𝗲𝗽𝗵𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗿𝗮𝗹 [bsd x reader oneshots]

NIKOLAI | IT'S A PROMISE

[CONTENT]

This oneshot contains threats of physical violence, flower shops, along with a female reader. This is oneshot has not been beta-read. Beware grammar errors.

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He never knew where he would end up whenever he had free time. A mall, a park, a zoo. It didn't matter too much to him. Nikolai bounded in and out of these places, delighted by the varied expressions of his unsuspecting victims, whether they were the tail-end of a harmless prank or something far worse.

An unlocatable humming accompanied the orchestra of fans that kept the space cool, and the bountiful stock almost made his jaw drop. The store was filled to the brim with luscious flowers that put the market stalls he had seen earlier to shame—sad that someone's hard work was about to be wasted.

He pretended to be the average customer, humming the harmony to that distant voice as he perused the aisles, tearing leaves and plucking petals whenever he felt like it. It was a tranquil prologue to the sick pranks that formed in his mind.

He stopped at a cluster of daisies, which blossomed in various bright colors, allowing them to stand out between the exotic plants that flanked them. So, as predicted, he ripped a couple at the stem, chuckling to himself as they clumped onto the dirty store floor.

"Get the hell away from my daisies!"

Nikolai thrived in the unforeseen, though he certainly did not expect to be met with a trowel pressed dangerously close to his jugular, nor did he expect the cute Chihuahua-like woman attached to his handle. If this was his demise, he couldn't say he'd mind.

"What the hell is wrong with you?" She snatched the flowers from his reach, cradling the pot like an infant as her voice sweetened. "I'm sorry the mean man hurt you."

"You're like a little puppy! How adorable!" Her snarl did not help her case. "I've heard about people talking to plants, but you take it to a whole nother level, lady."

"You didn't answer my question. Why did you do that?"

"That wasn't your question, though." The glint in her eyes could melt icebergs, so he decided to cut his losses before she committed second-degree murder and mashed him into fertilizer. "But I'll answer both, don't worry! For the first, there's nothing wrong with me. I'm completely sane!"

"Sane people don't have to say they're sane," she retorted as she hooked the tool onto her belt.

"That's where you're wrong." He turned to a patch of lovely black irises, their ribboning petals outstretched under sunshine that threatened to shrivel them, but they remained firm. His thumb brushed against their surfaces, careful not to tear one off while under a similarly threatening gaze.

"Rationality dies at the hands of complacency, like those so-called witches in Europe." She eyed his hand when he removed his glove, contemplative as he cradled the flowers with a care she hadn't seen. "We're gifted with knowledge of the past. Those accusers had to be fanatical or greedy. Possibly both! And because everyone else was so comfortable being complacent, rationality died, and those who opposed them were sent to the gallows."

"In the end, those considered sane are no better than anyone else." His one unconcealed eye struck her, overflowing with complexity veiled behind a villainous facade. She took to his words with a familiar hum, allowing Nikolai to look closer at her. He had to assume she owned this quaint little store; if her protective nature didn't clue him in, the several layers of dirt stains on her overalls did. His eye trailed upward, lingering on her lips, which were pursued in contemplation. It made his heart leap—it would be so exciting to have such a reactive test subject.