Flowers to Transcend Time || Professor Membrane

15 // Begonias

"YES!" Both you and Membrane cheered as he was accepted to one of his top choice colleges. You and Membrane had applied to similar ones, but not all of them were the same. You pulled him into a hug and ruffled his lightning bolt hair. The both of you cheered despite knowing full well that there were chances that you hadn't been accepted to the same prestigious place.

"Go on (Y/N), open it." Membrane coaxed, gesturing to the letter in your hands as well.

You really didn't want to open it. You already knew the answer, but he was your best friend, and with bright eyes, he thought that his efforts to send his regards to the acceptance committee were enough. You wanted to believe in him, you really did, but you really weren't any where near as smart as him.

You swallowed your anxiety and realizations anyways, because the hope in Membrane's eyes were always what you hoped to keep alive. Which is why you tried to wave it off. "It's fine, Goggles!" You said chuckling and trying to shove the letter into your pocket. "Today's about you! You got accepted! We can celebrate me tomorrow!" You said, glancing to the side.

That was a mistake. Your eyes met with the couple beside you, his parents. They could see it. They could see the fear in your eyes. They knew you accepted the reality that the two of you couldn't be together forever. They saw that you didn't believe it was possible unless you dragged him down. You didn't want to slow him down though.

"Nonsense!" He said with that strangely deep voice of his. "(Y/N), we've shared several moments of our life together. Today should be no different." After your family disappeared, he kept you closer to him than before, and people would mistake the two of you for a long married couple or even siblings with the way you acted around each other.

He was insistent though, and he stopped your hand from shoving the letter down your pocket. He could feel your wrist shaking and your fear shocked and spread through him. Why... Why were you afraid? Why were you shaking?

You didn't say another word, realizing that he noticed your trembling. You couldn't hide it forever. You couldn't keep pretending like the two of you were the same forever. Opening the envelope with a slight frown on your face, you unfolded the letter, and didn't even need to read it. The first sentence and last words before the signature were enough to confirm.

"You... weren't accepted?" Membrane whispered, looking to you. He finally realized it. After 7 years, he finally realized that the two of you were going to have to diverge paths eventually.

You shook your head, and he suddenly felt the world on his shoulders. Still, you spoke. "It's fine, Goggles." You shrugged, trying to laugh it off. "I mean, I still got accepted into like two others. I can just choose from them!"

He couldn't accept it though. "You're right." He couldn't accept being away from you. "I'll just go with you to one of them."

"What!? NO!" You immediately stopped him from making a reckless decision.

"Why not!?" He immediately argued back with you.

"Because you'd be wasting the opportunity! I told you never to waste opportunity! This is your chance to become a scientist!"

"I could become a scientist whenever I want! I don't need to do it now! I can wait-"

"I DON'T WANT TO DRAG YOU DOWN, DAMN IT!"

Membrane paused, watching frustrated tears begin to build in your eyes. He was shocked beyond words, and could barely react when you ran, shutting yourself into the room you claimed as your own when you moved there.

He glanced to his parents standing to the side. They looked extremely awkward and saddened by your exchange, but neither of them were able to say anything before Membrane rushed to follow after you.

The two parents held each other. "Do you think they'll be alright?" His father asked.

"After this, they should be." His mother replied. "The couples that argue at a young age tend to be more understanding when they get older." She smiled up at her husband.

. . .

Membrane's hand was on the doorknob to your room. The door wasn't locked, but the door was closed. His own rubber covered hands trembled, and he ungloved them to stare at the metal. He would have thought that after the accident, he'd be scared of almost nothing, yet he was shaking at your doorstep. But that was a story for another day.

He had to make an impact. He had to tell you how much he needed you near, otherwise you might just leave him. But - but he'd already decided months ago - he already had a specific day he wanted to tell you. But it was desperation that drove him forward.

He wouldn't tell you that he loved you - not yet. He'd tell you something else though. "(Y/N)." He hadn't opened the door, but his metal hand was still loosely holding the doorknob as he leaned against the door. "You have to let me in. I know it's not locked but-..." He trailed off, but you understood.

The doorknob jostled, the door cracking open with an eerie creak. He waited another moment, hearing you huddle back onto your bed, and then he opened the door. You cradled yourself on the corner of your bed, a sorrowful but dull look in your eyes. You didn't look like you cried, but you looked on the brink of it.

He sat on the edge of your bed, his metal hands in his lap, but he was turned enough to look at you. The two of you stared at each other for a good 5 minutes, just trying to understand each other by surveying the other person's expressions, body language, and aura. Strangely, it worked.

"(Y/N) -"

"No."

"Please."

"No."

"Why?"

"..."

"Right."

That conversation ended there, but Membrane knew what he had to say to build the bridge back together.

"Mateo."

You looked at him, completely confused, and it was hard to tell what he meant because of his cowl and goggles. He knew this, and he took it off. You stared at him, completely and utterly shocked. His lab coat and cowl were still on, but he pulled his goggles off. It took you a moment, but you realized what he was trying to tell you. He was revealing the rest of himself.

His eyes were a chocolate brown, but they had the slight hints of golden that his mother had at the top of his irises. You could see how his left eye was just barely faded in color. He was going blind in one eye, and you could tell it was because of the scar that ran across his eye. Still warmth radiated off of them; a kindness and caring that you thought wouldn't be directed to you like this for years. They matched him perfectly, flaws and all, and so did his name.