Signs of Love

Tommy had been the first to notice. It was easy to after all, seeing as his dad was right there. His dad was usually in the tundra with Techno so it odd to see him here. But here he was, peering from around a corner, watching his dad interact with Sam. However, he didn't mind as his dad was smiling. Tommy couldn't remember seeing his dad ever smiling this wide. It brought a smile to his own face.

Sam was like another father to him so to see his dad looking that happy while talking to him? It was amazing. Moving his eyes to the taller, he let out a breath that he didn't know he was holding. Sam was blushing as he was handed a pouch of red stone dust from his dad.

As squinted his eyes, his suspicions were confirmed. His dad had been mining that day. However, the only way anyone could really tell was from the dust at the bottom of his robe and tips of his wings. Tommy laughed quietly at the fact that he must've cleaned off a bit before coming because he's seen his dad after a day of mining and it's not pretty.

He tried to lean in to listen to the conversation, but only caught a few words.

"Thanks, Philza!" Sam smiled, "You know, you always manage to look good even after mining all day."

Philza blushed at that and proceeded to stumble over his words, "Oh...uh... it was no problem, mate."

With that, Sam finally left. Tommy quickly snapped his head back as his dad turned around, instantly looking in his direction. Listening for footsteps, he relaxed when he didn't hear any. As he suddenly heard his dad chuckling, Tommy jumped and turned to face him.

"Tommy!" His dad gave a small wave in greeting.

"Hi dad." Tommy chuckled nervously, "What's up?"

Ignoring him, he narrowed his eyes, and playfully asked, "Were you spying on me, son?"

"I- I was not doing any sort of...." He sputtered out, before putting his head down and nodding, "Yeah, I saw you with Sam."

His dad's wings ruffled up as he flushed a darker red.

Tommy laughed, "Y'know, Sam's like a second dad to me."

Then he bid his extremely flustered dad goodbye and on his way, he smiled to himself. Tommy was happy that his dad was happy.

~

Wilbur was next to notice. Of course, he was dead so he just watched from limbo. On every train that passed, the windows flickered scenes from the overworld. He had for a month now seen the flickered scenes of his dad growing flowers. With the amount of care and love his dad gave it had to have been growing them for someone. He even had gone out to get bone meal to grow them faster.

Wilbur watched with bated breath now, time around him slowing down almost as if to let him watch the full scene. It still passed by like a flip book, however. One frame to the next.

First showed his dad, holding a bouquet of red, pink, and white tulips. It was obvious what he wanted to convey. Red tulips mean true love after all. Same with the pink tulips, pairing well with the red. They also have an added meaning of affection. Lastly, the white tulips, matching beautifully providing a good contrasts in the warm tones of the reds and pinks, meant respect, purity, or forgiveness.

Which is why Wilbur was watching with bated breath. He wondered which one his dad was going for on the white tulips. He supposed that if he does get rejected, he'll want to at least give whoever it was the white tulips. If he does get rejected, those tulips might be horrid reminders, he mused.

Wilbur then frowned, his dad deserves to be happy. Especially after everything.

The scene flicked by as he hid the flowers behind his back. Wilbur's eyes widened when he saw who they were for... Sam. Despite his surprise, he was happy with that. The other man often looked after his little brother after all. He wouldn't be surprised if Tommy looked at him as another father figure.