Author's note: This is my first fanfiction on this site, so it might not be as good as some of the other stuff on here.
Love can sprout in a multitude of places. After the loss of a loved one, after a recently ended relationship with another individual, major tragedy, or all three. Of course, there are many other places for love to blossom and thrive, but there are some places where it really shouldn't. However, either oblivious or manipulative people will butt in and try and make light of the situation. Some will fall for this, sadly. This goes for a certain spider and his vain and alien, female suitor.
Taranza's POV
"Taranza! Honey!" A female, honeyed voice said, immediately identifiable as Atrium. She gripped my shoulders tight with her two pairs of hands and looked over my shoulder, peering at the book I was reading as I shivered. I became noticeably uncomfortable from the pet name she had given me.
"Atri, I've told you not to call me… that." My mind wandered to an all-too-familiar place. The scene of my best friend's (and once the one I was truly in love with) final breath before she burst into a mass of petals. Wasps, bees, and anything that has to do with the two families of Hymenoptera are some things I've avoided since then. Along with certain types of flowers. It's ironic considering the fact that I run a flower shop with Atrium in tow. They remind me too much of her, Sectonia. Atrium hates when I talk about her, I don't know why. If she were still alive I'm sure the two of them would get along beautifully. Whenever I talk about her, Atrium tries to nip it in the bud like-
'Frick.' I thought to myself. 'Stupid unintentional plant puns. I guess Meta really is rubbing off on me.'
When I snapped back to my senses, I was surprised to find Atrium waving her hand in front of my face. She looked concerned, as if I would never get my head out the clouds. That was soon replaced with a wide smile followed by a familiar phrase, "Nice to see you haven't gone completely catatonic, spoodler. I'm sorry, I keep forgetting."
She giggled a bit, pinching my cheek and made her way to the kitchen. No idea why, though. NOVA knows how the long, lavender-haired girl was able to laugh, speak, or eat. Her mouth was replaced with a singular eye, akin to the species known as Dark Matter. It was in an incident that she's never been keen to elaborate on, only mentioning it briefly before moving on to another topic.
"Atri, can you get me some tea?" I asked, putting down the book I was holding.
She looked back at me, the smile she had faded from her tawny-colored face. "Okay..." She trailed off. Her voice was fleeting, like she was unhappy with something, or someone, and I have a heaping helping of a feeling that someone is me.