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Now was not the time to get sick. Especially for someone as important as him.
Flowery had lots of jobs to do. For one, he had to support all the other flowers, which was a very draining task considering their natures. He also tried his best to help Asgore in any way he could, but he was always pushed away.
December. Just hearing the name made his blood boil. Asgore was supposed to relax in this perfect paradise made just for him, but instead all he cared about was that stupid Lightner. Why couldn’t he realize that none of that was important anymore? Asgore had everything he needed right here.
Recently, Flowery had been working on a plan that was sure to make Asgore smile. All the flowers would come together to put on a show that used each of their talents, and Asgore would finally realize that his flowers were much better than any stupid reindeer. Flowery was meant to be the final act, using his plant-growth powers to produce a colorful bouquet of flowers that would be given to Asgore at the end.
So when he woke up the next morning with a fever of 103 and a very strong urge to vomit, he knew it was going to be a bad day.
It’s fine! Just a bit of fresh air and I’ll be right as rain!
But when he tried to stand up, the world spun way too fast and he immediately collapsed back into his bed.
Shit. How was he supposed to help if he couldn’t even get up? The performance was in two days, and no one was ready. Green still needed to perfect their recipes, Orange could use some practice on her punches, Blue had changed his mind again on the dance he would perform, and Flowery was constantly having to persuade Yellow to put the gun down everytime there was a minor inconvenience. Everyone needed help, and it was supposed to be Flowery’s job to deliver that help.
And I WILL help them. This is our special moment.
He pushed himself out of bed again. He wasn’t going to let a little cold ruin this.
Yet as the day progressed, it started to feel like more than just ‘a little cold’.
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Today’s first task was relatively simple: prepare the new training dummies for Aqua and Orange. They were going to perform an act together showing off their different bullet patterns, and it was Flowery’s job to make the dummies since the flowers that he grew were perfect stuffing for them.
He grabbed one of the empty cloth bundled and channeled his powers into the pot of soil beside him, sprouting a few flowers from the dirt. Such an intense wave of exhaustion washed over him that he immediately had to sit down on the dusty floor to stop himself from passing out.
That was… odd. His powers never drained much energy from him, even when growing large amounts of flowers and vines. So why did making a few measely flowers make him feel like he was going to die?
He was lucky no one else was in the training grounds right now, or else he would have to come up with some clever lie about what was wrong.
He had to stop and think about what to do now. He needed a lot more flowers than this, and he didn’t think he could manage that in his current state. He looked around until he saw the small supply closet in the corner of the large room. Slowly standing up on shaky legs, he stumbled over to it and found a good solution.
A bin full of seed packs was placed on one of the higher shelves, and he grabbed a few packs out of it. He had never tried this before, but he just had to pray that it would work.
He buried the seeds in the soil, then tried to focus his powers on the seeds. Normally, he could grow flowers from nothing, but he wondered if it would take less energy if he started from the seeds.
He was mostly correct. The flowers bloomed much easier now, and in no time he had sprouted more than enough to fill the two dummies he needed to make for today’s training. However, he was wrong about this process taking less energy. Although he had grown over ten times the flowers he had made before, this strategy took the same, if not more, amount of energy.
The dirt floor felt cool against his face. Wait, since when was he laying down?
A strange darkness was steadily creeping up in the corners of his vision.
Shit, don’t pass out. Please please PLEASE don’t pass out. GODDAMNIT DON’T PASS OU-
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‘Mr. Flowery, why are you sleeping on the ground?’
That voice. He knew that voice. He slowly dragged his mind out of unconciousness until he managaed to open his eyes, and saw Aqua’s face right infront of him. Her question confused him for a moment, until his mind started to clear and he could remember what happened.
’Oh! I guess I just worked really hard and needed to take a break. This floor is surprisingly comfortable, you should try it sometime.’
Aqua immediately fell onto the ground next to him.
‘Yeah, you’re right! I should’ve tried this ages ago! Thanks, Mr. Flowery!’
He let out a sigh of relief. He was glad it was Aqua who had wandered in here instead of anyone else. She was very easy to convince, but if it had been someone like Blue or Green, he would be in a lot more trouble.
‘Hey, Aqua. Do you think you can help me put together these dummies? We just have to stuff them with flowers, Blue will sew them up later.’
Aqua jumped up excitedly.
’Yes! I’ll make them the best ever! Seth will be so jealous with how good I am at this!’
She immediately got to work, and Flowery was very grateful for the help. At the moment, his hands were shaking so badly he didn’t think he could hold anything for more than a few seconds without dropping it.
Aqua finished much faster than he expected, and she turned to him with an excited expression.
‘I wanna help more! What else can I do?!’
Flowery smiled.
’That’s all I have for now, but I’ll be sure to ask you for help next time I need it!’
That was an absolute lie. The waves of embarrassent and guilt that came over him were so strong he felt as if he might pass out again. He shouldn’t need help with any of this, these jobs were his responsibility. What would Asgore think of him if he knew that Flowery was relying on others to do his own jobs? The thought of that sent a sharp stab of anxiety through him, making him feel very nauseous.
He was lucky Aqua was too excited at the moment to catch on to any of this, and he watched as she danced around for a moment and then exited, presumably to go see what Orange or Seth were up to.
After about a minute of him sitting on the ground trying to breathe deeply, he tried standing up. This time the task was manageable, but only because of how heavily he was leaning against the wall. He felt really, really hot. Was his fever getting worse? No, it didn’t matter right now. What mattered was putting on the perfect show for Asgore.
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The next task was much simpler, being to help Green with their recipes. They were trying to bake the perfect treat for Asgore to cheer him up, and they had wanted Flowery to taste-test some of the different recipes they had made and for him to pick the best one. Normally he would be delighted to do this task as he had always loved Green’s cooking, but the thought of eating anything right now made him terribly nauseous.
The kitchen smelled of cherries along with a faint scent of lavender from the candle on the counter. He sat at the table with a plate of 4 different cookies on it. It took all of his willpower not to vomit right there at the table. He didn’t want Green to get the idea that he didn’t think very highly of their culinary skills, because he really did. Green sat across from him, waiting patiently.
He tried his best to eat fast enough to where he could be through with this as soon as possible, but not so fast as to make Green suspicious that anything was wrong. If one of the other flowers were ever sick, Green would immediately send them to their bed with medicine and a bowl of soup, and they wouldn’t be allowed to do anything that could possibly be stress-inducing until Green felt they were healed enough. If they found out that Flowery had fallen ill, then he knew he wouldn’t be able to get everything done in time.
After a few minutes, the plate was empty, and he was supposed to pick the best one to be given to Asgore. He had hardly paid any attention to how they had tasted, as he was more focused on trying to stop the bile that was quickly rising in the back of his throat.
’I liked the- uh, chocolate and cherry one.’
That was the only flavor he could remember. Green seemed to be satisfied with his answer, at least.
He have a polite bow as he slowly walked to the door, but once he was out of sight he broke into a full-on sprint to the bathroom. He was still too late, however, as most of his stomach contents was emptied onto the floor. He weakly closed the door and crouched in front of the toilet, where he got the rest out without making a mess this time.
He didn’t know how long he had been vomiting for, but eventually it had turned into quiet retching as he had nothing left to get rid of. He gently flushed the toilet and curled up on the floor, wrapping both arms around his stomach and pulling his knees tight against his chest. He felt absolutely miserable.
What would Asgore think if he saw how pathetic I am right now? I used to be the beautiful golden flower in his bouquet, and now I’m a disgusting heap curled on a bathroom floor. God, I feel like shit right now.
Hot tears were streaming down his face, which only made him feel even more pathetic.
I can’t be crying right now. Asgore grew us to be perfect and beautiful, not whatever mess I am.
Why did Asgore ever think that Flowery was fit to be part of his perfect bouquet? All the other flowers were perfect; they could meet Asgore’s expectations and be just what he wanted them to be. So why couldn’t Flowery do the same? It wasn’t fair.
After what felt like (and probably was) hours of laying on the cold bathroom floor, he managed to regain enough strength to sit up. The nausea had mostly gone away, and he was now left with a dry, burning throat and a puddle of sick to clean off the floor. He pulled some paper towels from the cabinet and cleaned everything up, before using to sink for support in another successful attempt to stand up. Only then did a terrible realization hit him.
How long had he been in here?! He had just wasted time that he could not spare, and now he had to work faster if he wanted to help everyone today.
With shaking legs, he took small steps until he reached the hallway again, where he had to think now. Who needed help now? His mind was feeling really hazy, so he decided to just walk down the hall until he found someone.
He reached the library, where Seth was doing research for a presentation they were making. Flowery wasn’t sure if Asgore would be very interested in this, but he wanted to let Seth do their own thing.
The library was very warm- or was that him? He wasn’t entirely sure, he could hardly even think right now.
Seth was sitting at a table near the back corner, heavily focused on their book. Flowery grabbed a random book off a nearby shelf and sat across from them, pretending to be invested in it. He couldn’t really make out any of the words, his vision was blurring so heavily that he thought he might pass out again.
’Oh! Hello, Flowery!’
Seth looked up from their book and greeted him sweetly. Flowery honestly didn’t mind Seth. They could be a bit boring at times, but they were much less overwhelming than a lot of the other flowers.
The two of them sat in silence for a while, one reading and the other pretending. He had begun feeling exhausted, wanting nothing more than to go back to sleep. There were a couple times where he had started to doze off, but would be awoken quickly by the sound of a page turning or the feeling of the cold table touching his face.
Eventually Seth looked up from their book with a concerned expression.
’Um, Flowery, are you okay?’
No. Say no. Ask for help. You are sick and tired and need rest. Just tell them that. Aqua was happy to help, and everyone else will be too. Just ask for help.
’Yep! Never better! What kind of silly question is this?’
Seth saw through his obvious lies.
’Well, you look very pale, and you seem like you’re about to fall asleep. We can take a break if you’re tired.’
Flowery let out a fake laugh.
’What? I’m fine. I just didn’t get a lot of sleep last night since I was so excited! I swear, you worry way too much.’
Seth didn’t seem to be convinced, but they stopped asking questions and went back to their book.
After another hour or so of trying not to fall asleep, Flowery stood up.
’Well, I’ll leave you to your work. I have a whole lotta things to catch up on. See you later!’
He turned away before Seth had the chance to respond. Just as he was about to exit, he noticed another area nearby full of carpets and beanbag chairs and pillows. He so desperately wanted to lay down, but he knew the others still needed his help.
The sooner I get this done, the sooner I can go to back to sleep. Things will be better tomorrow.
______________________________
Things were, in fact, not better tomorrow. He had spent the rest of this day helping Blue decide what dance to perform (similar to Green, he just picked the one that was clearest in his memories) and stopping Yellow from ending himself again (involving some elaborate scheme to boil himself alive in the hot spring). Once everything was finally done, the feeling of returning to his bed felt like a gift from heaven.
But this peace was quickly broken when he woke up the next morning, somehow feeling ten times worse. He had to lay in bed for about an hour until the dizziness subsided enough for him to get up. Even then, he had to grip his nightstsnd like his life depended on it just so he wouldn’t collapse.
When he exited the room, he prayed that he wouldn’t have to interact with anyone for a while. That wish was gone immediately when he saw Orange coming down the hall, her eyes lighting up at the sight of him.
’Oh! Flowery! You’re up pretty late. Hey, you should come over to the training grounds to see the new moves Aqua and I have been practicing. I think you’ll really like them!’
He knew Orange meant well, but he really wanted nothing less than to do whatever she had just suggested (her words hardly registered in his brain through the throbbing headache he had developed.)
He didn’t have the energy to speak right now, so he gave a quiet nod and followed Orange along the same path he had taken yesterday. Along the way, they crossed over one of the many small bridges, where he made the mistake of looking at his reflection in the water below.
He looked absolutely terrible. His face was very pale, along with heavy eyebags, messy hair, and bloodshot eyes. He really had to do something about his appearance before the show tomorrow, or else everyone would know that he felt as terrible as he looked.
Luckily, Orange seemed too excited to notice his shitty apearance, and so was Aqua when they arrived at the training grounds.
He sat against the wall for around twenty minutes as the two showed off the new bullet patterns they had been practicing. He tried his best to focus, he really did, but his pounding headache and blurry vision made it hard to even look at them.
‘That’s all we have for now, but we think it’s pretty good. Do you like it?’
It took Flowery a moment to process that Orange was talking to him. He still didn’t think he was able to get any words out, so he just nodded again. Orange seemed a bit confused since he was usually very talkative, but she seemed satisfied and went back to training with Aqua. Flowery took the opportunity to leave, trying to think about where to go next and also trying not to vomit. He decided to go to the library, since it was nearby and he wouldn’t have to do much.
As he walked, his nausea had begun to come back, and was increasing at a concerningly quick rate. Please, not now. I don’t care how sick I am later, just let me be fine until after the show.
However, his body didn’t want to listen to his request. As he neared the library, the nausea reached its peak, and he eventually accepted his fate and ran to one of the nearby hedges shaped like him and Asgore. He shuddered violently as he began vomiting into the grass, but there really wasn’t much since the only thing he had consumed since his encounter with Green yesterday was a small glass of water during the night.
This time, it was only a couple minutes until his body decide to spare him from this terrible pain, and he managed to stand up after most of the nausea subsided. He really, really wanted to cry, but he knew it wouldn’t be good if someone found him curled on the ground crying in the hallway. So he started walking again until he reached the library.
He found Seth at the same table as last time, with all their focus put into their book again. He had planned on doing the same thing as last time and just pretending to read, but his legs didn’t seem to want to carry him over there. A heavy wave of exhaustion washed over him, and he desperately wanted to lay down. He glanced over at the cushiony corner he had seen yesterday, then looked back at Seth. They didn’t really seem to need his help, considering the tall stack of notes next to them and the even taller stack of books next to that. It was also early enough in the day that he could easily take a quick nap and still have enough time to help everyone else.
He gratefully collapsed into one of the soft beanbags, feeling as though he hadn’t slept in days even though he had only woken up about a half hour ago. He pulled one of the blankets off the ground and wrapped it around himself, relishing in its warmth after how cold he had been. He closed his eyes and sleep came to him almost immediately.
______________________________
’-what do i do, what do i do?! He’s burning up, I gotta do something fast! Should I go to Asgore? No, he’s busy. Maybe I should- ugghh, I don’t know, I don’t know!’
A panicked voice was coming from somewhere very close to him. He tried opening his eyes, but even that would take too much energy, so he instead opted to fall back asleep.
’I’ll take him to Green then. Yeah! They’ll know what to do. Alright then, let me just-´
He was sharply awoken as a pair of cold hands wrapped around him, attempting to pick him up. He sat up quickly, pushing himself away from whoever was trying to grab him. As his eyes focused, he saw that it was Seth, who seemed startled by his sudden awakening.
’What are you doing?!’ Flowery snapped, sounding a lot harsher than he wanted to.
’Oh thank god, you’re awake! At least I won’t have to carry you now. Here, come with me.’
’Why?’ What was Seth’s problem? All he was doing was resting for a moment, and suddenly they were trying to grab him and take him somewhere for no reason.
’You’re really sick. We’re going to Green. Here, you can lean on my shoulder if you need to.’ Seth offered.
No no no no no. This was not supposed to happen.
’What? No, I’m fine. I’ve told you this already.’ He really was the opposite of fine; he somehow felt a thousand times worse after his nap. He obviously couldn’t say that to Seth, as he knew they were going to tell someone else and quickly get the whole show cancelled.
Unfortunately for him, Seth didn’t believe a word he said.
’Obviously you’re not, if you’re falling asleep at 1 pm and your forehead feels like the surface of the sun. Come on, it won’t kill you to let me help you.’
How was he supposed to get out of this? He couldn’t be mad at Seth, knowing that he himself would do the exact same thing if any of the other flowers were sick. But he couldn’t let them tell anyone, or the show would be ruined.
’Here, how about this. You keep quiet until after the show, and then all of you guys can whine and panic about me as much as you want. Deal?’
’But-´
’See, I’m glad we agree! You want the show to go well, don’t you? Stop worrying about stupid little things like this!’
Seth still seemed unconvinced, but Flowery turned and left before they could say anything back to him.
As soon as he was out of sight, he quickly slumped against the wall as another wave of dizziness hit him.
Damnit, that could’ve gone really badly.
He was pretty sure that there wasn’t any way for that interaction to have gone good, but at least he had gotten Seth off his back. I hope.
______________________________
The rest of the day was pretty much a blur. Neither Yellow or Green needed his help, which he was happy about, but Blue seemed to notice how terrible he looked while he watched whatever dance Blue was doing.
’Dear, are you okay? You look a bit pale.’
Shit.
’Oh, yes! Just a bit tired. Please, continue. I absolutely adore your performance.’
Blue seemed very pleased with Flowery’s appoval, so he returned to his dancing, although he cast frequent concerned glances in Flowery’s direction. At least he didn’t ask any more questions.
Once that was over, Flowery returned to his room, grateful to lay down again. Normally he would never fall asleep at 2 pm, but he didn’t care right now. He hoped that with the extra rest, he would be okay tomorrow.
Come on, you can do this. It’s a big day tomorrow, don’t go ruining it for everyone. You have to make Asgore happy.
______________________________
He was surprised he hadn’t started to melt considering the fact that it felt as though he was burning alive.
He had never been backstage before, but he did not expect it to be so hot. Maybe it was just him. Either way, he had to focus. Yellow was onstage right now, doing whatever sharpshooting act he had mentioned a week ago. Blue would be onstage after him, leaving Flowery to go on as the finale. He couldn’t see Asgore from where he stood backstage, but he hoped that he was enjoying this.
Flowery had spent the other performances sitting against the wall, trying to steady his breathing. He wanted to throw up, but this time it was due to nerves instead of sickness. What if Asgore was unhappy with his performance? That would surely ruin it for everyone else, who had done amazing. At least, Flowery was pretty sure they had done amazing. The suffocating heat made it pretty hard to focus on everything else.
The end of Yellow’s performance was drawing near, and Flowery felt a fresh wave of nausea from the anxiety that was stabbing through him. As Yellow was cleaning his props offstage, Flowery took the opportunity to walk forward a few steps so he could see how Asgore was doing.
He looked unimpressed.
Flowery couldn’t breathe. A million thoughts rushed into his head. Why wasn’t Asgore happy?! Did he not like the performances?! Was it just Yellow’s in particular, or had he been like this the whole show?! Or maybe he was like this because he knew that Flowery’s performance was coming up. He hates us he hates us he hates us he hates us he hates me he hates me HE HATES ME.
He took a few steps back, feeling really, really sick.
Someone placed a gentle hand on his shoulder.
’Flowery, dear, are you alright? You look a bit unwell.’
Blue’s words quickly turned into a jumbled mess in his head. Suddenly Flowey’s legs decided they were done holding him up, and he felt himself collapse.
Warm hands caught him. Someone yelled something. Whoever was holding him lowered him until he was laying on the ground, and they said a few things he couldn’t hear. He saw something orange run past him to the stage.
’-sgore, I deeply apologize, but I think you have to leave. We’re having a bit of a… problem, backstage. We apologize for the inconvenience.’
Problem was the only word Flowery heard. A problem was all he ever was. He had just wanted to make Asgore happy. Now he was leaving, unsatisfied, and he would just go back to his papers. It was all Flowery’s fault for being such a stupid problem.
He felt tears welling up in his eyes.
Stop. Stop it. Not now. Please.
The people around him said a few more things before the blurry blue figure in front of him picked him up again. Even the small motion of being picked up so gently made his stomach turn, and he gagged violently. He was glad he hadn’t eaten anything, or he would’ve just vomited on Blue.
‘Oh, you poor thing. Come on, let’s…’
The rest of his words were lost on Flowery as another wave of exhaustion fell over him, and he felt his vision starting to go dark. This time, he was grateful to fall into unconsciousness, and all his senses melted away.
______________________________
’-orry, I’m so sorry! I should’ve told someone, I knew he wasn’t okay! He looked terrible, but he said he was fine! This is my fault, isn’t it…’
’No, dear, not at all. Please don’t blame yourself for- oh, he’s waking up!’
Everything felt wrong. He felt way too hot, yet it was cold. The voices around him were so loud, but so far away. Every part of him ached, and he wished he wasn’t awake right now. But he was, and there wasn’t much he could do about it right now.
He slowly opened his eyes, which took way more energy than it should have. His vision managed to focus this time, and he realized he was lying down in his bed. Wasn’t he just backstage?
’Hello, dear. How do you feel?’
He realized that Blue and Seth were both in the room. He tried answering Blue’s question, but a weak groan was the only noise he could manage right now.
But although every inch of him felt like he was dying, he still felt a lot better than he had in the past couple of days. A cold towel had been placed on his forehead, and suddenly the heat was so much more bearable. His headache had had also been reduced to a dull throb instead of the constant stabbing that it had been earlier.
‘Seth, could you please go get Flowery a glass of water?’
Seth nodded, then left the room. Flowery realized that water sounded amazing to him right now.
Blue turned back towards Flowery with a concerned look.
‘How long have you been ill for, dear?’
’Couple… days, now.’ Speaking hurt, and his words came out slurred slightly. Blue’s eyes widened.
‘Why didn’t you speak to anyone about this? I would’ve been more than happy to help, and I’m sure everyone else would’ve as well.’
Yeah. That’s the problem. You would’ve cancelled the show.
Wait. The show! He was going go be late for his performance if he didn’t-
Oh shit. They had cancelled the show.
Tears began streaming down his face, and he turned to face the wall so that Blue wouldn’t see. He was too late, though, because Blue noticed immediately.
’Oh dear, what’s wrong? Is there anything I can get you right now?’
’S’my fault. I ruined everything.’
The words were painful in more ways then one. Speaking in general hurt right now, but the pain of actually admitting what he had done hurt even more.
’What? No, no you didn’t, dear. Why would you ever think that?’
Blue seemed genuinely confused. How? He had been the first one to help when he collapsed. Surely he was the most angry as well.
’Got sick. Ruined the show we spent weeks preparing for. M’sorry.’
His words were becoming a lot more slurred now. He wanted go go back to sleep.
‘No, no, no. You didn’t ruin anything, dear. It wasn’t your fault that you were sick, things just happen. Please don’t think those bad things about yourself.’
He felt warm, comforting arms wrap around him. He leaned into them, and his tears eventually stopped.
’I got the water, Blue.’ Seth said, re-entering the room.
’Thank you, dear. Flowery, here you go.’ Blue took the water and handed it to Flowery after helping him sit up. It felt amazing after he hadn’t eaten or drank anything all day. Once he had finished, he laid back down.
‘Get some more rest, dear. We’ll be here for you.’
Blue’s words brought him a lot of comfort. Closing his eyes, he let sleep take hold of him.
Things were going to be okay.