Thannnnk youuuu for the +800 reads guys❤️🫶🏽
I've been trying to follow the plan I originally had and that wasn't working. So I did something different. Hopefully it's still good.
Enjoy✨
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When he woke up that morning, the last thing Ren expected to do was gardening. Yet here he was, stuck with a stranger to take care of some plants.
"Remind me why I'm here again?" Ren asked.
"To help me, of course," someone replied. That person, head deep inside a cabinet, was F/n: Kita's friend and a person who used magic to grow plants. Walking around them were their cats: Skylar and Onyx.
Companions, not familiars, he remembered them saying. Standing at F/n's workstation, Ren listened to them list the few rules to follow during his stay.
"Please be attentive; I'm only saying this once."
"Understood."
"Perfect! Let's start: don't smell any fumes or touch liquid exudate. If something looks normal, it's not; if it looks dead, it's not. If you hear anything strange, don't worry about it. If you see one of the cats inside a plant, don't worry about it either."
"These rules are concerning."
"Hardly," F/n brushed him off. "Now, the most important rule? Don't freak out. My plants are sentient and will attack if they see you as hostile. And trust me when I say this, you don't want to be tossed headfirst into a pitcher plant. Any questions?"
"Are you a sorcerer?"
F/n poked their chin, thinking. "Maybe? I think I'm just good at using magic to grow plants."
Just like Kita had told me.
Ren shook his head, and F/n brought him deeper into the garden. Placing the basket on the table, F/n started making their quote-on-quote potions. Ren watched them meticulously measure and mix different formulas. Some grew plumes of smoke, some changed colours, and others gave off smells of decaying flesh. Ren stepped away from those.
"Time to feed my plants!" F/n exclaimed. They gave Ren a large dropper which he fervently refused to use.
"I don't think I'm in the right state of mind to get close to your plants," he argued.
"That would make you a useless aid," F/n countered. "You're helping me whether you like it or not. Now, come with me. I'll give you the easy ones to do."
Sometimes Ren cursed himself for being a gentleman and overall polite by nature. He followed F/n around, dropping the formulation onto various plants. Ren watched some coo while others chirped in response to F/n's affection. The bigger ones would growl, and he swore he heard one bark.
I've gone mad, Ren thought as he scratched a flytrap's jaw like that of an overgrown puppy. F/n had left him to feed their "dangerous assets." He sighed and sat only for the flytrap to nudge his head. Surprisingly, he didn't flinch away. The plant prodded him again, and Ren raised his hand, patting its overgrown leaves.
"I told you it wouldn't be so bad."
Ren said nothing and stood. "Is that all you need from me?"
"You're free to go. You'll do this every day until the next full moon."
He nodded and made his way out. F/n watched him warp into the mirror. They sat on a chair and groaned as Skylar jumped on their shoulders.
"I give you the most luxurious bed, and you still decide to plague my stiff shoulder with your weight." F/n chuckled. Onyx joined, curling on their lap, enjoying the subtle touch of F/n's fingers on his back.
"You think he'll stay the whole time, Onyx?"
When he gave them no response, F/n sighed.
"You two don't make very good companions."
***
Only a few days left until the full moon, F/n thought. Ren was, once again, in their garden, feeding their friends with their questionable nutrients.
"Jack, return to your pot. I can't walk around if your roots are all tangled in my legs–Don't you growl at me, young man."
Ren turned around, and the flytrap he knew as Jack was clinging to F/n legs, effectively making them carry his weight.
"Ren, come pick up your son," F/n sighed heavily.
"He isn't my son," the man replied. Despite his words, he called Jack to this side. Without issue, Jack unravelled his roots from F/n's legs and crawled to Ren, resting himself on his shoulders. Despite the large bulb hanging from his back, Ren had no trouble staying upright or moving.
"I still fail to understand how you can carry him so easily."
"Maybe consider putting on some muscle?"
"Not all of us need to walk around popping shirt buttons every second."
Ren felt embarrassed.
My clothes aren't that right, right? he thought. Wait, has F/n been looking at me that often?
"Enough daydreaming, little fox; we have plants to feed. And double the doses, please. Their appetites have grown."
Ren grabbed a beaker and walked around, dropping generous amounts of solution in each plant. As he went, Jack had fun playing with the plants around him. A habit he developed once F/n allowed him to his pot.
"Alright, now to go feed your junior," Ren said, finishing his rounds around the central sector. He returned to the table for his last vile. It was the largest and the most foul-smelling one.
Ren shivered, remembering the reason why it had that stench.
"Lantern, it's feeding time," he said, approaching a large greenhouse at the far back. At Ren's call, the plant emerged from its slumber. He saw the bulbous head wriggle toward him and threw the vial up, watching Lantern eat the container. The sound of teeth crunching glass was still unpleasant but less jarring than the first time.
How this horse-sized plant was Jack's seedling was something he would never understand.
"Ren, I need assistance!"
His reflexes quick in, and he sped toward F/n's voice only to find them waist-deep in a pitcher plant. With Jack's help, he pulled them out and back on their feet. F/n was unharmed apart from the missing flesh on some of their fingers.
"I thought we agreed that diving head-first in pitcher plants was a bad idea?"
"We did, didn't we? Well, here's the thing. Onyx happened to be in my way, and instead of being polite and moving, he sat there for me to trip over him. And because I was walking toward miss teapot over here, I swan-dove right into her pitcher. A wonderful series of events, am I right?"
Ren sighed, and even Jack shook his head at their clumsiness. "Fix your hands, and let's get this over with."
"Did you feed Lantern?"
"Yes."
"Then you're done and free to go."
"That's it?" Ren asked. "No mixing solutions? No testing new potions? No playing with Skylar and Onyx so they don't ruin your next discovery?"
F/n looked genuinely surprised. "Did you seriously think I needed your help with that? I've been doing this alone for years. Why would things be any different now?"
Ren frowned. "Then why did you ask me to do all those things? Why would Kita offer my help as an aid?"
"Because he's worried little old me will go mad if I spend another day alone in this dump. No offence, Jack."
He cooed and shook his leaves, showing he took no offence. But Ren still didn't understand. He needed to clarify something.
"Did you make me do all those menial tasks for companionship?"
"It sounds bad when you say it like that," F/n sighed, wrapping their decaying fingers. "But yeah, you're right. I had you do other things to keep you here longer. It was nice to have someone to talk to or be around. I was happy to see you every morning."
F/n hadn't noticed, but they'd been nervously fiddling with their hair until Ren took their hand. He swept the bang to the side and clipped it back with one of F/n's flower pins.
"I'm not mad at you," he told them. "In a way, I'm glad Kita forced me to help you. I'd be lying if I said I didn't enjoy my time here. Your friends have grown on me."
"Quite literally," F/n chuckled as Ren scratched Jack's head. Sitting on his shoulders, Jack clapped his leaves, seemingly proud of Ren's character development.
"Then, you'll still visit even after the full moon?" F/n said, hopeful.
"It would be my genuine pleasure."
And for the first time, in his weeks spent helping in their garden, Ren saw F/n's face light up.
"Thanks, Ren."
He snickered as Jack poked them with his roots. F/n rolled their eyes.
"Yeah, thank you, Jack, for being a clingy baby–Oi! Watch it with those jaws, buddy! I said watch it!"
Ren laughed till tears brimmed in his eyes. He had seen this many times, but that never made the occurrence any less amusing.
"Ren, come get your son!"
"Have fun, F/n."
"Hey–! Lantern, don't you dare join him!"
Ren wiped his eyes. He definitely loved spending time with F/n.