Work Text:
Maomao was sitting in the grass and enjoying the warm breeze that was gently ruffling her bangs. The wide meadow all around her was nearly bursting with blooming white clovers.
“It's a very useful plant,” she thought. “It's good against coughs and also helps with skin irritations among other things.”
Not to mention that the white, round flowers also serve quite well for weaving beautiful flower crowns. One of such was already decorating Maomao's head and another lying atop her lap while she was working on a third one. Only two or three more flowers and it would be ready as well.
Maomao let out a sigh of satisfaction. It felt nice to dedicate yourself to such simple and relaxing activities like these for a change. Well, after all, every brain needs a little break every now and then, right?
“And I do know someone who really did need such a time-out,” the apothecary continued her thoughts and peered at the gorgeous man who was lying face-up on the grass next to her and taking a nap. About an hour ago, as she had been picking clovers, she had encountered him right here, enjoying some fresh air, and once he had spotted the flower crown on her head, he had absolutely wanted to learn how to make them himself and asked her to teach him.
Maomao had no clue why someone like him would wish for something like that (in her opinion, he should rather learn to do something more useful like changing clothes without help, for example), but she did as told without a word of protest.
To be honest, she had to admit that she was quite glad to see him take a break from all his work. And he also seemed to sleep better at night now, because she couldn't see any signs of exhaustion on him.
Well, in any case, the result of her little lesson could now be admired on his head. The flower crown he had made was a little crooked and not perfectly neat, which made it seem a tiny bit out of place combined with his impeccable face and hair, but Maomao honestly liked how it looked on him. The imperfect flower crown made the entire man look a bit more ordinary, a bit more human and less like an unapproachable celestial being.
And the fact that he was sleeping peacefully now, only reinforced that impression.
After having finished his own crown, Jinshi had first lain down on the grass, watching Maomao work on one of hers (the second one she had made was for Xiaolan, while the third would go to Shisui) with a smile on his face until he had ended up falling asleep, using his arms as a pillow.
Since the apothecary was planning to stay there for a bit longer, she decided to not wake him up for now. She would do that in about one hour at the latest, though, because despite the warm weather, it still wasn't quite summer yet, so it wasn't too wise to lie outside for too long.
Weaving the last flower into the third crown, she let out a yawn. As it seemed, the whole relaxing atmosphere and Jinshi's sleepiness proved to be kind of contagious.
Maomao cast another gaze at the young noble. He was still sleeping soundly. Hm, maybe she should lie down a bit as well.
A good idea, she found.
And thus, she lay down next to Jinshi, facing him and putting both of her additional flower crowns between the two of them on the grass. A few minutes later, she had already fallen asleep.
About fifteen minutes passed. The young noble and the apothecary were napping quietly next to each other under the blue sky, surrounded by white flowers.
Jinshi eventually stretched a little in his sleep and turned to his side so that he and Maomao ended up facing one another. Their faces were now only about ten centimeters apart without either of those two being aware of it.
Well, not yet, to be more precise.
Maomao who had merely sunk into a rather light slumber than into a proper deep sleep, woke up from the sounds of Jinshi's movements and slowly opened her eyes.
And immediately got startled upon seeing his beautiful face right in front of her own.
“Gah, too close!” she exclaimed in her thoughts and instinctively moved her hands to push him away a bit. However, she had forgotten that she was still holding on to one of the flower crowns, and so, one of the flowers in it happened to tickle Jinshi's nose.
What followed was a loud…
“ACHOO!”
And the little nap was thus abruptly finished for both of them.
***
Bonus:
“Was that really so funny, Master Jinshi?”, the apothecary inquired, sounding a bit annoyed.
Jinshi, who had burst out laughing right after he had stopped sneezing, wiped away the tears of laughter from the corners of his eyes.
“Oh, I think it was,” he replied, still slightly gasping for air and giving her a big smile. “Such things really do only happen to me when you are there.”
The two of them were still lying in the grass, facing each other.
Maomao sighed.
“Whatever. It’s still a bit chilly outside, sir, so you should rather head home and sleep there,” she said and casually plucked out a flower that had gotten stuck in Jinshi's long hair. “Otherwise you risk catching a cold.”
Jinshi pouted a little, but it was plenty visible that he was still in a good mood.
“Don’t want to… There's nothing but work waiting for me at home, and I want to spend a bit more time with you… Plus, I don’t have to worry about any colds, because I have a portable heater with me.” He grinned at her.
“A what?”
Maomao raised an eyebrow. But her confusion didn't last long, for before she knew it, he had pulled her into his arms and hugged her tightly.
“Ah, so warm!”
“Master Jinshi!!!”
The two flower crowns were crushed between their bodies in the process, so Maomao would have to make new ones. And Jinshi would probably help her with that now that he knew how to, right?