STRANDED IN A FIELD BLESSED BY GAIA, i took him to a place kept secret by both my sealed lips and resident forest dwellers. towers of lavender and honeysuckle plains saturated the afternoon air, inducing us in waves of comfort. a beige picnic blanket, latticed with streaks of red and saccharine dewdrops clinging to where it met the grass taehyung had laid it upon, carried an assortment of things he thought would sweeten our outing. an assortment of summer-fruits, petals of peach magnolia, raspberry oil fragrances, almond butter and orange blossom jelly sandwiches.
"anything appetizing to the eye holds a certain influence over one's-self, don't you think?" he said a sliver of playfulness hidden in his tone, while reaching for the glass chinaware set before him. pouring two cups of hibiscus tea, i grew spellbound at his causal movements.
while threading together a wreath of flower petals, mint stems, and rosemary, my strings of concentration grew ever-so thinner as i drowned in the fluidity of his movements. his touch. the same touches that clouded my senses a few nights ago. his skin. i swallowed the words before they left my mouth. the way these thoughts flickered about in my head embarrassed me. his hair. where were these thoughts coming from? his eyes. i was no child.
yet no matter how much the sun burned at my skin, how the air in my lungs turned to flames, how those heat-haze days got to me, there was this relentless cold that took dominance. a cold that i haven't known since encountering this prince. a cold that i've forgotten. what was this feeling?
"ah.."
i winced, snapping out of my thoughts. in my hands, milk-white flowers were speckled crimson, the mint-scented air surging up my arm and burning at my palms. each digit had been embedded with minuscule thorns, a given thanks to my carelessness, and my hands grew irritated. alarmed, taehyung set the cups aside. taking my hands into his own, his expression held dissatisfaction, eyebrows knitted at how this occurred. don't worry your pretty head for it. / it's all because of you!
"gardenia, huh?" he noted, glancing at the now cascaded flower crown besides me. "very flattering," i grew annoyed at his tone, the red in my cheeks growing hopelessly darker. "but you've gone ahead and scarred those pretty hands of yours."
"what of it? an occasional wound or two is expected in my practice."
"flowers do bite back, you know?"
reaching for a clear jar before twisting of the lid, he proceeded to pour viscous globs onto my palms.
"taehyung!"
i yelled for him to stop, recognizing the substance to be jasmine honey, cupping my hands to catch every drop. however, it was then that i felt the sting and thorns imbedded within my palms lift, swept away by the sweetness.
"i could've plucked them out. now all the jasmine's gone to waste." i sighed aloud, watching drops of honey spill through my fingers. it was then that he brought my hands to his face. what is he doing? in that moment, he held my undivided attention.
"a waste? i couldn't have let my flower undergo anymore pain than what had already been withstood. besides,"
holding my palms to his mouth, he lapped at the honey that trailed down my wrist. trailing up my hand while holding eye contact with my stupefied expression, his gentle sensations biting, licking, pampering, grew overwhelming.
the cold was drowned out by a passionate flame, burning at my fingertips and tracing to a wildfire in my heart.
"this is more appetizing than any other sweet i've brought."
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gardenia / gardenia jasminoides
— an evergreen flowering plant: with glistening green leaves, and heavily fragrant white-summer petals.
meaning: i think i'm in love with you