Inflorescence || Ghostbur x male reader ||

Chapter 1

The ferns prodding out of the undergrowth tickled against Y/N's leg as he traversed the forest, armed with a small basket filled with what he'd later present to his father as his findings of the day.

His E/C coloured eyes trained on the ground intently, souring for edible mushrooms tucked away in the undergrowth, his forehead beaded with sweat as he combated the heat of the afternoon, resorting to the dappled shade of the forest not doing much to help the H/C haired boy's case after escaping the intense heat that cloaked the sun-soaked village.

This very decision which he's made may be regretted, but mushroom hunting is plenty more appealing. The trees rustled, quietly murmuring amongst themselves as he meandered, aimlessly twisting through the trees and trusting his legs to direct him. The dapple shade and ticklish breeze were a welcome break from the blistering heat of the afternoon, he'd gladly accept the offer to stay in the forest, long after the land had its final drink of sunlight, and the stars would blink curiously from in-between the canopy. He'd be able to stay away from the asshole teenagers who relentlessly bullied him.

He'd lived in the village on the outskirts of the forest since his very first birthday and knew the village area almost as well as he knew the plot of his favourite book.

There was a flower field somewhere within the trees, a wide opening with grassy plains and an abundance of vivacious flowers all dancing in the wind like a carefully coordinated dance.

Y/N pulled back a low-hanging branch, revealing the flower field which seemed to amaze him still after all this time. The field stretched to the horizon, the curtains of trees shrunk to minuscule scales once he arrived at the peak of the hill, a tedious but rewarding effort. His hair was damp with sweat, a long ice-cold bath would be needed if he returned before the night inevitably cooled him down, sweet air refreshing him.

Y/N placed his basket down in an area where the ground finally saw the sky, ensuring none of the awe-inspiring flowers were crushed as he sat, pulling a berry from the basket and popping it into his mouth, savouring the tangy juice which exploded from the delicate skin Y/N had between his teeth.

He closed his eyes, hunger which was gnawing away at his stomach for quite some time now was silenced and all he could hear was his humble heartbeat, and the sweet calls of birds calling from the hidden safety of their nests.

It was curious to imagine the life of an ant, living in the flower field. As a human, Y/N would've been able to see the curtain of virescent foliage lining the field. However, an ant, ever so tiny, might not even know there was an outside world, that there was more to this infinitely colourful landscape and its sweet nectar.

The field was so beautiful, almost artificially designed, created by the ingenious mind of a hard labourer who worked tirelessly to bless the landscape with such a vision.

It'd be amazing to be smaller again, to be able to lie amongst the flowers and peer up at their radiant petals as though you were merely a beetle in this confounding bumbling mess of a world. Almost like when Y/N was a kid, where he was able to rest beneath a pile of leaves in the Autumn and stare up at the clouds through the cracks, his imagination bending the bronzed colour-scheme into intricate shapes.

Y/N would stay there for hours on end- his mother becoming worried when her son didn't return for his afternoon tea.

"Y/N! Oh dear, Y/N? Where are you?" She'd call, voice worried and tired, croaking out.

Y/N loved seeing the scared-shitless look on his mother's ghostly-white face when he'd stand up from the pile, shouting:

"Here, Mama!"