strawberrycowtime

When you've got two somewhat panicked kids standing at your door, talking about one of Asgore's flowers, you don't even hesitate to head over! You don't even ask that many questions, you figure that they might've accidentally dropped one of them or something like that... And the golden flower, the centrepiece of Asgore's wedding bouquet, is definitely damaged. The stem is broken, but it's nothing that can be fixed.

As a flower shop, all of the supplies are already right there. You do the best you can, wrapping the stem carefully together with tape and supporting it further by wrapping a straw around it. There's nothing you can do about it other than take care of it as usual and hope for the best. And when Susie (you'd seen her around before, but hadn't known her name) asks you to look after the flowers for a bit longer, you agree as well. ...Is Asgore off having a mid-life crisis somewhere else? It doesn't really feel like your place to pry, though it does feel a little strange.

You return there for a few days in a row, taking time out of your day to check in on all the flowers and tend to all of them. You're pleasantly surprised that the golden flower seems to be doing so well! Being as careful as possible, you lift the glass case and put it on the floor besides you. With the tip of the finger, you trace the tape left behind on its stem.

"Glad to see you're doing well, little guy," you murmur with affection in your tone, lifting the flower head up with one finger, lightly stroking his petals with another. It's a miracle Asgore has even managed to keep them all alive this long to begin with, but you're glad you've helped make it all last a little longer. "You've really been holding out for a while, haven't you?"

Maybe Susie wants to try and see what'll happen if they physically take one of the glass cases with them to the closet that contains Castle Town. Ralsei had said the flowers couldn't move from one Dark World to another, but what if they just moved their physical forms instead...? And, perhaps, it just so happens that you're heading out for a visit, just barely catching a glance of them making their way down the street with the golden flower's casing wrapped in Susie's arms.

You trail behind her and Kris as they walk towards and enter the school. Once inside, you lose sight of them, trying every door until you end up at the one leading to the supply closet. Only to be greeted by a wall of pure darkness as soon as you open the door. You stand there, stock-still, and then gingerly reach out a single finger. As soon as your skin brushes against it, you're sucked inside, screaming as you're sucked down, and down, and down...

When you land, you're left panting and shaking in a dark clearing. Your legs are trembling so much that you end up sitting down. There's the outline of a town in the distance, curved, black houses with bright blue windows. You don't dare move and perhaps Flowery, who has a closer connection to the dark as a plant, senses your arrival and heads over as soon as Kris, Susie and Ralsei are sufficiently distracted. He figures that they won't be happy to have a Lightner find out about this place.

You're alone one moment, and the next there's a... Man? Someone that sort of looks like a human man towering over you, the most striking part of his outfit being the gash torn clean through his dress shirt and vest. It reveals part of his skin and where it has torn open, revealing something underneath. It's a dark green, just like the straw you'd used to help support the flower. "My saviour!" The man calls out, kneeling in front of you. Even then, the height difference is stark. He's far too tall for a human. He beams at you, veritable sparkles dancing around his head as he leans in just a tad too close. "I'm sorry to keep you waiting! Don't worry, no one will check on us for now." Your brain is flatlining entirely. "I'm so sorry, I-- Uh... What's going on?? And who are you??" He grabs both of your hands and your face rapidly heats up as he moves them so that they're cupping his face. His skin is a bit too soft to the touch, his half-lidded eyes holding so much sheer affection that it's overwhelming, that it makes you want to pull them away. He's still holding on to your wrists. "Doesn't this ring a bell?"

It only starts to dawn on you what he is when he, Flowery, fully explains it to you. Even then, you're convinced that you're dreaming, somehow. (And this is revealing a lot of weird things about your subconscious...). Flowery doesn't seem to mind this very much when you tell him. "Why not make the most of this dream, then? Just leaf it to me!"

You let him take you by the hand to a... Weirder patch of the world, all gray earth and deathly silence. You take it as another 'dream thing'. But Flowery makes flowers bloom in a little corner for the two of you to enjoy. He comes across as incredibly clingy, almost a little restless in the intensity of his energy. Even with his eyes closed, you can tell that his attention never strays from your face. He's always touching you in one small way or another, whether that be your knees bumping against each other or a hand resting over yours. If you'll let him, he'll practically drape himself over you.

You can’t stay in Castle Town for long, but neither can Flowery. He can’t stay away from the controlled temperatures and the special lamps Asgore has provided them with for too long. He’d wilt in the school’s supply closet. Perhaps the two of you build a kind of system where you end up carrying the container there and you sneak off to spend some time together.

Flowery would never physically hurt you. Ever. He’d much rather hurt himself than do anything of the sort. You, literally, saved his life and gave him hope and affection when all other had been snuffed out. (He’s also still, impatiently, waiting for news of Asgore). That doesn’t stop him from being… Somewhat manipulative, though.

He’s always known how to wield words carefully, and he knows just the kind of things to say that might make you feel guilty about not letting him be touchy with you, or skipping out on one of your regular meetings.

He’ll actively try to keep you away from the other inhabitants of Castle Town, both because he believes they’ll keep you from returning and because he doesn’t want you to. He can give you everything that you want just fine!

Given what happened last time to a Lightner he cared about, Flowery has a genuine desire to turn you into a Darkner. But he knows that the only way to do that would... Be for you to die, and part of your body to be assimilated into the darkness. Even in his more-unstable state of mind, that is too far. And, even if that happened, would be the Darkner that emerged truly be the same as 'you'?