watch me while i bloom

Toulouse loved the market. He loved seeing the things people were selling; whether it was collectibles, handmade goods or food. He enjoyed just walking around between the booths as well, the smells and the atmosphere alone would put him in a good mood… Which was all it took to make him buy something from everyone. “A cold orange in the shower?” He furrowed his brows thoughtfully. “Can’t say that I have. I’ve had toast in the shower, don’t know if that counts?” he said with a small laugh, looking over at Timmy. “Why? Would you recommend?”

Timmy was surprised to hear his professor had ate toast in the shower, but he frowned a bit because it wasn’t exactly the same experience as an orange. “Ah, I don’t think so, Mr. Chat,” he sighed softly, and grabbed an orange, holding it in his hand as he looked at it, “I haven’t tried it yet, I think I might, though!” He placed the orange in his basket and looked at the older guy, “Do you want one? They’re pretty cheap today, I might get a couple more!”

“No, I’ve-” He paused to chuckle a little at the question, clearly amused. “I’ve never eaten an orange in the shower. Or… anything in the shower. Not really a uh… shower snacks guy, I guess.” Tommy did a lot of weird things, that just wasn’t one of them. It sounded like something Dil or Phil would do though, he made a mental note in his mind to ask them about it. “Do… you? Have you eaten an orange in the shower? And why does the temperature matter?”

Timmy couldn’t help but feel his spirits get lifted up a little as he heard the chuckle next to him, and he turned his attention to the guy next to him with a smile on his lips. “Ah, I see, I see, I mean I haven’t eaten anything in the shower either, but...” he trailed off and pursed his lips and returned his gaze to the round oranges. An orange really did sound good right about now. “I’ve read the conflicting temperatures just play with the senses, you know? People can get really into opening the orange and not care about getting sticky, because you’re in the shower,” he looked back over at the guy, “my names Timmy by the way, how funny would it be if my name was citrus or something,” he laughed at himself softly. 

Phoenix’s diet was never one that was considered healthy; he was a lazy stoner after all, so this wasn’t exactly a surprise. Although, it was getting to a point to where even Phoenix felt the need to get some healthier foods into his diet. so he found himself in the fruit and vegetable aisle at the market, taking a small step to change some of his unhealthy habits. He wasn’t expecting to have a random conversation strike up as he was shopping, but he wasn’t opposed to the random conversation, either. “An orange in the shower?” He repeated, as if he were making sure he heard the guy right. “Can’t say I have — is that a common bucket list thing to do, or something?”

Timmy nodded his head as the guy next to him mutter back his question. “Yep, an orange in the shower—specifically a cold orange in a hot shower, gotta get the different temps right!” Timmy turned to face him and woah—he was handsome. Timmy stuttered on his words, placing his hand on the bottom rack of the oranges to steady his balance as he looked at him. “I-I don’t think so? Just something I found, perusing, the interweb,” he felt his mouth get dry and he licked his lips, and looked over at the oranges, “did you want one? I think I might get one, gotta try it out, think it could be fun?” He made a little face, “hopefully not sticky.. my names Timmy!” 

“And when is Timmy not a happy Timmy?” Chester asks, with an amused glint on his face. No amount of fake annoyance can take away from the fact that he was actually glad that Timmy was here today. But that wasn’t like he was about to let that fully show, the blonde staring at his best friend for a second before he snorted at the mention of a sleepover. “Why you want to know? Want to have a sleepover with just you and I or something?” Chester teased, as he picked up a fork and snubbed a piece of the brunette’s omelette· “And isn’t that the understatement of the day. We haven’t had one since Crash Nebula and the Crimson Chin were on the same screen together.” Exaggeration much.

Timmy looked at Chester with a playfulness in his eyes. “Timmy is not a happy Timmy when Timmy doesn’t get to spend a lot of time with his best friend,” he flicked a packet of sugar at Chester with his fingers, and right when Chester brought up having a sleepover with just the two of them, Timmy felt a familiar flutter in his stomach and his cheeks started to burn a bright red. “Maybe,” he muttered out and titled his head a bit—that did sound like a dream, it always did. Timmy was pulled out of his daydreams as he watched Chester snub a piece of his omelette, “Hey! Get your own,” he teased with a giggle, but he was completely fine with Chester having some. Chester was the only person he’d share his food with. “So what I’m hearing is we need to watch every single episode till we’re sleep deprived? Sounds perfect.”

This was the first in five years Lance had stepped foot inside a market of some kind, and even before then the times he been inside one was sporadic to say the least. Most of the food he and Flynn got their hands on was either swiped and stolen, or was on the verge of becoming spoiled that it didn’t matter whether they were gone or not. And even then, the food half the time wasn’t even for either of them! Basically, most of what he ate wasn’t boughten, and today just may be the same too if luck has it. While eyeing a pretty bright red apple with a half smirk on his face as a familiar cop came to mind, Lance broke out of it when the kid near him spoke. “I have, and it tastes like lukewarm cold medicine on a cool and frosty 28 degrees fahrenheit day.” He stated with a laugh. “If you’re looking for a fruit to eat in the shower, let me tell you, an orange is not the way to go.” 

Timmy was very pleasantly surprised when the guy next to him spoke up and said he had ate an orange in the shower before. Timmy turned to face him, excitement in his eyes, before hearing how he actually described it. That was a bit of a downer. “Oh, well, was it cold? And was the shower hot?” He asked, he needed more information. Especially when the man told him an orange wasn’t the way to go. “So, whats the way to go then? Please, tell me all your secrets, I’m very invested in this.” He was almost bouncing in his place, eager to hear more from the guy. 

“don’t most dorms have a shared kitchen area? at least i know my son’s does and i’m pretty sure when my daughter was at school she had one in her building too,” he suggests with a small shrug, looking around to see if the waiter was coming any time soon with his food. not that he was necessarily trying to get away from the kid, but he was on a bit of a time crunch here. he should have asked to have his pancakes made to-go. “oh, really? well it looks good as it is.”

timmy pursed his lips and nodded his head, “most do, yeah i suppose! mine doesn’t because its for freshman, but a lot of upper classes dorms have kitchens and stuff, my parents just wanted me to have the experience, whatever that means,” he rolled his eyes talking about his own parents. “thank you!” he noticed bob look around and he chuckled, “hope your food comes here soon, im sure it’ll be amazing!”

chip nods along as timmy talks. as much as he appreciates and cherishes his friendship with timmy, he will not deny that he absolutely has no clue as to what the boy is talking about in this moment. he doesn’t understand how eating oranges in the shower could be considered euphoric, or why anyone would have even done it to begin with. at the use of the name chippy, he visibly cringes. he’s always hated being called that by anyone but his grandmother, but he’s too nice to outright remind timmy he hates it. “but why…even if it’s supposed to be a good feeling, why would you want to eat in the shower?” chip blinks at timmy’s questions. he wouldn’t think eating an orange in the shower would be some big life changing experience, but he also leads a far more exciting life than most people do so maybe to everyone else shower orange eating is exciting. “why would that be against the rules? it’s not like….a bad thing. just weird.”

timmy had never had an orange in the shower before, so he was just as flabbergasted by the idea as chip was—but he was more so intrigued. “to be or not to be sticky? ‘specially from all the orange juices? it’ll wash right off, i’d imagine,” he shrugged his shoulders and let out a laugh as he looked over at chip. “i’d imagine they wouldn’t want fruit flies in the dorm showers, chipster,” he tried out a whole new nickname for chip, and chuckled at himself. “would you do it? if i bought you an orange today? would you eat an orange in the shower? i think i might, should i?” he titled his head and looked at chip intently. 

Isabella blinked once, twice, three times at the question she was just asked. It was an improbable one. Something she did not expect to hear. She turned to the boy beside her, and shook her head. “No I don’t think I have,” She responded, but her tone was one of amusement. “I have however ran so late I eat a muffin in the shower, if that counts.” Isabella said. She hadn’t made the late mistake again since, but it was always a fun story to tell as a conversation opener because everyone had a moment like that. 

Now when Plagg went shopping he usually stuck primarily to the dairy section. The cheeses to be exact. But sometimes he knew he had to branch out and buy other things for the house, usually from a list that Tikki gives him if she can’t make it to the store herself or along with him. And today that list had a bunch of fruit on it. Why? He had no clue. But he wasn’t going to question it. Picking up a box of strawberries that looked good enough, Plagg wasn’t expecting the kid standing beside him to talk. And he certainly wasn’t expecting a question like that to come out of his mouth. “What?” he asks, pure confusion lacing the one word as he processes the question. “What the fuck are you talking about, kid?”

Timmy just kept his gaze staring at the oranges in front of him, and he furrowed his eyebrows as he got deeper in thought. He wasn’t pulled from his thoughts until the person beside him responded to his question, and he turned his attention towards him, “I was just curious if you’ve ever eaten an orange in the shower, but I can obviously tell you haven’t..” he trailed off and then looked back towards the oranges, “would you though, soon? Now that I brought it up.” He chuckled to himself, and he reached out to grab an orange, “I think I might, sounds fun.”

“What is there to worry about? You’re in good hands, my friend.” Clasping a hand on Timmy’s shoulder in what he hopes is a reassuring manner, Naveen looks over at Timmy with a grin. It’s no question that the other guy lacks Naveen’s unabashed confidence, but he’s hoping that by the end of the day some of it might rub off on him. Everyone deserves to have an ego so inflated that they feel like they’re on top of the world, completely untouchable. Looking around the park as they walk, Naveen spots at least twenty people, hot guys and girls alike, that he can see himself approaching to shoot his shot. “No one?” he pushes a little, looking at Timmy with raised eyebrows. “This place is full of hotties.”

Timmy took a deep breath in and nodded his head slowly, and he visibly relaxed more the moment he felt Naveen’s hand on his shoulder. Affection and touch was very important to Timmy, and so just having that little connection made Timmy feel so much more secure. He was about to say something when Naveen spoke up and Timmy’s cheeks were back to being bright red. “Oh well, I guess,” he stuttered out and looked up at Naveen with puppy dog eyes, “c-could we try talking to uh, maybe..” he didn’t wanna say it, that’d make it real. So he pointed his finger at some handsome guy sitting at a park bench, reading a novel, “or should we not bother..”

chip had honestly never been to a market before in his life. as a child his mother ran almost all her errands while he was at dance classes or with his father, and well, once he was signed the label had assigned someone to do these sorts of things for him. so, when timmy said he needed to run and grab some things for his mini fridge while they were hanging out chip decided to tag along. it was purely for selfish reasons, wanting both to feed his curiosity but also needing a distraction from the chaos of the pen and phil sex tape fiasco. and well, timmy always had a whole lot to say so chip couldn’t think of anyone better to keep his brain occupied. “huh?” chip asks, whipping his head around to look at timmy as if what the boy said was outlandish. which ok, it was outlandish. “why are you eating in the shower? do…do people do that?”

timmy was glad he could speak a free mind around chip—he loved that about their friendship. chip was a solid guy in his life that timmy would always support and love. “what?” he looked at him, and then felt his cheeks flush pink and he turned his attention back to the oranges on display. “i’m not eating in the shower, chippy, i read an article about people eating oranges in a hot shower—and hows it’s very euphoric and i kinda... wanna...” he trailed off and pursed his lips, “try it?” he looked back over at chip and slung an arm around chip’s shoulders, standing up on him tip toes, “do you think it’s really that life changing? would my resident advisor find out? i don’t know if its against the rules to eat an orange in a shower in the dorms..”

“That right there, is why Trixie hasn’t bothered with ya.” Though the blonde did not agree in the slightest on the crush his best friend still had on the witch, Timmy would have to be completely delusional if he thought that she’ll give him the time of the day if he continued to live off of his parents money for the rest of his life. It didn’t take Chester too long to inform the manager he was going on break, the slow pace and current lack of customers giving him the leeway to do so as he was given consent. Making his way back, the blond dumbed himself down on the seat across from Timmy and let out a deep exhale. “You have me for an hour Tim, you better make it good.” Chester remarked, though shooting a jokingly smile at him while doing so.·

At the mention of Trixies name, Timmy’s cheeks blushed bright red and he felt himself stammer on words. Timmy just thought a life with Trixie would be a normal life that his parents wanted to see him live. Liking Trixie meant Timmy didn’t have to confront his true self and his feelings. When Chester finally came back and slid in the booth in front of Timmy, Timmy smiled wide and he giggled, “Yay, you’ve made me a happy Timmy!” He chuckled and shoveled some more food in his mouth, “Whatcha doing tonight, Ches?” He asked after chewing and swallowing his food, “I do believe a sleepover is in need soon.”

“oh… i guess i like white bread? or sourdough? i don’t know,” he answers, still a little confused as to why the type of bread he uses to make toast matters. but apparently it did, according to the kid since he wanted a good response. at the compliment about his hair, bob chuckled once again. for as strange as this whole interaction was, he couldn’t deny that it was at least entertaining. “thanks. yours looks nice too.” in reality he had no opinion of the boy’s hair - but he had a feeling that this was what timmy wanted to hear.

timmy nodded his head, “sourdough is a great choice, love sourdough. i kinda want to bake some bread sometime, i just can’t at the moment because i live in the dorms on campus—no stoves or kitchen, kinda sad because i could be saving so much money if i just made my own food, but nope,” he made a little popping sound with his lips. timmy shrugged his shoulders and then felt his cheeks flush at bob returning the compliment, “thank you! i really like mine, used to be super shaggy could you imagine it?”

Strolling around the park with his friend and his roommate’s dog probably looks weird from the outside, but Naveen is hardly concerned. They’ve got a plan. “Of course this is gonna work,” Naveen repeats for what he’s pretty sure is the fifth time. “You’ve gotta have a little faith in me man.” There’s no question that Naveen has more confidence out of the two of them — some might even call him cocky — but he needs Timmy to get a little bit of confidence in himself, or at the very least in his methods. It works at least fifty percent of the time, and that’s good enough odds for him. “Anyone catch your eye yet?” he asks with an eyebrow raised, gesturing broadly to the crowd around them.

Timmy nodded his head along to Naveen’s words. “Okay, okay I trust you,” he was almost trying to convince himself—but truly, he trusted Naveen completely. “I do, I do, just worry sometimes,” he giggled and let his gaze around the crowd. There was very attractive people everywhere—but it was mostly men that caught his eye and Timmy just wished Trixie was there. He’d ask Naveen help him to talk to Trixie. “Uh,” he hesitated, seeing a really handsome guy walking towards them a bit away and he oh so badly wanted to say him but he just couldn’t. “Not at the moment, no,” his voice was softer.

Fawn just wanted a muffin to go with the morning rounds with the clean up on the animals today. Not to try and ensure Chester’s friends liked her. So when she heard Timmy’s voice she froze for a small second before smile. If Fawn could get the lost boys to like her, this would be a cake walk… right? Giving a small wave she tucked a loose piece of hair back before walking over. “Hey! Um, yeah.. I just have to pay for my muffin and I can totally come over, and keep company..yeah.” 

Timmy couldn’t wipe the smile off of his face when Fawn, Chesters friend, came over and spoke to him. “Oh, yeah sure totally! What kind of muffin did you get? I haven’t had a muffin in forever, I hope its good!” He perked up and then took a sip of his iced water through his metal straw, “hope your transaction goes well, if thats a thing that people wish, I have no idea, see you soon,” he couldn't help but chuckle at himself. He was too much sometimes. Sometimes.