Ok but. Percy’s idea of romance is most definitely from his parents. Traditional romance, courtly love and chivalry. Him sending flowers to reader as a secret admirer and her not getting it at all because they’re all single flowers that are very different. Until she drags Keyleth into it and they do some research. Look up “Victorian Language of Flowers” for inspo.
“Undying love” “true beauty” and all kinds of sweet meanings behind each flower. He’d get Keyleth to help because she’s a romantic and number 1 shipper.
AN: Here’s a link to the website I used for this info. This ended up being OC x Percy. It’s just what I’m most comfortable writing. Writing with the character being simply ‘reader’ feels too bare for me. I love reading reader inserts but I’m just not good at writing them. Anyways, enjoy.
The first one was a confusing incident. She’d been up before dawn, like always. It was a remnant from her time at the Monastery; a strict schedule to keep that never changed and even after she left her internal clock still woke her up before the sun rose to greet Tal’dorei. She enjoyed doing her morning stretches as she watched the sun rise.
It was also nice to have some peace and quiet in the keep. While Ansuya adored them all it was quite irritating to constantly be subjected to Scanlan and Val arguing, Grog shouting and Vex snapping at them to be quiet. But with the sky still dark she was able to wrap her hands and change into her loose, dark red pants which cinched at the ankles. Her black, high necked crop top revealed hard, toned muscles beneath her ebony skin.
Ansuya was just finishing her braid when she noticed something on her windowsill. Opening her window she saw it was a singular red flower. It was large and very bright, six petals on it. As she traced the red plant gently, she wracked her brain for what it was; an Amaryllis. She looked around and didn’t see a note or anything to indicate who left it or why. Her dark brows furrowed before she shrugged. For all she knew the wind or a bird carried it up to her. Best get it a vase and some water. She had to do her morning prayer before she went to the court yard for her morning ritual.
The second flower appeared outside her bedroom door. She’d almost accidentally stepped on it, in fact. Ansuya had finished an afternoon of meditation in her room when she found it. She noticed footsteps outside her door but perhaps she’d gotten so used to tuning out the noise of the keep when meditating it had allowed whoever had left it to do so undetected. Turning the plant over in her calloused hands she could not find a note or any clue as to who could have left it.
She couldn’t tell what flower it was, only that it was purple and bell shaped. She stepped back into her room and placed it in the vase with the first flower. In no way did they go together but she felt it was a waste for a singular flower to get a whole other vase when it could easily fit with her first flower. She decided to leave her questions for another time. She wanted to get some training done.
Within a month she had two dozen flowers. Ansuya could recognize a few, like lilies or primroses but she didn’t have enough botanical knowledge to know every flower. Not to mention they were so random. A series of roses could make some form of sense but she’d gotten so much variety she couldn’t discern any pattern or thought process. Her feelings towards these mysterious gifts had gone from confusion to flattery but after receiving a flower almost every day with no clue as to who was leaving them or why she was beginning to get frustrated. The mystery had lost its appeal and now she wanted answers.
She was sitting in her room, glaring at her vases of flowers when she heard a knock at her door. Not many in this keep actually knocked so it narrowed down the list of possible visitors. “Come in.”
Keyleth’s freckled face appeared in the door. “Hey Ansuya, I was-“ she paused and looked at all the flowers. “Wow, still getting these?”
Ansuya nodded. “I still haven’t figured out who’s sending them either.” At first she decided to stay up and see if she could catch her little ‘admirer’ but it seemed like they knew what she was thinking because now they came exclusively through courier. Which also meant that now everyone knew she was receiving these botanical gifts.
“Do you not like them?” Keyleth asked. That was when Ansuya realized she was so deep in thought she’d ended up glaring at the flowers without even realizing it.
“They’re nice, they just don’t make any sense.” Ansuya said, standing up from her seat on her bed and putting her hands on her hips. “They’re all so random, even if they are just guesses for my favorite flower.” She didn’t even have one but that was beside the point. She watched Keyleth wave a hand over the flowers, giving some of the first ones a magic boost that made them brighten and perk back up.
Ansuya crossed her arms. “My admirer hasn’t left any notes or any hints as to who they are.”
“Maybe they’re shy?” Keyleth suggested, fiddling with her hair.
“So shy they just plan on sending me flowers forever without doing anything else?” The dark skinned woman asked, racking her brain for an answer. “Is there supposed to be some kind of secret meaning?”
“You know…” Keyleth gently caressed the yellow tulip in one of the vases. “I heard that there’s something called the ‘Language of Flowers’. Nobles send bouquets and they have different meanings.”
“You think my gift giver is a noble?” Ansuya asked, raising a brow.
Immediately the Druid blushed and started waving her hands. “N-no! He could j-just know about it. Maybe he has a… garden?” There were a few moments of awkward silence before the Druid spoke again. “I uh… think we have a book on it.”
Putting aside any disbelief she felt towards the idea of a noble taking an interest in her, Ansuya focused on this ‘Language of Flowers.’ “Would you be able to get it for me, Keyleth, and maybe help me figure out the meaning? I don’t know enough about flowers to identify them on description alone.”
The Ashari perked up and smiled. “Sure, happy to help.” When she went to exit the room she nearly collided with someone else. “Oops! Sorry, Percy.”
Ansuya lit up. Maybe she’d get an answer sooner than she originally expected. She darted to her door and poked her head out the door to see the familiar gunslinger. “Percy, can you come here, please?”
The bespectacled man blinked, surprised by her animated behavior. “Of course.” He said, nodding to Keyleth who was grinning wildly for some odd reason.
Ansuya closed the door behind him once he entered.
“You’ve kept them all?” Percy asked, looking at the vases of flowers.
“Seems a shame to throw them out.” Ansuya said, walking to stand beside him as she took in the sight of her hastily thrown together bouquets. “Someone’s very determined to get my attention.” She shook her head. “Anyways, Keyleth said something about how nobles send secret messages through flowers. Do you know it?”
Percy nodded, avoiding eye contact. Were she not so focused on possibly unraveling this mystery she would’ve thought about how adorable he looked with a faint blush coloring his cheeks.
“Would you help then?” Ansuya asked, adding a small smile to her question. “There haven't been any notes or signatures and these are too random to be guesses at my favorite flower.”
“Do you have a favorite?” Percy asked.
Ansuya thought for a moment. “No… where I come from there weren’t a whole lot of flowers around and I was usually too focused on training to consider what my favorite flower might be.” She then turned to Percy. “But that doesn’t matter. I can’t think of any rhyme or reason for someone to send me random flowers unless there’s some kind of hidden message. Could you help me, please?” She asked, looking up at him.
His gaze softened at her pleading expression. “You only ever need to ask for my assistance.” He said, before smirking. “Besides, you’re one of the few people in this keep who actually says ‘please.’”
“And ‘thank you.’” Ansuya said, sharing a brief laugh with Percy.
“Where would you like to start?” The white haired man asked, turning his gaze to the flowers.
“This was the first one.” Ansuya said, plucking a large red flower from the vase.
“An amaryllis.” Percy said, taking in the image of her holding the flower. “It means ‘splendid beauty.’”
Ansuya turned to Percy, surprised. “Are you serious?” She asked, her dark green eyes wide.
Percy frowned. “Why would I lie to you?”
“Sorry, I just…” Ansuya was thankful her dark complexion hid her slightly flushed cheeks. She wasn’t sure whether she preferred the idea that she was simply flustered by the compliment or that Percy himself had said it, even if he was just relaying the message. “I’ve just never been given something like this. It was… different when I thought these were just flowers.” In an effort to avoid any uncomfortable silence she plucked the next flower. “What about this?”
“That’s a pansy, it means ‘you occupy my thoughts.’”
Before long, Percy’s voice filled her room.
“Lungwort: thou art my life. Yellow Jasmine: modesty, grace and elegance. Calla Lilly: Magnificent Beauty. Chickweed: I cling to thee. Diosma: your simple elegance charms me. Peach Blossom: I am your captive. Yellow Tulip: there is sunshine in your smile.”
She’d stopped thinking about who had sent the flowers and was only focused on Percy’s voice, imagining that he was actually saying these things to her. She wasn’t even hearing what the flowers were anymore, just listening to the beautiful words he spoke to her.
“I dreamed of thee. You'll always be beautiful to me. You’re everything to me. Your presence soothes me. I can’t live without you.” And so many times, “Unending love. Eternal love. I love you. I love you. I love you.”
Oh she wished he was actually saying that to her, but he was simply relaying a message. She took a breath to slow her pounding heart and began placing the flowers back in their vases. “Thank you, Percy.”
There was a moment of silence. “What do you think of them?”
“They’re beautiful.” Ansuya said honestly. “Both in appearance and meaning. I’ve… never been given anything like this or had so much thought put in. But…” she sighed, “I don’t really know how to feel about this if I don’t know who’s sending them. If it’s some stranger I’d say I’m flattered but put off that someone I don’t know claims to be in love with me. If it’s someone I do know… well, I guess it depends. Some people outside our little group are decent enough, I could give them a chance.”
“What if it’s a Vox Machina member?” Percy asked, crossing his arms. Ansuya paused, getting an idea of where this was headed but not wanting to jump to conclusions.
“It would depend but not too many members would do this. Vex and Pike would straight up just ask me. Same with Grog, and I don’t think giving me flowers would ever cross his mind.” Ansuya said, chuckling fondly. Grog was a sweetheart but he was probably the least subtle person she’d ever met.
“What about Keyleth?” Percy asked, tilting his head.
“This does seem a lot like her but she hasn’t given me any hint that she’s interested in me. Besides, she’s already got her eye on one of our favorite half elves.” She smirked, an expression that Percy mirrored.
“If he were to give me flowers it’d probably just be one and he’d leave a note.”
Ansuya laughed. “He might also give me flowers but that would be accompanied by an obnoxious serenade that would barely drown out my laughing.” She shook her head with a grin. “He’s not serious enough for this and I’m not interested in any of them.”
“And what if they’re from me?” He asked, causing her to freeze. Ansuya looked at him. He seemed a bit shy but he wasn’t averting his gaze.
“Are these from you?” Ansuya asked, not one to beat around the bush.
“What would you say if they were?” He asked, folding his arms behind his back to hide his fidgeting hands.
It took a lot of self restraint for Ansuya to keep from telling him to just admit it. She took a breath to try and find the words she wanted to say. She remembered nights huddled around the fire on jobs, whispering to each other. Or enjoying each other’s more reserved company in the tavern before a brawl inevitably broke out. He’d said what he wanted to say (eventually) so she couldn’t be a hypocrite and keep her mouth shut.
“I’d say this is the most romantic thing anyone has ever done for me. I’d say your an amazing friend and that I trust you with my life. I love spending time with you and I would love to see where this takes us.” She went and grabbed the pansy before handing it to him. She couldn’t give him one of the many flowers declaring love quite yet but she could easily see herself giving one to him, someday.
There was an excited squeal from outside her door. Percy sighed. “Keyleth, the only reason I’m not yelling at you is because of your help. Thank you, but you may leave.”
“Sorry! Sorry, sorry, sorry!” Keyleth’s rapidly retreating voice called. Ansuya just laughed.
