I have no interest in your little karate war

❛ where are--? ❜ lark begins, patting himself down--first his breast pockets, then the pockets on his worn pair of jeans. He makes a small noise of consternation. ❛ where are my glasses? ❜

the door of building bridges dings, and lark looks up, a pair of cheaters nestled firmly in his shaggy, gray-streaked hair. ❛ oh! hello, khione! just in time for the terracotta painting session. can you help me find my glasses? ❜

@valleyflorist​ continued from here-x

         A pink hue spread across the creature’s face before they itched their cheek. “Well…I just…I’ve always wanted to kiss you.” They slammed their fist in their palm, nodding. “That’s it.” Eden shrugs before blinking. “I know it was sudden but I had just been thinking yesterday, when you wouldn’t stop stressing..I kinda just wanted to..” They make a face, as if they were recalling the EXACT thought. “ Calm you down, and kiss you. I just wanted you to have a little moment to yourself..well with me…Together.” Brows furrow before she crosses her arms. “I like you a lot Lark Leung and I just wanted to show you that in a way that means a lot to me.” 

     EDEN smiles a little after the small cluster of words they just spewed had past. “ No seriously…I..I do a lot of things through touch and I..I just wanted to show you that I mean it when I say I want to be seriously with you.” They put their hands up and grin more. “You don’t have to feel that way obviously but I just wanted to make like..my shit clear. I intend to be here with you AND those boys..Whether that’s with you or… WITH YOU.” 

      “IF that’s ok with you, of course..” It’s spoken softly, hopeful but she knows not to be TOO hopeful. She is though, unwillingly, Eden is very HOPEFUL that maybe.. Just maybe the man who knew the language of flowers would understand her. She was a garden after all, wasn’t she? 

always wanted to kiss him? lark doesn’t understand why. wait---that’s not quite it. on the surface, he knows he’s attractive: he spends a lot of time to maintain his fitness level even at his age. but he’s also painfully aware of his faults: workaholic, perfectionistic, paranoid, boring---the list goes on. their first meeting wasn’t the greatest; lark immediately threw up his walls, dodging every attempt eden made to get to know him. even now, he’s taciturn, often responding to her cute texts whenever the shop isn’t too busy, awkward in the way someone not used to texting can be.

they’ve never laughed at him. or pressed him for anything, so willing to go with the flow & squeeze any quality time they could with lark. he’s had previous partners leave him for less. && that was before the kids.

he chews the inside of his cheek in thought. she had blown past his defenses as easily as breathing. instead of complaining of lark’s work ethic, she volunteers her time at the shop. she loves his boys. && all she wants is for the best for him. for them. what more could he ask for? what more questions could he possibly need answered? if he says nothing now, lark is no better than a coward.

&& he’s not a coward.

lark's in the middle of packing for their trip, crossing out tasks as he goes: sprinkler timers activated, keys given to the boys, deliveries canceled for the upcoming week; check, check, check, when eden approaches like a comforting shadow.

❛ hey 亲, ❜ he begins only for eden to swoop down & kiss him. so stunned is he that it takes way too long for lark to respond but boy, when he does, it's with a small, bitten-off noise and a tug of eden's hair.

lark admits he had been taking thing slowly. as a father who has never had a significant other to bring home, he's been out of the dating scene for...at least a decade. && he's a business owner. all his free time is devoted to his shop or his kids. he wasn't in the best place for any sort of relationship...at least he thought. but eden? they've been so understanding--ridiculously so. putting time & effort into seeing lark almost every day, helping out when lark was drowning during the lead up to valentine's day instead of finding someone else to spend the romantic holiday with, accepting the paltry offers of lunch dates && takeaways instead of a true romantic experience---lark feels like eden deserves more.

remember that one doodle…welll hi 

Because he would have been the dad who put all his sons’ A+ work on the fridge and then stored away to make room for new art work, new 100% tests, new achievements. He’d have the disposable cameras with endless pictures of his boys being champions (with only a few pictures featuring his thumb in the corner). He’ll fall asleep on any couch (more often than not with a hand down his pants). He might not be the best cook, but he can grill. He 100% rocks mom jeans and baggy button-ups (or polos!!) to hide his muscles. He still has the clay ashtray Ash made in fifth grade that is more lump than functional clay piece even though he has never smoked. Building Bridges has all sorts of pictures of him and his boys growing up---even the awkward af tween phases. The only photos he has ever taken down were Leo’s before he transitioned because seeing pictures of his old self makes Leo uncomfortable.

❛ hey, eden. ❜ lark musters up a small smile as he ladles a few platefuls of cu chao mian mrs. long had dropped over today. the small affection from the other makes his heart skip a beat, but he can't return it with an armful of reheated noodles.

he sets the pot down on the counter before leaning over to press a peck to eden's brow. ❛ dig in before leo comes home from basketball practice, ❜ lark says through a small chuckle--leo's hunger infamous even before he decided to join sports on top of his martial arts. now? no leftovers were safe from the young man's fiendish metabolism.