âSpecial thing about Snowâs flowersâ (The Alan Association Short Fic)
Summary: Author notices the colors of the flowers. They look weirdly familiar.
Author: Reality Warped Alan
Authorâs head snapped up as he turned toward the door, his eyes landing on Oji peeking in from the doorframe. âHi,â he replied groggily, rubbing his head. Had he fallen asleep on his desk? He couldnât quite remember. Why was his desk so weirdly comfortable anyway?
âNoogai and Snow arenât here, and I need some help watering Snowâs flowers,â Oji said, stepping fully into the room.
Author stood, stretching as he let out a yawn. âSure, I could use something to do once in a while,â he said with a grin. Oji snorted at that, clearly amused.
Author followed Oji out, realizing he hadnât really seen Snowâs flowers much since he arrived. When they reached the garden, his jaw nearly dropped. Snow really did have a lot.
âWhy are there so many?â Author asked, crouching by one of the flower beds. The blooms looked like tulipsâor at least, that was his best guess. He wasnât exactly an expert on flowers. He hadnât read much about them.
Behind him, Oji was unrolling a hose. âSnow just loves flowers,â Oji said simply.
âHuh. He really does, huh?â Author replied, standing up as Oji handed him a filled watering can. He couldnât help but glance around again, taking in the sheer variety of flowers, some in pots, others in flower beds, a few even overflowing onto the picnic table.
Oji focused on watering the larger pots, adjusting the hose to a light spray so he wouldnât drown the delicate blooms. Meanwhile, Author worked on the smaller plants, carefully pouring just enough water into each pot.
Flowers werenât really Authorâs thing, but he was no stranger to watering them. His wife loved flowers, and that meant he often found himself stuck with the task of taking care of them. He wasnât new to the processâthough he couldnât tell you the names of most flowers or what fertilizers they needed. He just did what he was told.
He paused near the picnic table, where a cluster of pots seemed to be fighting for space. The sight of so many flowers crammed together was oddly amusing. It almost looked like they were trying to take over the table. He chuckled softly to himself before moving closer to water them.
Behind him, Oji spoke up. âIâm done on this side,â he said, turning off the hose.
Author waved a hand without looking back. âGive me a moment with these ones. Theyâre pretty small, and I donât want to drown them.â
âTake your time,â Oji replied, walking over to tidy up the pots on the table.
As Author continued watering, something caught his eye. Among the flowers was a black bloom, striking and unusual. Beside it was a lighter one, almost gray. He leaned in for a closer look, his curiosity piqued.
âWhat kind of flower is this?â he asked, glancing over his shoulder at Oji, who was busy aligning the pots.
âHuh?â Oji turned and walked over to where Author was crouched. âWhat are you looking at?â
Author gestured to the black and gray flowers. Now that he was looking more closely, he noticed others nearbyâorange, black, lighter black, red, and even a mix of rainbow colors. Somehow, they looked familiar, but he couldnât quite place why.
âIâve never seen flowers like these before,â Author said, continuing to water them. He placed the watering can down on the table and crossed his arms. âBut they look kind of familiar. I just canât figure out why.â
Oji tilted his head, squinting at the flowers as if trying to jog his memory. âThat is⌠weird. Somehow, they remind me of my kidsâuh, Second and the others. I can kind of see Yellow, Blue, Green, and Red in them too,â he said thoughtfully.
Author straightened up, a surprised sound escaping his throat. âOh, yeah! Youâre right. I donât know why I didnât notice that,â he said with a laugh. âBut I didnât even know flowers like this existed.â
Oji shrugged. âWho knows?â
Author bit his lip, a strange sense of sentimentality washing over him as he stared at the unique flowers. Why did Snow have these, of all things? Was there some deeper meaning behind them?
âIs there something wrong with their versions?â Author asked carefully.
Oji hesitated for a moment before shaking his head. âMaybe⌠but itâs not really my place to say,â he said softly.
Author nodded, understanding the unspoken boundaries. âI get it,â he said.
âBut,â Oji continued, âI think Snow would tell you if you asked. You just have to ask the right questions.â He gave a small, encouraging smile.
Author returned the nod, though he wasnât entirely sure heâd be able to muster the courage to ask Snow. He found it oddly difficult to talk to himâunlike with Oji, Vee, Kit, or even that weird guy Keeper, who always seemed to circle him with cryptic words.
Seriously, how was Keeper even another version of Kit? They were like night and day. Author swore he wanted to sock Keeper in the face sometimes.
âThanks for helping me,â Oji said, breaking through his thoughts. âIf you want, I can bake you some bread as thanks.â
Authorâs eyes widened. âYes, please!â he said enthusiastically.