atzeroo

[atzeroo]

In Bloom

"It's like a secret message, only meant for those who know. And Caleb would be the first to take that chance."

It happened around two weeks ago.

You were over for a visit in Skyhaven and just like most evenings that you would be staying the night, Caleb had asked you to pick out a movie out of the big assortment he had started to accumulate since you decided to come over more often.

Of course you had noticed how the once empty cupboards had slowly started to fill up with an arrangement of all kinds of movies you didn’t even know he would be interested in, let alone watch on his own. 

Caleb wasn’t the type to watch TV in his free time - you don’t remember the last time he hadn’t looked utterly confused when you told him about your recent obsession with the viral dating show that Tara and you have been raving on about.

So yeah, safe to say, you were confused, but Caleb never acknowledged the sudden existence of his new-found collection and you didn’t bother asking him about it, as a part of you knew, it was probably due to the fact that he knew he would not be watching them on his own.

Looking at the pile you had already watched with him - from action-filled trilogies to indulging rom-coms over to cheap thriller-’attempts’ - you think about what could be your next choice. 

Something easy to watch, possibly. Caleb had looked a bit tired when he picked you up from the station earlier that day, dark circles looking worse than usual despite continuously sending you reassuring smiles. 

You ended up settling for a romantic drama whose title you unfortunately cannot remember anymore, but the part that stood out to both of you was an emotional scene involving the male lead who spends an entire year planting flowers in his back garden.

It turns out that he was about to die and wanted to leave one last message to the female lead, who he knew would be distraught by his passing.

When summer comes around, the female lead makes one last visit to his place to gather his belongings and opens the door to the backyard, revealing an ocean of pink carnations, glistering in the sun, having waited for her for all this time to finally come see them.

On the screen the viewer gets told that in the language of flowers, pink carnations can carry the message “I’ll never forget you” - the dying male leads final words to the woman he wanted to spend his entire life with, but couldn’t.

It was an emotional scene, made even worse by the absolute stunning soundtrack which accompanied the moment.

Planted on the couch in his big apartment, Caleb and you were sitting side by side, a big blanket draped over your bodies while an assortment of snacks laid on the table in front of you. 

Caleb had noticed how you hadn’t reached for the popcorn in a while, eyes glued on the screen, hands tightly clutching onto the pillow you had placed in front of you to snuggle into; he admired how absorbed you could get into movies like this, making him start to enjoy them as well, because it meant spending the whole night talking until one of you loses themselves to sleep.

The screen slowly started fading into black, the female lead seen crying as she stood surrounded in pink melancholy and regret. 

He heard you let out a shaky exhale and looked over: there were noticeable tears welling up in your eyes, about to fall any second now. He decided to scoot a bit closer.

“But that’s so wonderful, isn’t it?”, you had told him later, when you two had finished the movie and were getting ready to head to bed, “how flowers can have their own little meaning. It’s like a hidden message that only those who know will understand.”

And that was most likely the moment, Caleb took a mental note.

-

The next time you had been over - roughly a week or so after that movie night - you had asked if you could use his PC for a bit so you could finish up a report that you needed to hand in soon. Caleb being the kind soul he is, had immediately made space for you to work on his desk while he was in the kitchen whipping up a quick but delicious dinner for the two of you.

That’s when you spotted it. “A Guide to the Language of Flowers”.

A rather big book that laid on top of the pile of files that Caleb had neatly arranged on the shelves next to his desk. The vibrant color of the cover stuck out like a sore thumb that you couldn’t help but stare at it when you walked into the room.

Back then you had wondered if it had been something Caleb had always been interested in. That guy was able to excel in anything he would put his mind into, so it wouldn’t even come by surprise if he had picked up the hobby of flower meanings in his free time. But there was a chance that the recent movie you two had watched had made him curious - very possible given Caleb’s nature.

You tried to remember the last time he had gotten you flowers. Was it after you had passed the hunter’s exam? Caleb, who had told you that he would not be able to make it due to a work event, had surprised you greatly when he appeared in the middle of the crowd, your eyes widening in shock when you spotted him. He had laughed in response and while you couldn’t hear it from up the stage, you could hear it in your head: his big hearty laugh, slightly giggly as he tried to stay quiet and covered his mouth with his hands. 

After the ceremony he had handed you this enormous bouquet filled with different types of flowers and when you asked him what he had thought when he picked them out, he looked slightly embarrassed and confessed that he just asked for the prettiest ones.

During dinner you debate whenever you should ask him about it. 

‘Are you into flowers right now?’, ‘I found this book near your desk about flower meanings’, ‘Did you buy the book because of the movie we just recently watched?’ - all of them were reasonable to ask and it’s not like the book was kept away for you not to notice, but a sudden realization hit you that maybe - just maybe - Caleb was reading that book because he was gifting someone else flowers. 

And if that were the case, then maybe you were better off not knowing.

The thing is, Caleb and you had a somewhat.. peculiar relationship. A relationship you both were not ready to talk about in depth yet and therefore hadn’t defined fully.

You grew up together in the same house, but were not related at all, and after you had thought he was gone forever, he suddenly re-appeared in your life again, alive and breathing. 

You know that you like him more than a childhood friend would. 

Always caring and understanding, putting you first in any situation without hesitation - what is there not to like about him? For the longest time you knew that you might like him more than you should, but you never dared to ask for more. It would be selfish of you.

“Does it not taste that good today?”, a familiar voice suddenly takes you back to reality and you look up from the bowl of rice in front of you into warm lilac eyes. “I don’t think I changed anything about the recipe though..” 

There was a small pout on Caleb’s lips, which looked somewhat strange on his otherwise handsome and usually relaxed face. It’s only in front of you when he would be this expressive.

“N-No, it’s great!”, you reassure him quickly, picking up several side dishes he prepared and putting them into your bowl, “Sorry, just got something on my mind.”

His eyebrows are furrowed slightly as he puts down his chopsticks and leans forward on the table, “Are you sure?”, he asks quietly, his gaze not moving away from you.

It’s a thing he always did when you two were young. He knew you liked to pretend you were fine so you would avoid getting into trouble, which is why he would always make sure to ask you once more when it was just you two.

“I’m sure.”, you reply with a smile before telling him to continue eating. 

The day you get back to Linkon, you text Caleb the moment you get off your train so he wouldn’t need to worry any more than he already did. And being the Caleb you knew he is, he immediately calls you after reading your message.

“Hi, pipsqueak”, you could hear the grin that was most likely plastered on his face.

“Hi, ‘just wanted to let you know that I arrived in one piece”, you reply, slightly out of breath while you make your way around to the exit carrying your luggage, “I’m sorry, my hands are a bit full right now and I need to get on the earliest subway so I can make it home in time.”

“You know, maybe you should take a train earlier next time, so you wouldn’t need to rush so much whenever you get back”, Caleb gives back as an answer and you let out a huff, “You turned my alarm off! I would have made the first train if you hadn’t let me sleep this long!”

“You looked tired, pip’”, he retorts with a chuckle, “anyways, I called because I wanted to let you know that when you get home, there should be a package waiting for you.”

“A package?”

“Yep.”

You sigh, “did you deliver something to my place again?”

“Nope, this one's for you.”

And truth be told, the moment you get home, you notice the rather big box that was sitting in front of your apartment door. You snap a quick picture to send to Caleb, tell him you will open it later when you get back home and leave for work again. He replies with a sad-looking sticker before telling you to be safe and to text him when you get back.

You simply respond with a thumbs up.

Work goes as usual; Xavier and you patrol the area for a while before reports about wanderer sightings flood in one after another. No casualties tonight, only some damages that you note down to remark in your reports later. It’s unusually calm.

You text Caleb when you get ready to leave, letting him know you would head home now, and of course, just when you think that it’s over, it’s not. 

Xavier and you are just about to head into the nearest subway, when a sudden alert on your hunter’s watch notifies both of you about an increase of fluctuations. “Of course..”, you mutter, sighing and your hunter partner pats you on the shoulder encouragingly. “Let’s get this done quick”, he responds with a gentle smile.

There was a small gash on your leg that you needed to get checked up on after the fight. If Xavier hadn’t pushed you to the side in time, the damage would have probably been a lot worse and not just a small bandage wrapped around your left calf. 

When you get back home, you drop all your stuff at the door and head for the shower. You didn’t think you were that tired today, but the moment the cold water hit your body, you could finally feel yourself relaxing, the pressure slowly disappearing off your shoulders while you breathe in and out slowly. 

You can hear your phone ringing in the distance and when you make your way into your bedroom, bathrobe tightly wrapped around your body, towel neatly wrapped around your hair, you see the caller ID staring right into your face: Caleb.

“Hi”, you reply, pressing onto the speaker button so you could leave your phone where it is and go look for your pajamas to change into.

“Hi?”, Caleb replies back, slightly out of breath, “Where were you, pip’?”

You remember how you texted him you would be heading home roughly two, probably three hours ago only to be involved in a wanderer fight shortly after - right, you forgot to let him know.

“Sorry, on my way back home, we encountered a wanderer suddenly. I had to head into the medical office afterwards, so I just got back home now.”

“Did you get hurt? How bad is the injury?”, his voice immediately loses the slightly cold temper from before and he sounds a lot more worried now. You chuckle, “I’m fine. Only a little scratch.”

You even send him a picture of the bandaged leg, just to reassure him that you truly are fine, because otherwise he will not stop asking questions. And he does sound a lot more relaxed once he is able to see the wound properly, so you tell him you would be making yourself something to eat now and hang up.

“Oh right, the package!”, you exclaim when you make your way towards your kitchen and spot the big box placed on your kitchen island, “I almost forgot about it.”

You open it up slowly, curious about what is inside. 

To your surprise, it’s a flower pot, carefully wrapped up so as to not break during transport.

Dark green leaves, slightly glossy against the light, surround beautiful white flowers with a slight hint of yellow, which are almost in full bloom. You notice how there are definitely more leaves than flowers, making it look more like a cute little flower bush. “It’s still very pretty though”, you mutter.

You find a small note inside the package, which reads: ‘Hi, pip’, I picked out this little plant for you to care for so you won’t be lonely! It reminded me of you’

Next to it, there is a pamphlet on how to care properly for the plant, which you finally are able to identify as Gardenias.

To be completely honest, you don’t know much about flowers. You like looking at them, you sometimes buy a plant or two to decorate your living space with and your favorite scents are usually floral ones. But apart from that, you would probably only be able to identify a handful of them if you had to.

You take a picture of the new plant, now sitting on top of your coffee table and text ‘say hi to the newest addition to my family!’ and Caleb replies with ‘I’m a proud dad now! :D’ and you are unsure how to respond to that. What was he implying?

During dinner, you decide to look up gardenias. Since Caleb has that book now, does that mean he considered their meaning when he picked it out for you?

“...a wonderful way to celebrate new beginnings like anniversaries, great achievements, etc.” the first line reads and you nod along, humming.

“White gardenias signify love, affection and trust. It’s common to gift them to communicate admiration” You can feel your heart rate picking up a bit; this was getting hard. Which of these words did Caleb consider when he decided to send them? 

“‘I’m thinking about you’ or ‘You mean a lot to me’” 

You can’t help the smile that slowly starts forming on your lips. It’s crazy how easily you are swayed by these simple things. 

“Even as a friendly gesture, the gardenia is a simple way to let your loved ones know you value them.”

The smile slowly fades, as you drop down your phone on the table and let out a big sigh.

Yeah, that’s it. That sounds just like Caleb. 

Carefully picked out words that could get your mind to wander, but never treaded far enough for them to actually mean something. 

It’s just like him and the uncertainty of your relationship was slowly starting to drive you insane. Will the madness ever stop?

Later that night, you take out a piece of paper, write down the meaning you had looked up and tape it against the pot carefully. A small, painful reminder for you to know that he cared for you - no matter what meaning it was supposed to have.

-

Back in Skyhaven, Caleb is sitting at his office desk, files splayed out in front of him as he reads and approves them to hand in the next day. The week has been horrible and exhausting, sleep having escaped him almost every other day. 

And usually that would be fine as he had gotten used to it, but he realized that the lack of sleep and energy had made him unable to call you as of lately; scared that you might hear the fatigue in his voice or notice anything off about him.

Carefully placed behind him, on a small shelf usually kept for the books he enjoyed reading in his free time, his newest addition sat: the language of flowers - a book he bought after one of your movie nights.

There was a small blue sticky note hanging out of one of the pages.

“Gardenias, in lesser-known meanings represent a secret or unknown love.”