A Pocket Full of Posies
PAIRING: Flora x Male Reader (Romantic) (Fluff)
SUMMARY: Flora blooms to understand her love for Phaethon’s younger brother.
They wanted to make it up to him, introduce him into their lifestyle and finally break down that wall they held up for so long. So, Belle and Wise brought (Y/N) with them to Waifei Peninsula. Especially since they could actually use his help with their most recent task: helping Obol Squad as a key advisor, per orders from the mayor.
The mayor recommended him upon doing further research on their younger brother. It set off alarm bells for the two older siblings, but they knew the risks involved if it meant taking a step to mending their relationship with him, so they conceded for now; though it definitely became a future priority to focus on better security.
Introductions went fine, and with (Y/N) being a more “neutral party”, it allowed him to remain outside of the restrictive confines of New Eridu Defense Force’s base of operations. There was one problem though…a rather clingy one at that.
Flora kept following him around the base. She always had a weird way of interacting with others, Belle and Wise being no exception to that standard. Yet with him it was amped up. She’d stare at him for a little while before floating over to (Y/N) on her scooter.
She had no respect for personal space and kept bugging his.
It seemed worrisome. The others weren’t sure what would happen. They were warned of (Y/N)’s rather irritable mood at times, so it seemed like with enough pushing and shoving, Flora might be on the bitter end of his crash outs.
Surprisingly that wasn’t the case at all.
You didn’t mind Flora’s clingy tendencies. She was a little forceful at first, yes, but she didn’t mind backing off if you really wanted some alone time. She didn’t hide anything from you and was an open book in more ways than one; she certainly told you a lot about herself, due to you having a “scent” that she liked. A lot.
At first you thought she liked your cologne. Then you started to wonder if she was just messing with you after she said you “smelled like her too”. Asking her to elaborate just led to a discussion about bangboos or eating flowers; Flora loves trying to get you to eat flowers with her. Something about your adamant refusal just made her want to tease you more.
It was refreshing in a way. After having to rebuild up the damaged trust you had with Belle and Wise, hanging out with someone like Flora was so relaxing; despite her crazy tendencies and aggressive nature, she was always honest about herself. Her feelings, though she couldn’t normally articulate them correctly, were pure. The dynamic was almost comedic really; weird girl and deadpan guy seemed to mesh almost too well together.
“Ehnah nah eh ne?” Flora said to (Y/N), who was currently lying down next to Seed Senior. The game on his phone had caught her interest. “Ehhhhnahhhhhhhh—”
He huffed, “It’s a rhythm game. And no, you can’t play on my account.” He fought back a smirk as she pouted at his veto. Flora squeezed close to (Y/N). So much that it was beginning to feel cramped. He could feel his legs falling asleep as she kept poking his arm with her fingers in a pattern.
“Mmm. You’re not just gonna ignore me the whole time are you? That’d be like a hobbit ignoring it’s precious for a spit of nitro fuel~,” Flora’s ramblings were a product of trying to throw him off. (Y/N) never gave into them, even playing along sometimes, so Flora was struggling to get a good reaction out of him.
She continued to poke him, even debating on biting him.
“I wonder if I should bite you?”
“Please don’t.”
“But my stomach is making the rumblies…,”
“Flora.”
“…the kind that only biting into a flower could satisfy.” She prattled on.
(Y/N) finally paused his game, turning towards her with a raised brow. They were so close to each other, just breathing left no room for personal space. “Are you comparing me to a flower?” He asked, eyes not making contact with hers.
She thought about it for a moment.
Huh?
Why did she compare him to a flower? She loved flowers. They tasted great. They were beautiful. And Seed Senior taught her all about them! But (Y/N) was different. He wasn’t the kind of flower she’d care much for; at least not like her other ones. He wasn’t withering away, in fact he was blooming since the moment she met him.
She liked it…him. The familiar scent, the back and forth, and how he understood her. What would she even call this emotion? This feeling? She knew she loved Seed Senior, and she knew she liked the rest of Obol Squad. But it was different. All of it; and Flora couldn’t quite categorize it for (Y/N) at all.
“Hmm?” She pondered aloud, her face feeling unusually warm. Weird, it only got like that whenever she felt sick. “You know…,” she started, leaning closer to his face. Five centimeters apart from him and she could feel her heart beating faster. It was like adrenaline but better. “…your breath smells like a corpse flower.”
(Y/N) scowled.
“OpenYourMouthIWannaSmellItMore.”
He got up and left, leaving a flustered Flora behind. She watched him walk away aimlessly, her hands softly clutching her chest as her eyes glowed brightly.
Whatever this emotion was…it certainly felt like a million petunias flowing from within.
As some time had passed by, Flora became more and more attached to you. She loved spending time with you. And time not spent with you was spent thinking of you. It was like being in the cockpit; time would suddenly stop and everything else faded away as her imagination raced. Flora was even beginning to piece together her feelings every day.
Yet she never would’ve guessed just how much realizing she was in love could hurt. It wasn’t till she realized she had lost Seed Senior. Not until she spent so many nights and days alone. It was like a bullet wound.
“Seed?” Belle’s voice called out into the distance. The young girl had ran off again, not wanting to interact with the others yet. She was still busy coping with the loss of Seed Senior. And the revelation brought along other emotions she wasn’t ready to confront. Belle wasn’t just looking for Flora however.
She was also looking for her younger brother.
(Y/N) spent a lot of time with Flora. They were practically almost inseparable; so wherever he was, she likely would be at too.
The others never expected those two to hit it off so well. Just seeing them hold a mindless conversation together was enough to fry Wise and Belle’s brains from the rot.
The biggest shocking factor of it all was how much time he spent in the hollows with Flora. Nobody, not even (Y/N) himself, seemed to know he had an absurdly high ether aptitude. Nobody except Flora. Perhaps that was what she meant by his scent being special?
Either way, Belle was trying to track him down. But his phone wasn’t picking up and she got increasingly more worried as the seconds ticked by. That was when it hit Trigger:
“Why don’t you try Seed’s home in Hollow Zero? I’ve overheard Seed inviting him to sleep over there multiple times.”
She rushed in quickly, not caring to avoid the traps set up all over Flora’s little abode. Belle finally stopped to catch her breath after seeing him asleep on the lonesome couch from far away.
A sigh of relief left her before she knew it. “Hey, Wise. Don’t worry, I see him.” She answered over the shared call. But as Belle got closer she saw something more and more outlandish.
Perhaps she was intruding? Interrupting something? She couldn’t quite tell with how fast her hands covered her face. It felt like she was bursting into their privacy!
Flora laid down, curled up on top of (Y/N). He was fast asleep, out like a light, flat on his back with one headphone plugged in. Flora, who seemed much more calm when she wasn’t zooming around on her scooter, slowly opened her eyes.
“Hmm?” She questioned Belle, who was staring on in shock. A swift lifting of her hand, shushing the proxy and waving for her to go away. Belle had never seen Flora so…possessive.
The girl’s eyes went back to (Y/N), softer than ever before. Her hands clung to his gingerly, not wanting to wake him up. Belle walked off and called up Wise again, saying, “Hey…I think she’ll be fine.”
“Huh? What do you mean Belle?”
She turned back, looking at Flora sniff her younger brother’s covered chest. “Trust me.”
…
Flora snuggled up closer to him, studying his features carefully.
“I hope…,” her free hand poked his cheek, “…that I never forget the love of you, even if I lose you too.”
- Fin
