#also fun to see a familiar name attached to an unfamiliar plant

[calandrinon]

I have no idea how accurate this is but it is so pretty and I want one

Herbs in Europe

[happybanana2]

This is what I’ve written out for Bioshock 2. I’m not a writer by any means, I did this for fun and hope others will enjoy it. I’ll be posting each chapter as I write them. I also changed around something that didn’t make sense outside playing the game itself. Let me know how you dealt with Grace Holloway too, I’m taking in the communities opinions before I get to deal with them in this fan fic (?)

They’ll be tagged with my name for easy findings as well (happybanana2)

I hope you enjoy!

A soft pitter patter of water dripping onto a metal helmet wakes a sleeping beast. Low groans echo through an empty room. Water splashes as the huge metal beast rises from the puddle he lay in. Upon looking around the room it’s lowly lit by the bioluminescence shining from aquatic plant life that’s filled the leaky room. On the far wall, behind the giant decorative globe labelled “Adonis Resort Spa”, pictures were plastered all over it. No one he recognized, still strange place to leave what almost looked like a memorial.

Radio static grabs his attention. Although faint he can hear a woman trying to get through.

“Hel-. The sign-very weak. Can you he-“ the radio static overwhelms any chance of him hearing her full message. Surely there is a place to get a better connection. The beast leans over and picks the radio attaching it to his belt. Next to a lit machine labelled “Vita-Chamber” behind him, lays a drill. Much larger than any human could carry, but he was much larger than a regular human. Wouldn’t want to walk around unprotected in this unfamiliar area. The drill easily attaches to his right arm along the metal bracing connected to his diver suit. With some protection, he looks around the room and sees a staircase heading up and out of the room.

“In the house of upside down, cellars top floor. Attics ground. In the house of upside down, laughing cries. And smiles frown. In the house of upside down. Found is lost. And lost is found.” Whispered a voice. The small whisper echoed just enough for lurking beast to hear. The sound lured him closer to the top of the stairs, his paced quickened. If only a small amount. Yet when he turned the corner at the top of the stairs there was only a golden vent. Decorated with small, intracate details, almost as to appeal to younger children. As he inspected the vent a small pair of yellow lights quickly popped up and vanished just as fast.

Not put off by this, he continued on as his hulking feet stomping along made loose rubble from the old architecture fall to the floor. The top of the stairs closed off by glowing pink coral but easy enough to break. A quick swing by his right hand, equipped with a giant drill easily broke the coral, freeing his path. Another round of static starts from his waist, but no voice or words to be made out.

*Who is this? What do they want? Where am I?* he thought. This place was familiar. If only from a dream, but it didn’t put him off as much as it should’ve. The algae covered walls seemed to continue forever until the long walkway ended in a swimming area with a large pool and surrounded by shuttered windows. Near the back of the pool sparks flew from a short circuited machine. Surely it had shorted due the leaking all around the building. He was surprised to find that the place wasn’t completely flooded.

Not even finished getting himself familiar with the area, a heart stopping screech made the beast wince. What a terrible sound, not even nails on a chalkboard sounded so foul. From one loud sound to another the screech came from a lanky metal beast. Similar to himself in armour but differed in stature, slimmer and more agile. It quickly jumped onto the still standing statue, launching itself off and up into the hole in the ceiling while the statue fell shaking the ground under him. Although unsettling, this creature, ran off. Hoping not to encounter it again, the metal beast continued to the back of the pool. Before heading into the main back room, a small red blinking light caught his attention.

*A recording device? What could be on-?*

His free hand grabbed the recording device and hit play. A woman explained how to jumpstart the generator with something called “Electro-Bolt”. That name. He had heard it before, long ago. Why couldn’t he remember anything? Not where he was, why he was there or even his name. The only hint he has was a small white triangular marking on the back of his hand.

*Delta. That’s the symbol. My name?*

Walking past the generator, into the back rooms was a steam room before the therapy spa rooms. Taking a peek at the steam room there was something written on the door. A code. Surely one to the lock right outside?

*0451. Did they get locked inside?* he questioned as he punched in the code. Sure enough the door slides open, allowing the steam to finally be released. Another recording on the ground, couple of dollars too. Never hurt to have extra money, he picked up what bills were still intact and shoved them into a pocket along his left thigh. Continuing to the back room, it was lit by a red machine with two statues of little girls on each side, labelled Gatherer’s Garden. The machine started to sing a little jingle about flowers growing. In the dispense area sat a glowing red fluid in a glass bottle. The design had a skull like face at the top with glowing red eyes to match the fluid. Children’s drawing littered area along with jars of fireflies.

~Father~ a voice flashed into his head. Calling out for her father. That voice. He recognized it but what was her name. Was he her father? Why couldn’t he remember his own daughter? More and more questions got added to his mind but he didn’t allow himself to spiral.

*Keep moving. I’ll find answers. I’ll find someone. But this…stuff. I’ll take all I can get* he grabbed the bottle of luminance, injected a clean needle labelled “Eve” from his person into the bottle, sucking up the mysterious liquid and injecting it into a small tube on his right wrist. A small prick. Little pain. Only for a moment. Suddenly he gasped, a sharp pain shot through him. He screamed but only a low growl left his mouth. His vision blurred as his head spun and he sank to his hands and knees.

As he tried to get a hold of himself a small shadow appeared.

“Daddy was sleeping, for such a long time. And Eleanor has missed you! Find her and you’ll be all better!” she smiled and stepped towards him holding a small handmade doll. Her eyes glowing yellow. Even the where it was supposed to be white. Just as his vision refocused the child was snatched by the lanky screaming metal being.

“DADDY!!” She screamed as she was zipped away to god knows where. The doll fell onto the floor. Upon closer inspection, he noticed that it was an eerie lookalike to himself. A small watch face made the porthole he looked out of, a thimble with a twisted wire for his drill and rubber bands holding it together at the body.

*Daddy? How many…?* he shook his head and stood up regaining his balance. Now his left hand glowed a faint blue light that was zipping around. Lightning. Aware he could restart that generator now, he turned to see the door was the short circuited after the monster took the child. Thankfully he had a way of restarting the power now. He raised his hand and flexed, just as his muscles moved a blue jolt shot out. Sparking the door to life and opening. Back to the pool and onwards.

As he head back to the generator he heard voices. Not a screech, nor a child. These were adults speaking nonsense about unity and selflessness. He peered around the corner to see two people. One man standing at the diving board and a woman near the generator. As he stepped out they heard his metal boots clank on the ground. The man turned to look at him. He raised his arm with a large pipe in hand and tan towards the metal Goliath. The crazed lunatic screamed and charged as did the woman. The man landed one blow before getting smacked back onto the ground by a swing of the drill, as the woman went for a hit but was only met with shock as the blue Electro Bolt rendered her motionless. With tense muscle spasms keeping her still, the drill roared as it spun up. Upon meeting the woman’s body the drill spun covering the floor, surrounding walls, and his armour in blood and viscera. The drill’s hum silenced and she fell torn and dismembered. Although gruesome, the scene wasn’t too out of place. Bodies were in other rooms anyways, he had to. They swung first.

He shook the excess blood off the drill and aimed his left hand at the power box of the generator. ZAP! And then music whirred up as lights flicked on. The shutters jolted, and slowly rolled up. Outside them a beautiful display of wildlife in the ocean with another large hulking metal man. The one outside being shorter in stature, but looked just as strong and armoured. The last door finally opened after it sparked, welcoming the metal beast inside.

“A signal! Finally!” The radio came to life. “You, Herr Delta, bringing this dead city to life, my name it is Tenenbaum. Come to the ticket booth in the Alantic Express Train Station. I will offer all I know about you” a German woman explained.

*Delta.* he thought. Finally he had learned something. With no other ways of getting out or learning where he is, Delta decided meeting this Tenenbaum woman was the best idea. He moved onwards, finding the odd recording Delta made sure to pick them up and listen. Maybe he could find something off these to help as well.

The Adonis Resort was large but thankfully most of the building had flooded and inaccessible due to being locked off by bulkhead door. It was easy to find a way through. Passing by the restrooms, Delta saw the little red light again. Grabbing the diary and pressing play he heard a woman with a British accent speaking to her unborn daughter.

Eleanor. That was the name that the little yellow eyed girl said. The woman speaking seemed passionate about helping others, yet was off putting. Unsure why, Delta continued. Around the way was a door being jammed by a rivet gun. Must’ve been dropped by this metal man. A dead body in a big diver suit sat parallel to the door. This suit looked very similar to Deltas own suit yet Delta’s seemed older and more worn. The door stopped clanging and opened up. Delta was only met with more hostility. As he dispensed the crazies in front of him with ease, he found some medical supplies and a glowing blue hypodermic needle. Grabbing both quickly Delta saw the side door with small amounts of steam passing through inviting him in. A yellow-beige suitcase was placed centre just past the entrance, an audio diary. As Delta listened he realized that his man came here on his own to find someone. The voice wasn’t familiar but his predicament was. Delta could relate to this Mark Meltzer as he was also looking for someone. Eleanor. She must know something. Delta turned around and back out towards the train station. More baddies delayed him as two crazies, unaware to Delta’s presence, fought back and fourth about looking for food and living in filth. Not wanting a fight Delta thought

*Can I sneak around?* surely not. His footsteps were far too loud, it was odd that they didn’t hear them approaching. Guessing their banter was too loud. Feeling a small zap and while rubbing his fingers together, it hit Delta. Zap ‘em. A small muscle flex cooked the two in the water, it looked as if they had a seizure before falling limp and lifeless in the water. Delta proceeded. The final door in his path took a moment to open, when the door rose it was pitch black inside. Taking a step in and turning on the light on his helmet Delta saw another little girl. She sat over top a corpse while sticking an oversized needle into it. Once the light flicked onto her she turned and smiled at Delta. Removing the needle and jumping towards him, signalling him to pick her up. Just as he started to lean down that damned screech rung in his ears.

“Daddy” the girl spoke softly “Big Sister doesn’t want me playing with you.” She sounded afraid with no time to grab the little girl, the Big Sister made her entrance. Jumping off the upper floor onto the Adonis sign, and right in Delta’s face. She literally had jumped onto him and stared into his helmet before jumping off and brandishing her weapon. She came to end whatever was going on with Delta. What a fool if she thought he’d go down without a fight.

As Delta drew his gun her hands lit ablaze and she threw fireballs at Delta. He quickly threw himself to the side making the fireballs hit the Adonis sign. He didn’t hesitate to fire back. Launching rivet after rivet towards her. She grunted in pain, but still ran towards him jumping onto walls like she was a spider. Delta only managed to land one Electro Bolt jolt on her. As she shook in pain for the blast and screamed again. Blurring Deltas vision by the sheer pitch. She ran off breaking down a blocked door to escape.

*Coward.* Delta sighed to himself.

The little girl was gone, he had missed where she ran to during the fight. He hoped she was safe and wasn’t harmed. With only one way to go Delta followed the Big Sister.

The only door available opened and led to a large open hall. Delta jumped down the main floor from the balcony, only managing to take a few steps before the screeching started again. That lanky bitch was back, she ran and jumped off the back wall being made entirely of glass. The large needle on her arm scratched the glass causing water to start spraying in the hall until the pressure got to be too much for the faulty glass. One large crack was heard before the whole panel shattered allowing the ocean to invade the space. Although Delta braced himself the waves force easily pushed him over. After shaking off the knock back Delta breathed heavily. His breathe echoing in his helmet.

“Even in this suit the ocean can not harm you. This is good. But Rapture is the death of many great men. Alone, you will not last long. You can still reach the train station. Find me there.” The transmission ended.

Although inside had been run down, the ocean was peaceful. Fish swam as if no city was there. Plants lit the dim ocean floor as Delta walked along the sea bed. A round sunken vessel grabbed his attention. Inside where two bodies, one had an audio recording. As the Delta played the tape and listened he heard this couples demise as they were shot down while trying to escape. * This Lamb woman I’ve being hearing about on the PA system has an issue with people leaving. Why?* Delta thought. He trekked through the ocean and saw another another metal man. This one was just as tall as Delta, with a rocket launcher on its shoulder. As Delta inspected him a small girl, just like the one he has seen being taken, appeared from his side. As they walked along a group of thugs came along. Clearly the girl was scared as she ran towards her saviour. Without a second thought he started firing the rockets towards these brutes. Their corpses fell as the rocket hit. The girl uncurled herself and hugged her protector before continuing on. Delta thought to continue as well, he still had Tenenbaum to meet. She had the answers, hopefully the right ones for him.

Travelling through the ocean floor Delta found himself and the top of broken balcony, Rapture lit the waters for as far as the eye could see. Delta jumped off, only to sink back to the floor. His suit was too heavy to let him swim, and he wasn’t about the drop his drill to see is that was enough to let him move more freely. He needed that drill, from crazed lunatics with pipes to weird metallic people it was clear Delta needed all the help he could get. He grunted as his feet hit the sandy bottom, he looked to his left and saw an airlock to the train station. Just as he moved towards it the lanky screecher swam out and up towards the top of building. Delta knew he couldn’t get her, nor would his drill do anything if he couldn’t get close. Irritated, Delta entered the airlock and cycled it to drain.

Finally at the train station after what felt like far too long for a supposed short distance. He looked to find the ticket booth. Tenenbaum said she was in there. Walking into the building he saw a man fumbling with the controls of a door. Just as Delta approached the door, it fell shut. Clearly the man had achieved what he had set out to do.

“Now most to survive are like this. Splicers. Vicious animals.” Tenenbaum informed Delta about the residents of Rapture. In a side room filled with electrical equipment Delta rummaged and found a hack device. Surely this was made by splicers to aid them in moving about Rapture since a lot was closed or locked off. Luckily there was a dart for the device there as well. Since Rapture was in ruin there was lots of parts broken and run down, most glass was cracked or broken. The only thing that separated the side room and the other side of the door was one flimsy, cracked piece of glass. Just enough room for Delta to aim and fire the dart. Using the keys on the device he was able to signal the door to open.

*Too easy. Gotta keep this one.* Delta cheered to himself. Putting the hack tool on his belt he grabbed the rivet gun off the side of his air tank. He didn’t know where these Splicers would appear, best to stay ready for a fight. Walking onwards he couldn’t help but notice all the graffiti. The walls were lined with white paint spelling things like “we will be reborn” and “she is watching”. Butterflies made out of handprints. As his heavy steps continued to the ticket booth he had to walk through one of the trains loading docks. Delta knew he was quite large in stature but he didn’t think that it would cause the train stationed above to fall from the loading line. Just as the dust settled from the collapse Delta heard splicers yelling. They dropped it. Probably hoping for it to crush Delta. With a few shots from his rivet gun and zap from his hand they fell. Heading around to the booth he was met with a red lit room filled with shut off tvs. It appears as if the buttons and switches in this room was to control the doors. Delta pulled the largest switch hoping it would unlock the door instead it shut off the lights. One by one the tvs flickered on. After they had switched on, a voice came over the PA system.

“I know you. That symbol on your hand marks you a dead man. 10 years Subject Delta, since I watched you put a gun to your head and pull the trigger.”

*I what?* Delta saw a quick flash before his eyes. All he remembers is green flashing, and…and HER! That voice! She told Delta to kill himself. Shot in the head with a golden pistol. He remembered now. Eleanor. He had to protect her, he couldn’t remember exactly but he felt an overwhelming sense of anger after hearing those words. Sofia continued “but to take heart out of your pain, Paradise was born. I don’t know how you survived but know that these men will ease your burden. Please understand that like all I’ve done, this is an act of love.” The tvs shut off as splicers are heard running towards the glass front of the room.

“It is Sofia Lamb! She has found you!” Tenenbaum worried.

Delta trapped in small room with no escape, tried his best to avoid splicer fire. Far too many bullets were being fired for Delta to not get shot. They threw in a molotov hoping to burn out the metal beast. Starting to feel the heat Delta panicked. He heard the floor crack. Once, then twice. Before the second crack even finished Delta fell through the floor. The burning debris followed as Delta as he slammed into a flooded level below. The water broke his fall and left Delta only a little worse for the wear.

“Now you know of the enemy we share. Sofia Lamb. The camera in your helmet allows me to watch through your eyes and help you fight her.” Whoever this Tenenbaum was she was resourceful.

Leaving the flooded basement Delta was met with a soft purple glow as candles where laid about the room with more graffiti. Up ahead he heard a small wurring noise. It was a security camera.

“Careful! Security cameras belong to Lamb. But if you’re clever you can find a way around them.”

A way around? The camera covered every angle of the room towards the door way on the other side. He was too big to try and hide behind desks and too slow to run past. While looking for a way to get around the camera he bumped into a desk, knocking the contents onto the floor. Upon the refuse was another hack dart. Two at that! Quickly grabbing one and his hack tool he aimed the camera. The dart connected and he started to dial up on the tool. With a couple of clicks the camera light changed to a light green. The camera whirred up lighting the splicers hiding inside. Now it wasn’t their friend anymore, the camera rang the alarms setting out security bots. They boys came filled armed with machine gun and riddled the splicers with bullets causing them to fall dead in their own blood. The ringing alarm ended and the boys returned to their hiding spots in the rooms security panels. Outside that office was the postal room, busted pipes caused mail to be littered across the room. In the dead centre was a red wagon with another red glowing bottle, some blue Eve hypos, and a jar of fireflies to light the area. As Delta approaches he suddenly got light headed as a voice entered his head.

“Father. It’s me, Eleanor. I know you’re awake in there. I can feel it. Mother won’t be able to…to you with you like that, ever again. This plasmid is for you…if I’m right, you can use it now! Please…find me…” he saw her bright blue eyes and jet black hair in his mind as she pleaded to be found.

After gathering himself he grabbed the bottle, and jabbed another needle into his arm. The pain this time wasn’t nearly as bad as the Electro Bolt was. Delta flexed his fingers as mail lifted in front of him, he drops the mail and tries to get the typewriter. Without another thought the typewriter flew towards him stopping a few inches in front of his hand, he aimed towards the back of the room and launched the typewriter with enough force to cause the machine to shatter, leaving a dent in the wall as well. Delta quickly left the mail room feeling empowered.

Up a flight stairs, the top covered in graffiti saying “she is watching”. Delta heard splicers talking about a man who left Rapture with a bunch of children. Some admired and some mocked him as they huddled around a burning trash bin. Fire. Easy disposal of these splicers, Delta waved his hand at an oxygen tank. Lifting it into the air before hurling it at the burning trash bin. The force combined with the heat cause the tank to blow up instantly, killing the splicers in a fiery ball. Delta hopped down, rumbling the ground beneath him.

*How much further?* Delta wondered. For a train station this place was huge. Felt like Delta had been walking for hours, although he did make frequent stops thanks to Sofia. Just as Delta went to pass to the other side of the station the door fell. Far too large and heavy for Delta to brute force through it, he also didn’t see any control panel for him to tinker with. Retracing his steps to find something to help with door he heard a woman giggling. He saw through a hole in the wall a splicer jam her weapon into the gears of the door. She ran off still giggling. Thinking they’d stopped Delta, he shook his head before using his plasmids to remove the pipe as if it never was there. They door moved back open and Delta hoped it wouldn’t be too much further to Tenenbaum. One last set of stairs. As he reached the apex a Big Sister jumped down, giving Delta a jump. She hastened off, up above the trains. A camera whirred and splicers called out as they ran to swarm Delta.

“Quickly! Head for the elevator!” Chimed Tenenbaum. Delta poked his head around to shoot his last hack dart at the camera. Missed. Delta shot the camera out then quickly put his rivet gun onto his back, pulling out his drill again. Heading towards the splicers, drill spinning up Delta didn’t hesitate to blast them with Electro Bolt before removed their innards with just a moment of the drill meeting their bodies. Pushing through the pain of splicers landing the shots and a couple of blows thuggish types, Delta entered the elevator quickly.

Blood dripped off the drill as the elevator doors slammed shut. More and more voices echoed, calling out for Delta’s head. As the elevator rose Tenenbaum chimed through the radio.

“Now this is what the children tell me. You are a very old Big Daddy, bonded for life to single little one. When you are apart for too long your body begins to break down-like a coma. The name of your little one is Eleanor Lamb. Daughter of Sofia. She is kept in Fontaine Futuristics un the other side of the city. You must go there und save her. Before it is too late” Tenenbaum lowered her voice as her sentence ended.

*Damn. That’ll complicate things* Delta thought

The splicers couldn’t get him up here anymore, he crushed the controls inside the elevator to keep in stationary. Finally getting to the ticket booth, Delta walked up and knocked on the metal shutter.

It slowly opened to see Tenenbaum and 5 young girls. They didn’t look like little sisters, their skin wasn’t pale-ish grey nor did their eyes glow. They looked like normal, healthy, little girls.

“You see? This is why I must find Sofia Lamb. She is using the new Little Ones for…for something…und I have returned to rescue them. If I do not, more children will die for MY sins —and the Rapture nightmare will repeat forever. Now we must tal-“ she was cut off from Sofia Lamb over the PA system. The screen behind Tenenbaum lit up with Sofia’s face followed by Delta’s image.

“Citizens of Rapture-” The announcement started “-this is Subject Delta. Behind that mask hides an enemy of the people-without soul or sympathy. It’s is a beast apart-and as a Family, we must tear out its jaw and drive it back into the sea!” The announcement ended with an alarm going off.

“Please hold off the splicers” Tenenbaum asked with desperation in her voice.

Delta readied himself and walked towards the train where splicers unloaded. Although in a large group, the splicers had sectioned themselves on either side of Delta into small groups of three each. Easy for Delta to plow through the first group with his drill. Until he heard a sputter and his drill gave out. No fuel left. Quickly throwing a barrel into the faces of splicers hastening towards him with his Telekinesis plasmid. Delta grabbed his rivet gun and blew them away as red hot rivets pierce their flesh. After the splicers and bullets fell silent and the radio sparked up again.

“Thank you und I am sorry for this but I must leave you. This man Sinclair is an ally! Und will guide you to Eleanor. Good bye Herr Delta und good luck.” From one speaker to another Sinclair pipped up!

“We’ll look at you…a bonafide knight in armour. Complete with iron horse. Ol’ Tenenbaum an’ I share an interest in the ol’ Fontaine building-the very same place you’ll find Eleanor Lamb. I think you and I can do business. Take the train to Ryan Amusements…I’ll see you shortly.” A smooth talkin’ business man with a Southerner accent was Augustus Sinclair. Although not sure of his motives, Tenenbaum helped Delta with no reason. She said he’ll help too, Delta trusted Tenenbaum’s decision and followed Sinclairs instructions. He moved onto the train and started the controls to take him out of this damned train station.

[dansphlevels]

will u do part 3 of yellow roses? i love it so much your writing is honestly great

Yellow Roses pt. 3 of 6

Read part 1 here, part 2 here, or read the whole thing on Ao3 here.

Summary: Dan has a wife who just loves the flowers he keeps getting for her. Unfortunately, she doesn’t know about the attractive florist who sends hidden messages with each bouquet that her husband might just be falling for.

Length: 2.3k words

Themes: historical,  language of flowers, flowershop au, forbidden love

Daniel went through five stages in the process of getting over Phil. 

The first, was regret. He regretted his actions, his illegal, immoral choices that had led to him kissing another man. He promised himself he would never make a mistake like that ever again. He would learn to forget Phil.

It had been two weeks already with no contact. Daniel shouldn’t have been counting.

The second stage was emptiness. Because when you find someone that makes your heart feel full, and you push them away, you can’t help but feel like they took your lungs with them. Daniel learned what love was, real love, and without it he felt like he had to relearn how to breathe.

Who knew that Dan could hold his breath for so long?

The third stage in the process of getting over Phil was denial. They never had anything, Dan insisted, just some flowers and some messages and two simple kisses. He was being silly for not moving on. Yes, Dan was silly indeed. The fourth stage was misery. As it turns out, learning to breathe again without your lungs is not fun. The fourth stage was also a sort of mixture of the other three: Dan grieved his choices, both kissing Phil and ignoring Phil, got mad at himself for feeling empty, and continued to convince himself the feelings weren’t even real. All while being miserable.

 Dan was quite the catch. Daniel was still in the fourth stage when the boys who had kissed were given their prison sentence. One year in lock down for committing the unforgivable crime of kissing someone of the same gender. Daniel had told them, letting them know that afterwards they would not be allowed to see each other again. Daniel was content being miserable for a while longer. But then it happened, an it that no one was truly prepared for, that sent Dan spiraling over the edge of what he could handle, and before he knew what he was doing he was out the door, his feet leading him where he’d been yearning to go for the past two weeks. And that’s when the fifth and final stage of getting over Phil began.

—–

It was wrong. It was very, very wrong, but Dan refused to stop walking. He had on his formal jacket, as he always did when he left the house, and put his hands in his pockets casually as he walked. No one had to know what he was planning to do. The boys had run away. Dan was still processing what it meant. Apparently, they couldn’t stand the thought of being apart. Dan’s mouth felt dry, and his stomach churned. He didn’t relate to them, not one bit. He was doing fine without Phil. So they took off, running away with what measly possessions they had. To start a new life, Dan supposed. Together. That word hurt. Together. Because Dan had felt so lonely these past few days, and together was something he longed for. Together. After the police left, Dan decided he’d go on a nice little walk to the city. It was at least half an hour away on foot, and normally he would take one of his horses, but as he was in need of a stable boy, that wasn’t likely. The two boys also stole his horses. But as far as he could tell, that’s all they stole, so he didn’t care. They’d get farther that way. Why are you rooting for them? Dan thought to himself. They’re criminals!He decided not to think about it. He should do his best to avoid relating to them, if at all possible. After all, he had a wife, and- Oh, who cares?As Dan walked, he admired the flowers on the edge of the road. Not as beautiful as Phil’s, but then again, was anything? As beautiful as Phil’s flowers, that was, not as beautiful as Phil. Well….Dan’s thoughts were too jumbled to function. He could name some of the flowers, anyways. Some were very wild, too wild for his book, and some were just unfamiliar. Others were likely weeds. But every once in a while he’d come across ones that were familiar. A yellow one called Cowslip, with lots of little flower heads shaped like bells. Dan only remembered them because their meaning was very strange. Along with being a symbol of birth and death, they also hinted at mischief and adventure. Such a strange combination and Dan hadn’t understood it until just then, as he walked along the country roads about to do something very stupid that could go very horribly.He considered it for a moment, then reached down and plucked a half dozen stems, quickly hiding them in his jacket pockets. After all, what are those pockets for, if not holding flowers?The flower that Phil had given him, the allusive blue rose, had held up surprisingly well for having been held in his coat pocket. Dan had stared at it for a lot longer than he should have, thinking about the meaning. “‘Giving someone a blue rose symbolizes ‘I want you, but can’t have you’”, Dan said out loud, before realizing what he was doing. He couldn’t be seen talking to himself out and about; the townspeople had enough gossip about him without knowing he talked to himself about flowers. As the city neared, Dan tried not to think about what he was doing. He had never been to where he was going before, but it shouldn’t be too difficult to find. And sure enough, right on the edge of the town was a large greenhouse, attached to a little store. Dan turned and pushed open the door to the store without stopping to consider what he was doing. “I’d like to talk to one of your florists,” Dan said to the cashier, feeling like an idiot. “Phil… I’m sorry; I don’t know what his last name is.” And suddenly, Dan realized just how ridiculous he was being. He barely knew the man, and here he was, falling for him?But all of his reserves melted away when Dan saw him. Tall, with messy black hair and wearing hideous gardening clothes that were covered in dirt, and an ever present little smile, not enough to be silly, but enough to show a sort of happiness that very few people had. The smile grew when he saw Dan, but the florist did his best to hide it. “Oh, Da- Mr. Howell. You’re here for the tour of the gardens?” Dan could barely speak. How could he have missed someone this much, that he hardly even knew?—-The gardens started in the backroom and continued on through a little walkway into the greenhouse, which seemed big already from the outside, but from the inside was absolutely enormous. “Some flowers need different amounts of light than others,” Phil narrated as they walked, “So some are kept in the dark all day, and some are kept in the light. And we use a special mixture of fertilizer to grow the flowers in, which is why some people notice they are extremely high quality.”Dan was completely in awe as they walked through the greenhouse, walking along rows upon rows of greens and purples and yellows, every color one could imagine and some that felt brand new to Dan. “Yes,” he muttered dreamily, “I noticed.” Phil glanced around to make sure the door was closed and they were alone. His easy, carefree expression melted away, being replaced by one of…. concern? “Dan, what are you doing here? What happened?” Dan blinked a few times, trying to snap out of his daze. “Yes…. Um, I wanted to see you.” He mentally kicked himself for being so awkward. “I mean… the flowers. I wanted to see the… gardens!”Phil cocked his head, letting a little smile poke through. “Huh. For some reason, I don’t completely believe you.” “Well, you should,” Dan argued indignantly. “I’m a man who likes flowers, get over it.” This caused Phil to laugh, and oh, Dan wanted to melt at the sound. So light, so carefree…. he couldn’t stop his feet from rushing him forwards slamming his lips against Phil’s, kissing him desperately. Phil stepped back in shock, but after a moment kissed back lightly before pushing Dan away. “Dan… what was that?” He looked even more surprised at Dan’s actions than Dan was. “I mean… it was good. I like kissing you,” he muttered, blushing. “But… why’d you do that?” Dan’s heart was pounding. They didn’t have much time, before someone came in, or at least questioned what they were up to. He’d have to speak fast. “These past few days have been miserable,” he spoke quickly, trying to get it all out before they were caught. “I missed you, Phil, I really really missed you and I can’t sleep and I feel so empty without you, and I tried to move on, I really did! But I couldn’t, because I have feelings for you, and I can’t-” Someone pushed the door open, entering the greenhouse and grabbing some containers off the ground, whistling as they left. Dan tried to catch his breath. “And I can’t- and I miss- and, Phil, I just-” “Woah there, calm down,” Phil offered, placing a hand on his arm comfortingly. “I missed you too.” And all of a sudden, Dan didn’t feel quite so empty. “I’m sorry for barging in,” he offered. “How about you show me some of the flowers?”—- Dan went home beaming, happier than he had been all week. He and Phil had talked for hours, about flowers, about life. Apparently, Phil didn’t want to work at the flower shop forever. He dreamed of leaving the town where he’d lived all his life and going somewhere new, he didn’t care where, just somewhere far away where he could plant his own flowers, and start a shop of his own. “Most people don’t know the right way to grow flowers,” he had said, gently caressing a brightly colored tulip. “They think all flowers need the same amount of sunlight, the same amount of water, everything. And I want to show them that… well, flowers are like people. They’re all unique, and not everyone needs the same things.”At that point, Dan thought of the boys once more. They were to be arrested because they loved each other instead of women like everyone expected them to. “They’re unique, and not everyone needs the same things.” Phil had also given Dan a rather gorgeous bouquet, full of deep purples and blues, and the darkest red roses Dan had ever seen. Dan had asked what they stood for, but Phil insisted he decipher it himself on his own time. Then, before he left, Phil pulled him into another kiss and asked when they could see each other again. “At the river? Tonight?” He begged, their bodies so close they could be imprisoned just for all the contact. Dan wanted to say yes, but instead, shook his head. “Rose wants me to take her to a play tonight. Can we do it tomorrow?”Biting his lip, Phil looked away. “No. I’ll be working at a wedding that day, they ordered dozens of roses.” Dan snorted. “Clichés.” “But the day after that? Please?” He inhaled, wondering what he was doing, how he was allowing himself to fall so hard for this man. “Yes. At the stream.” “I’ll see you then,” Phil offered. “Yes,” Daniel agreed. “I will see you then.” And then they kissed, and Dan never wanted it to end.

——

But it did end. And before too long, Dan was back in his best formal suit, with his wife at his elbow, and he was painfully reminded that his life might not have room for Phil in it. Rose kept talking to him, and Daniel smiled and laughed, but didn’t put much effort into conversing with her. For whatever reason, it felt wrong. He felt as if he had to make a choice, but didn’t know what the choice was. He thought of it all throughout the play, and in bed, staring at his ceiling. His wife slept with him again that night, however, their clothes remained on. He hoped she wasn’t going to make a habit of it. Not that he didn’t like having someone with him in the emptiness of the night- on the contrary, he liked it too much. Daniel was a lonely man, who enjoyed the warmth of a person next to him.But there was that choice, the allusive decision that Daniel must make, but by then he had figured what it meant. One of the other, a choice between two objects of affection. Because surely Daniel loved his wife as much, if not more than the florist? This was safe, he was happy- what was there to decide?Except for the fact that Daniel wasn’t ready to let the florist go from his mind. So instead, he pondered the question endlessly, not allowing himself a choice. Maybe… there was a third option? After all, why did Daniel have to sacrifice his safety for love? Why did he have to sacrifice anything at all? So when he saw Phil again, Daniel allowed himself to kiss the man, under the darkness of night and the watchful gaze of the moon. And he allowed himself to lie in bed with his wife when he got home, and pushed the guilt aside. He had been forcing himself to choose one or the other, Rose or Phil, safety or love. But why couldn’t he have both?

Part 4 / Fic Masterpost / Ao3