. It’s even more out of the way than here is. If you can’t find me and I’m not here though, I’m probably there.”
“I’d like that.”
Florian fidgeted with the chain for a moment, forming it into a circlet and fussing over the smaller things. Satisfied he turned to the taller boy, lifting up his arms and setting it delicately on his head, lips curled up at the corners.
Lifting his hand Kieran brushed his fingers against the soft and silky petals and whispered quietly. “Thank you.”
“Do you, think you could teach me to make them sometime?” He looked up through his lashes at the chestnut haired boy. “I’d like to make one for you, too.”
“Of course.” Florian stretched with both arms above his head before settling in more properly against Kieran, staring out into the open ocean of the terrarium. “I’d love to show you.”
“For now—” Kieran looked around, disturbing Florian’s spot only a little until he found something that suited his needs, plucking the largest, red flower he could reach without standing from the ground and turning to fixate it in Florian’s hair.
He backed up to inspect his work, but kept his hand on Florian, trailing down to cup his cheek instead. “Perfect.” He smiled.
Florian let out a sigh, leaning back against the ground, this time not afraid to drag Kieran down with him. “I’m glad you happened to be out here today.”
“I am too.” Kieran agreed, pulling himself closer to Florian’s side, closing his eyes as he took in the sounds, the wind, the waves, but even more than that, he could hear Florian’s breath, quieter than the rest but oh so easy for him to hone in on.
Before long he noticed it getting gentler, tilting his head to find Florian’s eyes had drifted closed.
“Florian?” He prompted quietly to no response. Sighing, Kieran rolled over to face Florian fully, resting his chin against his shoulder as he allowed himself to sink more comfortably against the ground.
He’s so cute…
“It’s alright.” Kieran hummed. “I’ll be here when you wake up.”
He let his own eyes flutter shut, inhaling deeply and then exhaling just as slow. In this little pocket of time it felt peaceful, a welcome reprise from anxiety and self doubt, and he would stay in it as long as possible.
