[Completed] The Magic Flower House - Chapter 5: 紅薔薇 Red Roses [Love]
Title: The Magic Flower House - Chapter 5: 紅薔薇 Red Roses [Love]
Fandom: Kis-My-Ft2, Snow Man
Pairings/Characters: Miyata Toshiya, Tamamori Yuta, Sakuma Daisuke
Rating: PG-13
Warnings: AU. Mostly harmless?
Disclaimer: Characters are not mine. Story is mine.
A/N: Okay, today is my last day off, so I guess this worked out well. I hope you enjoyed reading this short series as much as I enjoyed writing it! ♥
Miyata had a problem. An actual problem. A possibly big problem.
He looked at the flower pot on the workbench in front of him. It was the magic flower that told him whether or not a customer needed a special flower or not. Miyata had been taking care of it ever since he took over the shop. It had never changed ever since it had started to bloom back then but now it was suddenly starting to show signs of wilting. And that couldn’t be good.
When he had discovered this, he had immediately consulted his books but they hadn’t been of any help. Then he’d called the one person who’d hopefully know, his mother but she hadn’t picked up but she’d messaged him that she’d call him back as soon as possible.
“How am I supposed to help people without you?” He looked at the flower and touched it gently as if trying to nurse it back to health with his love alone.
The sound of the chimes on the door diverted his attention and he went to greet the customer, who’d come in. A few more followed and before he knew it, Tamamori was standing in front of the counter. The other frowned at him a little.
“Something wrong, Miyata?” Tamamori asked.
“Ah, well, one of my flowers isn’t doing so well. So I guess I’m a little worried?” He wasn’t lying. “But it’ll be okay. What would you like today, Tama-chan?”
“Those look good...what are they called again, violets?” Tamamori pointed at a pot. Then he looked at Miyata again, as if he expected some kind of reaction. Miyata glanced at the flowers and then smiled at Tamamori again.
“Okay. Good choice.” He nodded and got some wrapping paper.
Tamamori clicked his tongue but didn’t say anything else. He watched Miyata as the other worked and then paid. Before he left, he poked the other’s forehead with his finger.
“I hope you feel better soon. Being so down isn’t like you.” Then he waved and walked out of the shop with his purchase and over to a waiting car.
Miyata smiled and waved back. “Thanks for caring, Tama-chan.” When the other was gone, his eyes drifted over to the empty space the violets had left on his display. Violets stood for honesty. It was probably just a coincidence. Tamamori wasn’t telling him anything.
His train of thoughts was interrupted by his phone ringing. It was the ringtone for his mother, so he quickly went to answer it and told her about his problem.
After discussing things with his mother, Miyata decided to close the shop a little earlier that night and then sent a message to the magic courier service to request a few things. Sakuma messaged him back, saying he’d come over as soon as he could.
Once that had been taken care of, Miyata tried to heal the flower with what he had around. He looked at the instructions his mother had given him and mixed the ingredients together. Then he sprayed the potion onto the flower petals. There was no reaction. If the potion had worked there should have been a soft glow. So this one was a failure.
A knock on the door jerked him out of his thoughts and he blinked when he saw Sakuma hovering outside on his broom. The other flew inside and then took off his bag. “Man, this was heavy today. I sure hope whatever you’re looking for is in these.” He opened the small bag and produced a whole pile of books and a few boxes and bags with ingredients and gadgets. Things that wouldn’t normally have fit into a bag of that size but hey, magic. “This felt like carrying about half our library at home over here.”
“Thanks a lot for helping out.” Miyata smiled. “I really appreciate it.”
“Hey, who would I be if I wouldn’t help a friend in need?” Sakuma shook his head. “You told me you were there for me when I needed you, so of course I’m returning the favour!”
Miyata’s smile brightened. “Thank you, Sakuma.”
Sakuma sat down on a pillow and stretched a bit. “I know this is a stupid question to ask right now but what happens if that flower wilts?”
“If it wilts and dies, it means I can’t continue with what I’m doing.” Miyata said softly. “For I won’t be able to tell who needs my help and who doesn’t. Spreading magic randomly isn’t allowed, so I would just become a normal florist.” His expression darkened. “If the flower rejects me, it means I am not worthy of this job really.”
“Miyacchi!” Sakuma’s eyes widened. “No! Don’t think like that! I don’t think that’s the case at all! There’s nobody who’s more suited for this than you! You’re doing and you’ve done an awesome job! I really mean that. I’m sure there’s something else wrong with it.”
“Thanks, Sakuma. Your words mean a lot to me.” He patted the other on the back. “Now, let me go through all of the things you brought over so you didn’t have to haul them over for nothing. Want something to eat or drink before you move on?”
“Nah, I’m okay.” Sakuma got up again. “This was a special delivery. I’m going home now. Or well, I have another appointment. Something unrelated to magic and all that.”
Miyata asked without thinking, “Are you meeting Iwamoto-kun?”
Sakuma dropped his broom. “Wait, how did you know-”
Oops. Miyata tried to come up with an excuse. “I saw you in Akiba the other day and one of my acquaintances happened to know who he was but you guys seemed to be busy, so we didn’t go up and say hi? You were dancing at the park. And I wanted to say are you meeting Iwamoto-kun and the others. The dance group.”
“Ah...oh I see.” Sakuma nodded. “Uhm yeah I’m actually meeting him. Just him.” He fidgeted a bit. “Well, you see, he was the person I told you about the other day.”
“Judging by the way you’re blushing right now, I guess things went well?” Miyata knew of course but well, he couldn’t exactly tell the other. It would be way too awkward. He felt relieved that he’d been able to talk himself out of the earlier slip of the tongue.
Smiling brightly, Sakuma nodded. “It did! I...it wasn’t quite as I had imagined things to turn out but somehow it worked out.” He hugged himself and swayed his body left and right a bit.
“And it feel great, Miyacchi. It really does. Being in love and being loved in return, I didn’t think it would be quite like this. This great! I mean, I knew it would be nice and all but this just feels really, really good.” Sakuma looked genuinely happy. “I can’t really put it into words but it makes me feel complete, in a way?”
Miyata couldn’t understand that feeling. No. And he tried to push back that dark feeling of jealousy again. “That sounds really awesome. I’m happy for you, Sakuma.”
Sakuma looked at Miyata and then hugged his friend. “I’m sure you’ll find someone as well, Miyacchi. Someone who’ll make you feel complete, too. I’m sure. Someone like you deserves someone who loves you. And for all the good you do, I think that’s a small thing to ask in return. Fate, god, destiny, whoever decides these things, I’m sure they’d agree.”
If only. Miyata thought. But he returned the hug. “Yeah. Maybe one day.”
“Stay positive.” Sakuma gave him a piece sign. “I’ll see you then.”
“See you. Travel safely.” Miyata waved and then watched as Sakuma took off. He closed his window again and looked at the pile of books on the floor.
Before he could think of love and the like, he’d have to get through all of this and figure out what was wrong with his magic flower. It would be a long night. Maybe he should make a sign for the flower shop that he wasn’t going to open it tomorrow. Drastic times called for drastic measures after all and well, the flower shop probably wouldn’t be missed if it wasn’t open. After all, he wasn’t selling anything essential or important.
Or so he thought. Koyama-san came over just after the time he’d usually open his shop and asked whether he was okay. She had brought him some hot soup, in case he was sick. He smiled and reassured her and told her that he just needed a day off to work on a few things and that he was sorry to have worried her.
From his window upstairs he could see other people stopping in front of the shop to read the notice and then make sad face. Some even scribbled notes and put them into the little box he had there - it was just a decorative one but apparently it came in handy now.
Seeing all the people care about the shop made Miyata feel warm. So this place wasn’t just one among many. Even some of the students had left him messages. Guys, too.
His head whirled around when his flower emitted a soft glow then. Was something he’d tried working after all? It seemed like he was on the right track. So he should continue now. The sooner he figured this out, the better. Then he’d be able to open the shop again.
Miyata of course completely forgot about time and suddenly, a knock on his door echoed through the house. “Miyata? You’re in here, aren’t you? Why’s the shop closed today?”
Tamamori. Of course. He’d forgotten about the other.
This was the first time that he might have forgotten about the other, Miyata noted with a pang of guilt. He went over to the door and opened it. “Hey, Tama-chan. Sorry. I’m working on something, so I decided to close the shop. I need some peace and quiet for this.”
The other looked at him. And looked at him some more. Then Tamamori shoved him inside and closed the door behind him, flipping the lock shut with a flick of his wrist as well.
“Something’s wrong. I can tell.” Tamamori stated and kept his eyes on Miyata. “Tell me?”
“It’s nothing you should worry about, Tama-chan. It’s about flowers. It’s okay. I’m going to open the shop normally again tomorrow.” Miyata shook his head. “Ah, I still have fresh flowers around though, if you want some?” He turned his back towards the other and opened one of the doors of the glass case, where the fresh flowers were kept.
Tamamori didn’t say anything. At least not for a few moments. What he said then though, made Miyata freeze on the spot.
“Miyacchi, do you know what it feels like to be in love?” Tamamori asked.
Why was the other asking him this question? Miyata was confused. But then again, Tamamori often talked to him about things. Random things. Work related things. This was probably one of those times. He shouldn’t think anything about it. He should just act natural.
“Hm, only from what people told me about it?” He said but he didn’t turn to look at the other as he did so. Miyata was afraid to look. He was afraid that maybe he wouldn’t like what he saw when he looked. Or maybe he was afraid something he wasn’t supposed to say, or didn’t want to say would slip out by accident if he looked at Tamamori now. That couldn’t happen. “Why are you asking, Tama-chan? Is it for a drama?”
He could hear footsteps. Tamamori was walking over to him.
“No. It’s not. It’s a serious question.” Tamamori said. He stopped a few steps away from Miyata. “So, what do people say love feels like?”
Miyata thought for a moment. The last person who’d talked to him about love had been Sakuma, the night before. “I hear that being in love is a great feeling and that it makes you happy and feel complete.” He told the other what Sakuma had told him.
Tamamori huffed softly. “That’s nonsense.” Miyata could hear the sound of Tamamori’s clothes rustling as the other moved. “Being in love is awful. It makes you hurt in weird places and it’s seriously annoying! Nothing can make this go away. I don’t want it. It’s stupid. You agree with me, don’t you? You’d feel the same way, wouldn’t you?”
He didn’t know. Miyata was confused by the other’s words and actions. What did the other want? Usually, Miyata didn’t have a problem with reading Tamamori but right now, he absolutely had no idea. It wasn’t a pleasant feeling.
“I...I don’t know?” He tried to sound honest. And well, he was. “And well, I guess different people feel different about love. So maybe that’s how Tama-chan feels?” Miyata tried to relax, to calm himself down. “And well, if you feel that way, I guess it’s okay.” He added. “Everyone has the right to feel differently about things after all.”
“Do you even hear what you’re saying right now?” Tamamori sounded angry now. “Miyata, cut this crap already, will you?” He waited for a moment, probably for a reaction.
Miyata didn’t do anything. He didn’t know what to do right now. So he remained frozen to his spot and still with his back facing Tamamori.
“Look at me and say something!” Tamamori demanded. “Look at me and tell me what you think. What you really think. I know you want to tell me something. And it’s not what you’ve just told me. You suck at lying, Miyata. And you know you do!”
“I’m not lying, Tama-chan.” Miyata tried. “There’s nothing I want to tell you.”
“Look at me, will you, damn it!” Tamamori grabbed Miyata and in the process knocked over a couple of things, among them some of the potions and magic seeds. There was a small explosion and purple smoke surrounded them. When it cleared up, the whole shop was filled with red roses. It looked like some extravagant, elaborate Valentine’s Day surprise.
Tamamori blinked, anger vanishing from one moment to the next, replaced by surprise. “I always knew you were special.” He muttered, more to himself than to the other. “But maybe these will get the message across finally.” Grabbing a rose, he held it up for Miyata to see.
“You know what these mean, don’t you? This is the simplest of the language of flowers, something that every child and even every otherwise clueless dude on the street knows! Tell me, Toshiya. What does this stand for?” Tamamori looked at him and his eyes bored themselves into Miyata’s own and through them deeper into Miyata, into his soul.
He couldn’t avert his eyes anymore now. The other had also used his first name. This was serious. Miyata’s voice sounded weak when he replied. “Love. Red roses stand for love.”
“So, why haven’t you suggested them to me until now? Why haven’t you given me any of these before?” Tamamori put the rose away and moved closer to Miyata again. “You wanted to, right? You’ve wanted to for so long!”
“T-Tama…!” Miyata was panicking inwardly. He couldn’t come up with any words again for a few minutes but this time Tamamori didn’t seem to want to pressure him. The other was looking at him expectantly. Looking and waiting. Waiting for him to say something. Finally he just blurted something out. The first thing that came to his mind right now. “I...but you would have never said-” The look on the other’s face told him that he might have said the wrong thing again just now but then Tamamori’s expression softened.
“You’re so stupid! I’ve said yes all along you idiot. Why do you think I always come at 11:38? Ugh, I should have just come at 11:40:38. Maybe that would have been easier to understand.” Tamamori crossed his arms and then, after a moment, punched Miyata’s shoulder. “Idiot!”
It took a moment for Miyata to put 2 and 2 together. The 11 stood for “good” or “it’s okay” - especially if Tamamori wanted to at the 40 and the 38 stood for “Miya”. So if one put all of that together it would make “ii yo, miya” - ‘it’s okay, Miyata’ or simply ‘yes’. It was like a super roundabout reply to a proposal or something. A proposal that hadn’t even been made. Nor had the confession really. At least until now.
Suddenly it all made sense. At least if one applied “Tama-Logic” to it. A kind of logic that was not logical at all really. Not that he would ever tell the other that.
“Yuta…” He couldn’t quite find the words yet. Miyata just started at the other.
Tamamori was looking back at him expectantly. “So, are you going to say it now?”
Miyata closed the gap between them and wrapped Tamamori into a hug. “I’ll say it. I’ll say it as many times as you want me to.” He promised. Then he pulled away a bit, so that he was able to look at the other again. And then he said them, said those words he’d been afraid of for so long, that he’d hidden inside himself. “I love you.”
“Took you long enough, idiot.” Tamamori huffed and then leaned his forehead against Miyata’s. “I love you, too, stupid.”
He felt like he could burst right now. All the pent up emotions, mixed with newfound happiness wanted to come out. “I love you, Yuta.” He said again. And he would have said it many more times but he felt like that wouldn’t be enough. So he did the thing that came to his mind next.
It was his first kiss. It probably wasn’t Tamamori’s but that was okay. The other probably thought of his kiss as terribly clumsy and lots of other things but that was okay, too.
When their lips parted, Miyata almost found himself with a mouthful of rose instead when Tamamori whacked him with one. “You sure made things out to be just like this rose. All these stupid annoying thorns first and then we finally get to the good part. Now I expect you to make that good part worth my time, okay?” He put the rose away.
“I have today off. And apparently so do you. Make something out of it.”
“I-” Miyata suddenly remembered something. “But I did have something important to do!”
Tamamori raised an eyebrow and pointed behind Miyata. “Would that happen to me that shiny flower over there? You really have weird stuff in your shop.”
Miyata turned around. His magic flower was back to normal again. Or maybe even better than before. It was in full bloom, bright and beautiful and it glowed, it was glowing so strongly it was almost shining. He could see its magic ripple and curl around it. There was no trace of sickness, all the previously wilted parts were gone.
“Uhm, well, I guess that’s been taken care of.” Miyata nodded.
“Great. Now, is your apartment presentable? I’m coming upstairs with you.” Tamamori decided for them. “And I’m planning to stay for a while. Well okay, today. Tonight.”
Miyata thought for a moment. There were probably a few things he should put away before the other went upstairs. “Uhm, give me one moment.” Then he looked around. All the roses were also something he should probably take care of.
“I’ll do this. You go up.” Tamamori shooed him off.
“Okay.” He nodded and blinked. “I won’t take long. I promise.”
“You better not.” Tamamori made a face.
Going upstairs, Miyata started to put away the magic books and some of the other stuff he still had lying around there. Somewhere at the back of his mind he wondered why he bothered with this since Tamamori obviously knew he wasn’t ‘normal’ by now but well, maybe he’d just needed a moment to think and to breathe.
He’d just confessed to Tamamori. Although really, he’d been to one to get confessed to.
It hadn’t been anything like in his dreams. Somehow, that made him think that this whole thing had been a dream. And if he walked down into the shop to fetch the other, Tamamori wouldn’t be there and it would have all just be a figment of his imagination because he’d fallen asleep over the books, trying to figure out what had been wrong with his flower.
“You’re so slow!” Tamamori complained and Miyata looked up, to find the other standing at the top of the stairs with a vase in his hands. “Decided to take these up with me.”
He eyed the flowers the other had picked.
Tamamori put the vase with his impromptu arrangement onto Miyata’s bedside table and smiled. “I think this is perfect. Don’t you think so, too?”
Looking at the flowers, Miyata swallowed. “Tama-chan, are you sure about these?”
Smirking, Tamamori nodded. “Very sure.” He pushed Miyata down onto the mattress and then climbed on top of him. They didn’t stay like that though because Tamamori almost immediately reversed their positions, flipping them over so that he was lying on his back comfortably, with Miyata straddling him.
“You made me wait for this so long. So you better make up for it.” He looked up at Miyata and repeated his demand from earlier.
Speaking of earlier. Miyata’s eyes widened a little in realization. “Wait, Tama-chan, don’t tell me...you knew all along what all the flowers meant?”
“I figured you out pretty fast.” Tamamori snorted. “You think you’re smart but you’re not. Now, consider that my message to you in return this time. The second one if you count the one I just cleaned up for you downstairs. You got it, right?”
Laughing softly, Miyata leaned down. Before his lips touched Tamamori’s he replied, “I did.”
Tamamori had picked cactus flowers to add to the red roses of the bouquet Miyata had given the other earlier. In the language of flowers, the cactus flower stood for lust and sex and the red roses stood for love. Basically Tamamori was telling him to make love to him. And Miyata was happy to oblige. Tamamori hadn’t been the only one who’d been waiting for this after all.
To some it might seem like things were happening too fast but to him they weren’t at all. Tamamori was probably the same. They should have taken this step a long time ago. It had been his fault that it had taken until now. They’d laid their emotions and feelings bare already, so now was the time to bare other things, so to speak.
Miyata leaned down to kiss the other again, to kiss Tamamori and caress the other’s cheek gently with his fingers. This was real. This was happening, yes.
He could still feel, more than see, the glow of the magic flower downstairs. Had that been the problem all along? The problem had been that he had had a problem. And now that it had been fixed, things were turning back to normal. No, they were better than ‘normal’ now.
Things were wonderful.
The End
Fandom: Kis-My-Ft2, Snow Man
Pairings/Characters: Miyata Toshiya, Tamamori Yuta, Sakuma Daisuke
Rating: PG-13
Warnings: AU. Mostly harmless?
Disclaimer: Characters are not mine. Story is mine.
A/N: Okay, today is my last day off, so I guess this worked out well. I hope you enjoyed reading this short series as much as I enjoyed writing it! ♥
Miyata had a problem. An actual problem. A possibly big problem.
He looked at the flower pot on the workbench in front of him. It was the magic flower that told him whether or not a customer needed a special flower or not. Miyata had been taking care of it ever since he took over the shop. It had never changed ever since it had started to bloom back then but now it was suddenly starting to show signs of wilting. And that couldn’t be good.
When he had discovered this, he had immediately consulted his books but they hadn’t been of any help. Then he’d called the one person who’d hopefully know, his mother but she hadn’t picked up but she’d messaged him that she’d call him back as soon as possible.
“How am I supposed to help people without you?” He looked at the flower and touched it gently as if trying to nurse it back to health with his love alone.
The sound of the chimes on the door diverted his attention and he went to greet the customer, who’d come in. A few more followed and before he knew it, Tamamori was standing in front of the counter. The other frowned at him a little.
“Something wrong, Miyata?” Tamamori asked.
“Ah, well, one of my flowers isn’t doing so well. So I guess I’m a little worried?” He wasn’t lying. “But it’ll be okay. What would you like today, Tama-chan?”
“Those look good...what are they called again, violets?” Tamamori pointed at a pot. Then he looked at Miyata again, as if he expected some kind of reaction. Miyata glanced at the flowers and then smiled at Tamamori again.
“Okay. Good choice.” He nodded and got some wrapping paper.
Tamamori clicked his tongue but didn’t say anything else. He watched Miyata as the other worked and then paid. Before he left, he poked the other’s forehead with his finger.
“I hope you feel better soon. Being so down isn’t like you.” Then he waved and walked out of the shop with his purchase and over to a waiting car.
Miyata smiled and waved back. “Thanks for caring, Tama-chan.” When the other was gone, his eyes drifted over to the empty space the violets had left on his display. Violets stood for honesty. It was probably just a coincidence. Tamamori wasn’t telling him anything.
His train of thoughts was interrupted by his phone ringing. It was the ringtone for his mother, so he quickly went to answer it and told her about his problem.
After discussing things with his mother, Miyata decided to close the shop a little earlier that night and then sent a message to the magic courier service to request a few things. Sakuma messaged him back, saying he’d come over as soon as he could.
Once that had been taken care of, Miyata tried to heal the flower with what he had around. He looked at the instructions his mother had given him and mixed the ingredients together. Then he sprayed the potion onto the flower petals. There was no reaction. If the potion had worked there should have been a soft glow. So this one was a failure.
A knock on the door jerked him out of his thoughts and he blinked when he saw Sakuma hovering outside on his broom. The other flew inside and then took off his bag. “Man, this was heavy today. I sure hope whatever you’re looking for is in these.” He opened the small bag and produced a whole pile of books and a few boxes and bags with ingredients and gadgets. Things that wouldn’t normally have fit into a bag of that size but hey, magic. “This felt like carrying about half our library at home over here.”
“Thanks a lot for helping out.” Miyata smiled. “I really appreciate it.”
“Hey, who would I be if I wouldn’t help a friend in need?” Sakuma shook his head. “You told me you were there for me when I needed you, so of course I’m returning the favour!”
Miyata’s smile brightened. “Thank you, Sakuma.”
Sakuma sat down on a pillow and stretched a bit. “I know this is a stupid question to ask right now but what happens if that flower wilts?”
“If it wilts and dies, it means I can’t continue with what I’m doing.” Miyata said softly. “For I won’t be able to tell who needs my help and who doesn’t. Spreading magic randomly isn’t allowed, so I would just become a normal florist.” His expression darkened. “If the flower rejects me, it means I am not worthy of this job really.”
“Miyacchi!” Sakuma’s eyes widened. “No! Don’t think like that! I don’t think that’s the case at all! There’s nobody who’s more suited for this than you! You’re doing and you’ve done an awesome job! I really mean that. I’m sure there’s something else wrong with it.”
“Thanks, Sakuma. Your words mean a lot to me.” He patted the other on the back. “Now, let me go through all of the things you brought over so you didn’t have to haul them over for nothing. Want something to eat or drink before you move on?”
“Nah, I’m okay.” Sakuma got up again. “This was a special delivery. I’m going home now. Or well, I have another appointment. Something unrelated to magic and all that.”
Miyata asked without thinking, “Are you meeting Iwamoto-kun?”
Sakuma dropped his broom. “Wait, how did you know-”
Oops. Miyata tried to come up with an excuse. “I saw you in Akiba the other day and one of my acquaintances happened to know who he was but you guys seemed to be busy, so we didn’t go up and say hi? You were dancing at the park. And I wanted to say are you meeting Iwamoto-kun and the others. The dance group.”
“Ah...oh I see.” Sakuma nodded. “Uhm yeah I’m actually meeting him. Just him.” He fidgeted a bit. “Well, you see, he was the person I told you about the other day.”
“Judging by the way you’re blushing right now, I guess things went well?” Miyata knew of course but well, he couldn’t exactly tell the other. It would be way too awkward. He felt relieved that he’d been able to talk himself out of the earlier slip of the tongue.
Smiling brightly, Sakuma nodded. “It did! I...it wasn’t quite as I had imagined things to turn out but somehow it worked out.” He hugged himself and swayed his body left and right a bit.
“And it feel great, Miyacchi. It really does. Being in love and being loved in return, I didn’t think it would be quite like this. This great! I mean, I knew it would be nice and all but this just feels really, really good.” Sakuma looked genuinely happy. “I can’t really put it into words but it makes me feel complete, in a way?”
Miyata couldn’t understand that feeling. No. And he tried to push back that dark feeling of jealousy again. “That sounds really awesome. I’m happy for you, Sakuma.”
Sakuma looked at Miyata and then hugged his friend. “I’m sure you’ll find someone as well, Miyacchi. Someone who’ll make you feel complete, too. I’m sure. Someone like you deserves someone who loves you. And for all the good you do, I think that’s a small thing to ask in return. Fate, god, destiny, whoever decides these things, I’m sure they’d agree.”
If only. Miyata thought. But he returned the hug. “Yeah. Maybe one day.”
“Stay positive.” Sakuma gave him a piece sign. “I’ll see you then.”
“See you. Travel safely.” Miyata waved and then watched as Sakuma took off. He closed his window again and looked at the pile of books on the floor.
Before he could think of love and the like, he’d have to get through all of this and figure out what was wrong with his magic flower. It would be a long night. Maybe he should make a sign for the flower shop that he wasn’t going to open it tomorrow. Drastic times called for drastic measures after all and well, the flower shop probably wouldn’t be missed if it wasn’t open. After all, he wasn’t selling anything essential or important.
Or so he thought. Koyama-san came over just after the time he’d usually open his shop and asked whether he was okay. She had brought him some hot soup, in case he was sick. He smiled and reassured her and told her that he just needed a day off to work on a few things and that he was sorry to have worried her.
From his window upstairs he could see other people stopping in front of the shop to read the notice and then make sad face. Some even scribbled notes and put them into the little box he had there - it was just a decorative one but apparently it came in handy now.
Seeing all the people care about the shop made Miyata feel warm. So this place wasn’t just one among many. Even some of the students had left him messages. Guys, too.
His head whirled around when his flower emitted a soft glow then. Was something he’d tried working after all? It seemed like he was on the right track. So he should continue now. The sooner he figured this out, the better. Then he’d be able to open the shop again.
Miyata of course completely forgot about time and suddenly, a knock on his door echoed through the house. “Miyata? You’re in here, aren’t you? Why’s the shop closed today?”
Tamamori. Of course. He’d forgotten about the other.
This was the first time that he might have forgotten about the other, Miyata noted with a pang of guilt. He went over to the door and opened it. “Hey, Tama-chan. Sorry. I’m working on something, so I decided to close the shop. I need some peace and quiet for this.”
The other looked at him. And looked at him some more. Then Tamamori shoved him inside and closed the door behind him, flipping the lock shut with a flick of his wrist as well.
“Something’s wrong. I can tell.” Tamamori stated and kept his eyes on Miyata. “Tell me?”
“It’s nothing you should worry about, Tama-chan. It’s about flowers. It’s okay. I’m going to open the shop normally again tomorrow.” Miyata shook his head. “Ah, I still have fresh flowers around though, if you want some?” He turned his back towards the other and opened one of the doors of the glass case, where the fresh flowers were kept.
Tamamori didn’t say anything. At least not for a few moments. What he said then though, made Miyata freeze on the spot.
“Miyacchi, do you know what it feels like to be in love?” Tamamori asked.
Why was the other asking him this question? Miyata was confused. But then again, Tamamori often talked to him about things. Random things. Work related things. This was probably one of those times. He shouldn’t think anything about it. He should just act natural.
“Hm, only from what people told me about it?” He said but he didn’t turn to look at the other as he did so. Miyata was afraid to look. He was afraid that maybe he wouldn’t like what he saw when he looked. Or maybe he was afraid something he wasn’t supposed to say, or didn’t want to say would slip out by accident if he looked at Tamamori now. That couldn’t happen. “Why are you asking, Tama-chan? Is it for a drama?”
He could hear footsteps. Tamamori was walking over to him.
“No. It’s not. It’s a serious question.” Tamamori said. He stopped a few steps away from Miyata. “So, what do people say love feels like?”
Miyata thought for a moment. The last person who’d talked to him about love had been Sakuma, the night before. “I hear that being in love is a great feeling and that it makes you happy and feel complete.” He told the other what Sakuma had told him.
Tamamori huffed softly. “That’s nonsense.” Miyata could hear the sound of Tamamori’s clothes rustling as the other moved. “Being in love is awful. It makes you hurt in weird places and it’s seriously annoying! Nothing can make this go away. I don’t want it. It’s stupid. You agree with me, don’t you? You’d feel the same way, wouldn’t you?”
He didn’t know. Miyata was confused by the other’s words and actions. What did the other want? Usually, Miyata didn’t have a problem with reading Tamamori but right now, he absolutely had no idea. It wasn’t a pleasant feeling.
“I...I don’t know?” He tried to sound honest. And well, he was. “And well, I guess different people feel different about love. So maybe that’s how Tama-chan feels?” Miyata tried to relax, to calm himself down. “And well, if you feel that way, I guess it’s okay.” He added. “Everyone has the right to feel differently about things after all.”
“Do you even hear what you’re saying right now?” Tamamori sounded angry now. “Miyata, cut this crap already, will you?” He waited for a moment, probably for a reaction.
Miyata didn’t do anything. He didn’t know what to do right now. So he remained frozen to his spot and still with his back facing Tamamori.
“Look at me and say something!” Tamamori demanded. “Look at me and tell me what you think. What you really think. I know you want to tell me something. And it’s not what you’ve just told me. You suck at lying, Miyata. And you know you do!”
“I’m not lying, Tama-chan.” Miyata tried. “There’s nothing I want to tell you.”
“Look at me, will you, damn it!” Tamamori grabbed Miyata and in the process knocked over a couple of things, among them some of the potions and magic seeds. There was a small explosion and purple smoke surrounded them. When it cleared up, the whole shop was filled with red roses. It looked like some extravagant, elaborate Valentine’s Day surprise.
Tamamori blinked, anger vanishing from one moment to the next, replaced by surprise. “I always knew you were special.” He muttered, more to himself than to the other. “But maybe these will get the message across finally.” Grabbing a rose, he held it up for Miyata to see.
“You know what these mean, don’t you? This is the simplest of the language of flowers, something that every child and even every otherwise clueless dude on the street knows! Tell me, Toshiya. What does this stand for?” Tamamori looked at him and his eyes bored themselves into Miyata’s own and through them deeper into Miyata, into his soul.
He couldn’t avert his eyes anymore now. The other had also used his first name. This was serious. Miyata’s voice sounded weak when he replied. “Love. Red roses stand for love.”
“So, why haven’t you suggested them to me until now? Why haven’t you given me any of these before?” Tamamori put the rose away and moved closer to Miyata again. “You wanted to, right? You’ve wanted to for so long!”
“T-Tama…!” Miyata was panicking inwardly. He couldn’t come up with any words again for a few minutes but this time Tamamori didn’t seem to want to pressure him. The other was looking at him expectantly. Looking and waiting. Waiting for him to say something. Finally he just blurted something out. The first thing that came to his mind right now. “I...but you would have never said-” The look on the other’s face told him that he might have said the wrong thing again just now but then Tamamori’s expression softened.
“You’re so stupid! I’ve said yes all along you idiot. Why do you think I always come at 11:38? Ugh, I should have just come at 11:40:38. Maybe that would have been easier to understand.” Tamamori crossed his arms and then, after a moment, punched Miyata’s shoulder. “Idiot!”
It took a moment for Miyata to put 2 and 2 together. The 11 stood for “good” or “it’s okay” - especially if Tamamori wanted to at the 40 and the 38 stood for “Miya”. So if one put all of that together it would make “ii yo, miya” - ‘it’s okay, Miyata’ or simply ‘yes’. It was like a super roundabout reply to a proposal or something. A proposal that hadn’t even been made. Nor had the confession really. At least until now.
Suddenly it all made sense. At least if one applied “Tama-Logic” to it. A kind of logic that was not logical at all really. Not that he would ever tell the other that.
“Yuta…” He couldn’t quite find the words yet. Miyata just started at the other.
Tamamori was looking back at him expectantly. “So, are you going to say it now?”
Miyata closed the gap between them and wrapped Tamamori into a hug. “I’ll say it. I’ll say it as many times as you want me to.” He promised. Then he pulled away a bit, so that he was able to look at the other again. And then he said them, said those words he’d been afraid of for so long, that he’d hidden inside himself. “I love you.”
“Took you long enough, idiot.” Tamamori huffed and then leaned his forehead against Miyata’s. “I love you, too, stupid.”
He felt like he could burst right now. All the pent up emotions, mixed with newfound happiness wanted to come out. “I love you, Yuta.” He said again. And he would have said it many more times but he felt like that wouldn’t be enough. So he did the thing that came to his mind next.
It was his first kiss. It probably wasn’t Tamamori’s but that was okay. The other probably thought of his kiss as terribly clumsy and lots of other things but that was okay, too.
When their lips parted, Miyata almost found himself with a mouthful of rose instead when Tamamori whacked him with one. “You sure made things out to be just like this rose. All these stupid annoying thorns first and then we finally get to the good part. Now I expect you to make that good part worth my time, okay?” He put the rose away.
“I have today off. And apparently so do you. Make something out of it.”
“I-” Miyata suddenly remembered something. “But I did have something important to do!”
Tamamori raised an eyebrow and pointed behind Miyata. “Would that happen to me that shiny flower over there? You really have weird stuff in your shop.”
Miyata turned around. His magic flower was back to normal again. Or maybe even better than before. It was in full bloom, bright and beautiful and it glowed, it was glowing so strongly it was almost shining. He could see its magic ripple and curl around it. There was no trace of sickness, all the previously wilted parts were gone.
“Uhm, well, I guess that’s been taken care of.” Miyata nodded.
“Great. Now, is your apartment presentable? I’m coming upstairs with you.” Tamamori decided for them. “And I’m planning to stay for a while. Well okay, today. Tonight.”
Miyata thought for a moment. There were probably a few things he should put away before the other went upstairs. “Uhm, give me one moment.” Then he looked around. All the roses were also something he should probably take care of.
“I’ll do this. You go up.” Tamamori shooed him off.
“Okay.” He nodded and blinked. “I won’t take long. I promise.”
“You better not.” Tamamori made a face.
Going upstairs, Miyata started to put away the magic books and some of the other stuff he still had lying around there. Somewhere at the back of his mind he wondered why he bothered with this since Tamamori obviously knew he wasn’t ‘normal’ by now but well, maybe he’d just needed a moment to think and to breathe.
He’d just confessed to Tamamori. Although really, he’d been to one to get confessed to.
It hadn’t been anything like in his dreams. Somehow, that made him think that this whole thing had been a dream. And if he walked down into the shop to fetch the other, Tamamori wouldn’t be there and it would have all just be a figment of his imagination because he’d fallen asleep over the books, trying to figure out what had been wrong with his flower.
“You’re so slow!” Tamamori complained and Miyata looked up, to find the other standing at the top of the stairs with a vase in his hands. “Decided to take these up with me.”
He eyed the flowers the other had picked.
Tamamori put the vase with his impromptu arrangement onto Miyata’s bedside table and smiled. “I think this is perfect. Don’t you think so, too?”
Looking at the flowers, Miyata swallowed. “Tama-chan, are you sure about these?”
Smirking, Tamamori nodded. “Very sure.” He pushed Miyata down onto the mattress and then climbed on top of him. They didn’t stay like that though because Tamamori almost immediately reversed their positions, flipping them over so that he was lying on his back comfortably, with Miyata straddling him.
“You made me wait for this so long. So you better make up for it.” He looked up at Miyata and repeated his demand from earlier.
Speaking of earlier. Miyata’s eyes widened a little in realization. “Wait, Tama-chan, don’t tell me...you knew all along what all the flowers meant?”
“I figured you out pretty fast.” Tamamori snorted. “You think you’re smart but you’re not. Now, consider that my message to you in return this time. The second one if you count the one I just cleaned up for you downstairs. You got it, right?”
Laughing softly, Miyata leaned down. Before his lips touched Tamamori’s he replied, “I did.”
Tamamori had picked cactus flowers to add to the red roses of the bouquet Miyata had given the other earlier. In the language of flowers, the cactus flower stood for lust and sex and the red roses stood for love. Basically Tamamori was telling him to make love to him. And Miyata was happy to oblige. Tamamori hadn’t been the only one who’d been waiting for this after all.
To some it might seem like things were happening too fast but to him they weren’t at all. Tamamori was probably the same. They should have taken this step a long time ago. It had been his fault that it had taken until now. They’d laid their emotions and feelings bare already, so now was the time to bare other things, so to speak.
Miyata leaned down to kiss the other again, to kiss Tamamori and caress the other’s cheek gently with his fingers. This was real. This was happening, yes.
He could still feel, more than see, the glow of the magic flower downstairs. Had that been the problem all along? The problem had been that he had had a problem. And now that it had been fixed, things were turning back to normal. No, they were better than ‘normal’ now.
Things were wonderful.
The End