SK8TEMBER'21 SERIES

Say it with flowers.

Since they were little kids, Kojiro always used to give Kaoru flowers saying 'It's pretty, it reminded me of you'. And at first, that didn't hide any secret meaning, it was just his best friend giving him beautiful flowers.

But while they kept growing up, Kojiro keeped giving him flowers at any given opportunity. When they were teenagers, Kaoru started to pick interest in the flower language. And that's when he started to suspect that maybe Kojiro was trying to say something to him with said flowers through the years.

He would give him dandelions (joy, positivity, harmony and daily happiness); lavender (purity, calm and tranquility); white and yellow pansies (first and growing love); yellow, white, red and orange lilies (happiness on a relationship, gratitude, innocence, beauty, love, seduction and passion); and all kinds of tulips, that were very similar of the meaning behind lilies.

And every time Kojiro gave him a flower, he would do it blushing and saying his damn trademark phrase: 'It's pretty, it reminded me of you'. Yeah, Kaoru was not biting that anymore. There was no way Kojiro was giving him those specific flowers just because they were pretty.

The thing is, he's been in love with Kojiro since he can remember. And he was starting to get a little bit frustrated, because every time Kojiro had given him a flower, and he knew the meaning behind it, he'd put his hopes up to the sky waiting for the truth behind that flower... just to have his hopes down once again listening to that damn phrase.

Yeah, those flowers were pretty, but that's not what he wanted to hear.

So, that's when Kaoru put in the making his plan.

He was done waiting; he was done not knowing if Kojiro really felt the same and he really didn't know the meaning behind the flowers. Or if he really knew, and was waiting for Kaoru to be the first to take the next step.

He started with different bouquets. First he gave Kojiro a bouquet of a variety of bright and colorful flowers, the meaning was 'I want to be happy right by your side'. And no, Kojiro didn't seem to get what they meant. And so he tried with the next bouquet, one with red lilies and roses, carnations and gerberas, with them, you meant 'I want to give you my whole heart.' And if you think Kojiro knew this time what they meant, then you're terribly mistaken.

Kaoru felt so, so frustrated and dejected. He wasn't sure what to think anymore. And it didn't help that Kojiro kept giving him flowers all the damn time. All of them with romantic meanings behind it.

He was going crazy. He didn't know if Kojiro was making fun of him or if they were genuine gifts. But if he had to listen to the 'It's pretty, it reminded me of you' phrase one more damn time, he was sure as hell that he was gonna shove the damn flowers right onto Kojiro's ass.

Nah, he couldn't do such a thing to the poor flowers.

And that's when Kaoru thought that if Kojiro really didn't know what these flowers meant, then he could say with them whatever he wanted and Kojiro would never know what he was really trying to say with them. Or maybe, he hopelessly wished Kojiro would start to pick the meaning behind them.

Anyway, here's where Kaoru's new plan comes into action.

He started with one single rose (love at first sight); then, five roses (to say 'I love you'); six roses (unbridled love); eight roses (gratitude for the love and support of a loved one); nine roses (to say 'we'll be forever together'); ten roses (perfect love); twelve roses (to say 'would you be my lover for all eternity?'); twenty roses (sincerity, true love); twenty-one roses (devotion and admiration); twenty-four roses (a promise of unconditional love); thirty-six roses (to say 'I'm completely in love with you'); forty roses (genuine love); forty-one roses (the symbol of the affection and care for our loved ones); and finally, fifty roses (endlessly love).

Kojiro always received the roses with a bright smile, every time, more and more brightly. And every time, Kaoru fell more and more in love with him. But Kojiro still wasn't taking any step to reciprocate his feelings.

And after the last bouquet, Kaoru really thought that maybe the best option was to stop giving Kojiro flowers at all.

Maybe, their love wasn't meant to be.

And you know what Kaoru didn't know? He didn't know that after the last bouquet, Kojiro discovered the meaning behind every one of them. He genuinely always gave Kaoru flowers because he really thought they were as pretty as him. But he never thought about the meaning behind any of them. How foolish of him, because of fucking course Kaoru was gonna look into the hidden meaning of everything.

He thought about all of the flowers Kaoru had give him in the last few months, scribbling down and counting how many roses were in every bouquet he have brought him, and after searching the meaning behind all of them, the only thing he could thought about was:

Oh.

Oh.

Yeah, he has been really, really dense, hasn't he?

And now, probably Kaoru thought he didn't love him as much as Kojiro loved him. It was late to say that he knew what the flowers meant? Probably. But he wasn't gonna give up so easily. It was time to tell Kaoru how much he loved him in his own language.

The next day the both of them have planned to go out for dinner, Kojiro got dressed on his nicest shirt (nearly buttoned up, just the top two buttons undone, because he was trying to look nice, but he was still him after all) and he went to the flower shop to get the bouquet he previously arranged. After picking it up, he headed to Kaoru's home, shaking lightly, breathing heavily and nervous as hell.

He rang the doorbell, and waited for his fate to be sealed.

When Kaoru opened the door, looking as beautiful as ever with one of his nicest yukatas, he looked at the bouquet, and something in his gaze shifted. Kojiro didn't know what Kaoru was thinking, but he knew he needed to say something. But as always, Kaoru was faster than him.

"What's this bouquet for?" he asked, his voice tainted with what seemed hope.

Kaoru was looking intensely at the bouquet, and Kojiro prayed for him to notice the exact number of roses the bouquet had.

"I really have to say it, or are a hundred of red roses enough of a confession?" he said with a bright and determined smile.

Kaoru looked at him, and he now saw that hope clearly reflected on his gaze.

"Come here, you idiot." Kaoru urged, grabbing him by the nape of his neck so their lips could meet in a heated kiss. Kojiro kissed back as eagerly as him, taking him by the waist, carefully to not smash the bouquet between them.

Because a bouquet of a hundred red roses, means complete devotion to a love that will last forever.