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It was a sunny fall day in the city, the warm rays of sunshine fought with the cold autumn breeze. Olivine sauntered away from the local "Restaurant Cher Très Chic" with his head low. His friend had just graduated, and decided to invite everyone to a meal to celebrate. So had all the others in his friend groups, sans him of course. God forbid HE accomplish anything. He returned to his apartment disgruntled, before flopping down on his bed, with a pile of textbooks on computer engineering. His parents accosted him about being an engineer of some sort, and he landed on computer engineering, because from what he heard the classes needed for most technical colleges in his area were pretty easy. So, through his high school years, he drifted from one computer class to the next, following the courses his school counselor told him to enroll in. Despite this, no college wanted him, they always said something or other about not being "outstanding enough" or "tough enough for their rigorous expectations". What had he done wrong? All his friends had done the same, followed what the counselor told them would be the best choice, yet they ended up so much more succesful. Sure, they had been a bit more involved with their fields of study, but it wasn't that Olivine slacked off, he had more than passing grades in most of his classes, ESPECIALLY his computer classes (they were indeed as easy as everyone said). We all need to do things we don't want to sometimes, and he had assumed that was the attitude most people tackled their jobs with, but now that he had followed what was told of him, and still wasn't worthwhile to any colleges, he didn't know what to do. All he could do was read over his notes and textbooks from high school, and look for free lance work to add to his resume. In the meantime he had a stable job at the local bakery "Kroco's Cafe". He enjoyed baking sure, but it wasn't as impactful as what everyone else around him was doing. As far as he was aware all he did was cause parents more stress as their child begged for one of their doughnuts. Were his doughnuts even good enough to warrant a reaction like that?? For now, he'd continue his post-midnight study sessions until he felt worthy enough to apply for another college. A harsh sound jolted Olivine awake, he lethargically reached for his alarm clock to shut it off, and promptly squirmed out of bed to prevent himself from falling back asleep. He followed his usual morning routine, he threw on his beige turtleneck and brown leather jacket to shield him from the elements and was off to Kroco's, but this time as he clocked, in he was approached by his boss, the owner and namesake of the shop. "Olivine... I can see bags under your eyes... and your as thin as a toothpick" Kroco stated, which Olivine rebuffed with a quick but shaky "I'm fine". His boss would not have it, and told Olivine to have the day off with a bag of fresh scones. As far as Olivine was aware this was just more time to work on freelance jobs and study, and so he rushed back to his apartment. On his way back however he spotted a group of flowers in the community park, somehow growing in the midst of the dreariness encasing them. He stared at the odd juxtaposition of colors for longer than he'd like to admit, until someone approached him. "Those are Winter Pansies! ...were you wondering why they're still growing now?" the stranger asked eagerly. Startled, Olivine responded "uhhm... I guess I was...", the stranger perked up "Well, Winter Pansies are much more tolerant to cold climates. As long as they get enough sunlight and the right amount of water they should be fine! Well, unless there's any harsh temperature change...". Olivine listened intently to the stranger as they went into detail, not truly understanding what he was saying, but enthralled by his passion and knowledge for something as trivial as flowers. Olivine had never paid much mind to flowers, but these pansies were eye candy to him, as was the strangers voice to his ears. He was clad in a oversized blue hoodie, a verdant apron covered in soil, and dark denim jeans. "o-oh, sorry for going on such a tangent haha..." the stranger said. Olivine quickly rebuffed "Oh no, you're fine! Thanks for telling me... uhm what's your name if I can ask?". "There isn't much of a point in asking if you can.. since you just did ask!! Hehe~ My name's Sparkles, and yours?" Olivine, flustered, responded "O-Olivine, my name's Olivine. So, do you do like... plant stuff for a living?". "Oh, well I grow flowers and sell them in my shop! It's a small corner store on North Balsam Street. It uhm, doesn't have the most creative name so you've probably passed by it a lot". Olivine was intrigued "Well... what is it called?" "uhm... well... it's j-just called Sparkle's Flowers... hehe" Sparkles giggled nervously "if you'd like, I can show you around! Y'know... if you aren't busy of course". Olivine hastily responded "Yea, I'm free for the day. I wouldn't mind-". Sparkles grabbed Olivine's paw and quickly dragged him towards upper Balsam Street. Sparkles reluctantly released Olivine's paw as they approached the shop, "s-sorry... I should've asked first. Was I holding too tight?". "A little, but don't sweat it" Olivine responded. Sparkles opened the door and ushered Olivine in. "Wow, this is reallly... quaint? I think that's the word I'm looking for" Olivine remarked. "Awh, I'm glad!" Sparkles exclaimed excitedly. Olivine wandered around the shop, pacing around the table of flowers in the center, and glancing across the shelves of shrubs across the walls. When Sparkles noticed Olivine taking particular interest in a flower, he'd go into detail about the flower and how to care for it, and Olivine would listen intently. Even though Olivine hadn't the slightest interest in horticulture, he couldn't help but divert his full attention to Sparkles. Hearing how much he cared for something as silly as growing flowers, seeing the care and compassion put into his work and how much he enjoyed it... it made Olivine feel butterflies in his stomach. Olivine eventually remembered the bag of scones he had pocketed from Mr.Kroco earlier, as he pulled them out to start eating a spur-of-the-moment thought crossed his mind. "Hey can you eat flowers?" Olivine blurted out. Sparkles stared in astonishment with a little smile on his face before responding. "I suppose, but it wouldn't taste to good haha" he stated "There are some that could be poisounous, so I wouldn't reccomend grabbing the nearest flower when you're craving a snack!". Sparkles then opened his hand for Olivine to accept, which he quickly did. Sparkles then guided him to another corner of the shop. "Here are where I keep the edible flowers! They can go good in recipies or by themselves, these honeysuckles are especially nice to snack on!". Sparkles reached and plucked a bunch of honeysuckles into his hand and handed some to Olivine. Olivine instinctively took one and began to shove it in his mouth, looking to Sparkles for reassurance. "N-no not like that silly! You're supposed to eat the nectar by pulling the stem out". Sparkles demonstrated, he plucked a flower from the bunch, stuck his tongue out and slowly pulled the stem out, letting the nectar fall on his tongue. His attention turned to Olivine, waiting for him to try. Olivine pulled a flower up to his maw, and quicky pulled the stem out. What little nectar was in the flower flew onto his cheek instead. "Make sure to pull it gently, m'kay? You got this!" cheered Sparkles. Olivine took another flower, and pulled very gently. A small, sweet drop of nectar hit his tongue, and he took a moment to savor it. He smiled as he swallowed the nectar "That was... nice. Yea, that was really nice". Olivine smiled warmly at Sparkles, and Sparkles smiled warmly in return, glad Olivine was enjoying himself, and glad he had someone to share his little joys with. "Hey... where'd you get those scones? They smell delicious" Sparkles remarked. "Oh... my boss gave them to me. I work at Kroco's Bakery a few blocks away" Olivine planly stated. "Ooooo, do you like baking? I love pastries!! My grandmother used to bake for me a lot". "Oh.... well I guess I like it. I'm not that good at it because, well, it didn't seem like it was important enough to put any effort into" his eyes darting around as Olivine let the words drop out of his mouth. "Awh... well, do you feel passionate about baking? If you do you should really go for it!" Sparkles cheered, pulling himself a little closer to Olivine. Olivine pondered the thought, but not for long. "I don't think it'd be a good idea, nor would my... uh, parents approve" he scoffed. Sparkles shook his head "So what? Who cares what other people think". Olivine shrugged, and began to pace around the store again. Eventually Olivine stumbled upon some blue-ish hydrangeas, and as was routine Olivine followed. "Oh! These are hydrangeas!" he stated. "They're commonly used as funeral flowers..." his voice faltered. Sparkles was growing distant from the moment, and Olivine caught wind of this. "Oh... have you... uh, lost someone recently? You don't have to answer if you don't want" he gently, caustiously asked. Sparkles stared at the hydrangeas, focused on organizing his thoughts. As he did he grew farther and farther from the current moment, and Olivine waited patiently, understanding the weight of the question. Suddenly Sparkles pulled himself back to now and exhaled. "I-It's okay... yea... my grandmother" he said staring at the ground. "She's the one who taught me how to start a garden, and how to store them, and all the unique things about each flower..." Sparkles smiled warmly as the words left his mouth. "When I was in school I was bullied a lot for how much I liked flowers. I used to wear these pretty flower crowns me and my grandmother would make together, but then I stopped because kids would... y'know... make fun of me. Some of the worst times I can remember, people would take them and rip them up, and even call me slurs...", and Sparkles looked up at Olivine, and Olivine met his gaze intently "...but my grandma told me to ignore them. She was always willing to help me make an entire batch of flower crowns so no matter how many got torn up I'd always have more, and always baked me a fresh batch of cream cheese danish to cheer me up. She was a firm believer of enjoying the little things in life, that you could make someone smile just by being yourself!" Sparkles exclaimed. Olivine sat in silence and pondered, before he could say anything Sparkles continued "And the other day, a mom and son sauntered in here to buy some funeral flowers, only a few days after my grandmother had passed. We were talking about what flowers would be best and I brought them to the hydrangeas" Sparkles uttered in a shaky voice. He continued on "Because when hydrangeas are prtoected they can last for years on end... just like the memories and wishes of the departed" tears slowly streaming down his face, that led to his warm quivering smile. "The mother thanked me... she and her son smiled as they walked out, and I think that was when I understood what my grandmother meant" Sparkles exhaled shakily. The moment was blank, nothing was movine besides the cars outside and the tears on Sparkles cheeks, and Olivine, not knowing what else to do, pulled Sparkles close to his chest. He pondered over what Sparkles had been saying. Olivine leaned his head against Sparkle's and very gently stated "Your grandmother would be so, so proud of you". Olivine embraced Sparkles tighter, hoping it would comfter Sparkles further if his comment rubbed off the wrong way. Sparkles sniffled and tucked himself in further "thank you....thank you". Sparkles smiled as he took in all the warmth of Olivine's embrace, and Olivine stood there not really sure what to do. He stared at Sparkles as he took in the situation. He hadn't really touched another human. Ever. After standing for what felt like forever, Sparkles quickly jolted back. "Oh... have I kept you too long? I-It's okay if you need to go". Olivine rebuffed "Not at all! It feels like I could stay here forever haha... although my legs are a bit tired". Sparkles perked up "Oh, I can take you up to my room if you'd like! Then I can take you to the roof before you leave! It's where I actually grow a lot of the plants". Olivine nodded, and gently grasped Sparkles hand "lead the way then". Sparkles opened the door behind the counter and pranced up the cramped stairway, sharing his hand with Olivine. He stopped at the first door on the flight of stairs and opened it up, gesturing for Olivine to enter. "Here we are, my humble abode!" Sparkles chirped with glee "You can sit wherever you'd like, I call my bed though!" yelped Sparkles as he flopped onto his bed. Olivine made his way over to the bed, and settled down next to Sparkles. "Is this the part where I hug you and take a nap on your chest" Sparkles blurted out, refusing to make eye contact with Olivine. Olivine felt blood rise to his head as he registered the words, before he could answer Sparkles quickly retracted the statement "O-oh I'm sorry I shouldn't have-". "Nah it's fine" Olivine rebuffed, opening his arms "Get over here if you really want it". Sparkles hesitantly stared at Olivine before pouncing into his arms, "OMPH- j-jeez dude I wasn't expecting you to be that rough" Olivine muttered as Sparkles curled up against him. "Okay, I know I just met you a few hours ago, and I'm already asking a lot. but could you rub my head a bit? Maybe my tummy too if you're comfortable with it" Sparkles murmurred hesitantly. Olivine scoffed "Look, don't take this as a sign to walk about to random people, tell them about flowers, and expect them to love you, but...", as he reached for Sparkles forehead and thoroughly pulled his hand to the back of his head, pulling Sparkle's ears back as he went. "Th-that feels nice, thank you!" Sparkles cheered. Olivine thought of things to talk about while the two sat there, "Do you have any other hobbies besides horticulture?". "Oh, not much hehe. I do enjoy doodling! I draw boquets and designs of flowers a lot, though that was probably to be expected hehe. How about you? What hobbies are you passionate about?". Olivine took a second and reflected, organized his thoughts, and responded "I... I don't really think I had one. I was thinking about what your grandmother said earlier, and I kinda realized I never focused much on what I enjoyed doing, because I thought it was silly. So I tried to follow what my friends did instead, and, heh I couldn't care about it at all... I suppose. I guess, I've been enjoying my job at the bakery". Sparkles pulled himself up, now at face level with Olivine "So go for it!! Keep practicing!! If baking's what you enjoy then follow your passion for it!" Sparkles hugged Olivine tightly, nuzzling his head into the crook of Olivine's neck. "I believe in you" he whispered, before very very gently smooching the side of Olivine's face. Olivine blushed, but only squeezed Sparkles tightly and nuzzled his face "...well I'll try my best bud". The two sat there for a while, holding each other and enjoying the sound of the city slowly regressing into sleep. A sleepy Olivine slowly opened his eyes and surveyed his surrondings. He hadn't really fallen asleep, at least not to his knowledge, but Sparkles sure was. The lone motion of the slow rise and fall of his body as he took deep breaths was enough for Olivine to know. He gently cradled his new found partner, and proceeded to poke him in the face repeatedly. "wakeupdummywakeupdummy!!!" Olivine chuckled, as Sparkles yawned and grabbed his hand. "arright im upp" he groaned "that excited to see the garden, huh?". Olivine nodded, and Sparkles smiled gleefully "Well I'm excited to show you!". The two of them squirmed out of bed and took a moment to stretch before heading up the remaining flight of stairs. The city air was cool and crisp as they reached the top of the buliding. The vibrant towers surronded Sparkle's humble shop. The two took a moment to appreciate the wall of hues surronding them before returning their attention to the many flowers around them. Some were arranged under radiators, while some were left out in the cool autumn air. "Here, I have a particular plant I think I want you to have..." Sparkle's muttered as he searched around. He eventually landed on a row of dark red plants, he got a pot out, and gently scopped the plant and placed it into the pot. "Is this pot too big for you to carry? I'll carry it for you if so!" Sparkles calmly asked. "I can carry it. what type of plant is that? I think it looks pretty~" Olivine responded. "These are Carnations! They only need sunlight and some light watering around two times a week" Sparkles said as he semi-frantically searched around the garden. "Here they are! This little leaflet I made has some more info about it, I usually give these to customers who plan on keeping their flowers and not just using them as a boquet" Sparkles cheered, holding out the leaflet to Olivine. "Oh yea, I should probably pay for these" He responded as he took the leaflet, and began to reach for his wallet. "Nuuupe, they're on the house ;3" Sparkles winked, before plucking the flower, stem and all, from another carnation and gently placing it in Olivine's head floof. "And carnations symbolize love and affection". Sparkles gently squeezed both of Olivines paws in his hands, "I'll be blunt. I'm going to kiss you, I'm gonna kiss you right on the lips for as long as you want me to" Sparkles stated as he pulled himself closer to Olivine. Olivine accepted Sparkles into his arms as he turned his face up at Olivine, "You're a wonderful person, I see so much potential in you, and I wanna see you doing what YOU love, m'kay?" Sparkles exhaled "Thank you for listening to me ramble all day... and for the head rubs hehe~". Sparkles closed his eyes, pushed his snout up against Olivine's, and met his lips. Olivine stared bug eyed not really sure what do, other than hold Sparkles tightly. He, like, was he supposed to stick his tongue in Sparkles mouth????? That seemed kinda gross. He settled for just pressing his lips against Sparkles for a while, and rubbing his paws against the back of his head. Olivine savoured the moment, thinking back on how happy Sparkle was to spend time with him. As the two sat their Olivine thought about how supportive Sparkles had been of... him, just, being him. Eventually Sparkles loosened his grip and stepped back. "We oughta get going, or else you'll be staying the night" Sparkles giggled as he picked up the pot of Carnations, and started toward the staircase. "Y'know, I think I'd prefer that honestly" Olivine muttered, following close behind. The two sauntered happily back to Olivine's house. As Olivine said his goodbye's to Sparkles he realized it was almost 10 o' clock. For a brief second, he thought about studying, before falling onto his bed, and drifting to sleep on a cloud of happy thoughts. Olivine, with a bit of pep in his step, got out of bed. Brushed his teethe, pulled on his clothes, and with a long smile headed to work with a smile. He checked in, and greeted his boss. "Hey! How's it going chump?" Kroco remarked Olivine replied "Pretty well, actually. I feel well rested for once" "Well then, ready to do some baking?" "Hell yeaaaaa" Olivine started prepping some of the basic ingredients he'd need for any order, made sure all the neccesary dishes were clean and pre-heated the oven. After the preppping he turned to the counter, before realizing Kroco was already manning it, and had already left an order for him. 3 Cream Cheese Danish. Olivine got to work, making sure he got the right dough shape, thoroughly beating and mixing the ingredients, and making sure to add some fancy frosting over the treats. He delicilately put the pastries into a small brown bag, and walked over to the counter. He noticed Kroco was off doing something else and the customer was waiting patiently. Olivine handed the pastries to the customer, which accepted their order. They handed over their cash before taking a bite. "...mmmmmh, these taste delicious!!" Sparkles exclaimed, "just like my Grandma's... I knew you were a good chef, Olivine". Sparkles gave Olivine a wink before heading out of the shop, both of them smiling. Olivine had finally realized just how much his little treats mattered.