@shittylongcatposts forgive me for the day four science lesson I am about to give. Amen.
"Look what I've got!" She came bounding into the apartment, excitement clear on her face. Unknown raised an eyebrow at her. Then with a flourish, she presented him with a sunflower. "Ta-dah!"
"Oh." He took the flower in his hand, giving it a deeper look that she had expected.
"Whatcha thinking?" She asked him, sitting next to him on the couch.
"Did you know sunflowers have a negative connotation too?" He asked her, turning the flower over in his hands. "Thay can be used to express an unhappy love."
"Huh. I wonder why." She said, leaning up against his side.
"Probably because of the way they grow." He said, giving the flower a wry smile. "Sunflowers are nutrient drainers, taking everything from the soil and leaving behind toxins that prevent the growth of other plants, even after they themselves have died."
"They have so many positive meanings though." She said, tugging the flower out of his hand and shifting into his lap so that he would focus fully on her.
"Devotion, loyalty," she started, placing his hand on her chest. "Peace and hope," she continued, cupping his face in her hands, "warmth. You give me so much warmth it's unimaginable."
His face was beet red at this point, but he nuzzled his face into her hand.
"You are too much." He whispered and she giggled.
"You're stuck with me at this point~"
Years later, shifting through the books on coding that found their way onto her bookshelf, she found yellow petals pressed between the pages. She smiled softly, placing them back into the book.