coexistent | ic contact;

You better not... I don't think it'll be easy to do this all by myself, you know.

[he chides just a little, if only to try and cheer her up a bit. he'll keep his hold on her steady, and his shoulder still lightly touching hers.

he doesn't really know how to make her feel better; this is all he can really do in the end.]

[ Mary's cheeks puff out, slightly-- is she pouting? ]

I promised I wouldn't let you be alone, anyway. [ And she takes her promises very seriously, so even if she's frustrated and sad about all of this and her only connection to home disappearing on her--

She wouldn't leave it all to Roxas and have him try and handle everything on his own. ]

Mm, right. We don't leave each other alone.

[so even if she's sad and missing a friend right now... he's still here to hang out with her and try to make her feel better even if he's not always sure how to do that.]

It's nice out today... [so he'll just do what he can to stop her from wallowing—that's what she would do for him, right?] We could go for a walk.

Yeah... can we go to the gardens?

[ Mary's Feel Good place, other than their usual spot. The flowers always help settle her down, whether she's sad or upset. ]

Yeah... if that's where you want to go, it's fine.

[he gives her a nod and a small smile—if it's where she'll feel comfortable going, then roxas is fine with it. he doesn't mind the gardens, even if he doesn't know nearly as much about flowers as mary does.]

[ Roxas didn't spend about a hundred years of his life staring out the window at flowers, that's probably for the best--

But Mary visibly perks up. ]

Mm-hm! There's some flowers I found the other day that kind of remind me of you.

...That remind you of me?

[that... isn't what he expected to hear at all. but mary seems to perk up a but, so it can't be too bad of a thing, right?]

Yeah... I'll show you if I can find them again, but they were really pretty.

[ Boys probably don't appreciate being compared to pretty flowers, though. ]

[he doesn't really mind, but he's not sure he gets it.]

Well, we can look together. I guess it'll probably be easier for you to find, though...

Probably, but I think it'll still be faster with two people.

[ And up she goes, tugging on his hand. A distraction of any sort is something she needs right now, and this ought to do the trick. ]

As long as you tell me what it looks like...

[he'll follow mary's lead though, allowing her to tug at his hand and pushing his weight off the sofa. if it'll cheer her up, it's the best plan.]

It's only got four petals, but they're big... and blue.

[ So it probably won't be too hard to find. If the fountain monsters don't kick up a fuss, anyway. But gardens ahoy!! ]

Four petals... big and blue.. Okay. I think that sounds pretty easy to find.

[he's trusting her on this one, though he's not really sure why that would remind her of him. maybe if he sees it, he'll understand better? well, they'll only know once they get there, so... onward!]

[ Thankfully, Mary knows the way to the gardens by heart now, so there's no accidentally taking the wrong path-- or even running out of stamina, magically. Maybe she's finally improving!

Of course, she's also walking, and may have forgotten to let go of Roxas' hand at some point, but the main point is, they ought to reach the gardens without incident. ]

They were growing by one of the benches...

[ Hold on, give her a second to try and remember here. ]

[it's fine. roxas isn't really even thinking much about their hands, either. maybe it's just oddly natural because they lead one another around and do that to provide some sense of comfort...

he doesn't find it strange or special, it's just something they do sometimes.]

Benches? [he'll say as he looks around the area. there are ... quite a few benches around, so it may take them a bit, huh? unless they luck out early on, but considering roxas only has a description of what they're looking for, maybe it won't be as easy. he's not too sure here.]

Yeah, it's... oh!

[ And she's off and tugging again, gaze trained unerringly in a certain direction. ] I was over by this tree, and... there!

[ Mary points now, to a small patch of flowers growing just underneath the closest bench. She'll let go of his hand to gently pull one free and into the sun, offering it for his inspection. ]

See? It's exactly the color of sea-salt ice cream! And when it gets darker at the edges, that's the color of your eyes.

[ So basically, to Mary? A Roxas flower. ]

This... is what reminds you of me?

[he takes the flower she plucked while asking her curiously, and just as expected, he's looking it over carefully. he considers her words and reasons. the color of sea-salt ice cream—she's not wrong.

and... the color of his eyes? he can see that. she really thought about this, didn't she? so after a moment, roxas will look back to mary with a small smile and nod his head.]

It's a nice flower. [not that he knows jack-all about flowers, but he doesn't really mind at all if this is what makes her think of him. it's... nice.]

Mm, I thought so too. I've never seen one like this back home, but even if I had, I don't think I would have been able to appreciate it as much.

[ She hadn't known Roxas or the weird joy of sea-salt ice cream, after all. ]

[it's nice. there being something that reminds her of him... he really likes it a lot.]

I wonder what kind of flower it is... I've never seen one like it either. But I guess I never really looked much at the flowers, either.

That's all right-- you've got other things you like. But maybe someone who works here might know the name of it.

[ ... And whether it can be grown elsewhere. For now, though, she nods at the flower. ]

You can keep that one, though.

I'm not really sure what I'd do with a flower...

[he has no use for them? he looks at it, trying to decide what to do. what do people do with flowers...

put them in vases. plant them? sometimes people wear them, right? he saw that in one of the manga mary gave him. he would look silly wearing a flower, so he gives mary a puzzled look for a second before moving closer to her and tucking the stem of the flower behind one of her ears.]

There. [he grins, proud of his work. now the flower won't go to waste. besides, it suits mary... she really likes flowers, and it's a pretty one, too.]

[ Mary's return gaze is similarly puzzled, for different reasons. She opens her mouth to explain that there's plenty of uses for a flower, like putting it in a vase or pressing it to make a pretty bookmark, but then he's... close?

Instinctively, she scrunches up her nose a little at the sudden contact, still very much confused until he draws his hand back. ]

What--

[ ... It still takes a minute, laughably, to stare at his now-empty hand and then drift her own hand up to gingerly touch the flower now nestled against her hair.

Oh. He put it on her instead.

He just--

Wait-- ]

[ WAIT WASN'T THIS JUST LIKE VOLUME THREE OF DANCING AMONG THE DAFFODILS WHERE THE PRINCE HAD BESTOWED THE GOLDEN FLOWER UPON THE SERVANT GIRL (although he'd looked really good with his best friend, the captain of the guard, but even so, it was still a powerful scene!!!)

ROXAS JUST

JUST?????

She's incredibly aware that Roxas is a good friend of hers, probably one of the best, and also that he likely didn't know that this simple gesture could mean anything more than sticking a flower behind someone's ear, except that even as she tells herself that, Mary's face is turning a brilliant shade of pink. Red. Magenta. ]

[ ... Which she's instinctively going to try and ward off by pressing her palms to her cheeks and spreading her fingers over her eyes and her maidenly heart was not ready for this dork. ]

I-it doesn't match with my eyes...

[ Nice comeback, Mary. Excellent recovery. ]

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1/4 you punk

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