Part of my Valentine's fluffy soulmate AU project - this one is, once again, a type of Heart Flower AU.
The large ceramic pot settled on the pavement unsteadily and with a somewhat less than pleasant grinding sound, and Mary winced.
"This," Mu Gyul said, panting, "is heavy." He paused, rubbing the back of his wrist over his brow, where sweat was beginning to soak into his hair.
"Ah- I'm sorry?" Jung In said, frowning, adjusting the tree with a nervous little tug. "It was always much more . . . manageable, before. . ." he trailed off as Mu Gyul looked up, almost glaring. "Mu Gyul?"
"Are you apologising for being too happy with us?" Mu Gyul asked, eyes narrowed, and Jung In flushed, ducking his head.
Mary patted his shoulder, then trailed her fingers lightly over one of the tree's branches as she passed the heavy pot the boys had been struggling to get up the stairs to the door of their new house. Jung In's flush deepened, and he squirmed a little. It was cute. Mary hid a smile. Mu Gyul didn't bother, grinning at her.
Mary remembered the small, faintly drab thing the tree had been in the first days of the contract - not sick, no, but far from thriving - and watching it begin to grow and brighten. Now, even though it was far less colourful than the bright flowers that rested among its branches, it looked vibrant and lovely.
"Are you ready?" Mary asked, hand on the door.
Mu Gyul groaned piteously, but pushed his hair back and nodded. Jung In stretched his shoulders, then bent, and between them they heaved the pot up again. Mary smiled as she stepped aside, opening the door, watching them edge towards her and then, carefully, angle the pot through the doorway.
The brilliant red flowers nodded jerkily where they were nestled amidst the tree's branches and sprang from the vines wrapped around both its trunk and the tall stalks of the much steadier sunflowers.
Even the sunflowers bounced as the boys heaved the pot fully inside, then promptly stalled.
"Where are you going?" Mu Gyul asked, huffing and attempting to blow a lock of hair out of his face.
"I thought it was going in the alcove by the patio doors." Jung In said blankly. Mu Gyul only looked at him, blinking. "In the kitchen?"
"Why would we put them in the kitchen?" Mu Gyul asked, boggling. "They belong with us!" He tsked and shook his head.
Jung In's brows drew together. "The kitchen would be-"
"Mary, don't you think he is being foolish again?" Mu Gyul asked, pouting at her.
"Mary, where would you say it belongs?" Jung In asked, and Mu Gyul nodded. They both watched her expectantly.
"I had thought the living room. . ." Mary pursed her lips. Mu Gyul and Jung In both looked faintly uncomfortable at that suggestion, and she sighed, shaking her head slightly. She probably should have expected that. "Come this way." she said, nudging Jung In's shoulder and gently hooking a loose vine around her fingertip, winding it safely around a new, growing branch before stepping away.
"Where are we going?" Jung In asked even as he began to follow her, walking carefully backwards.
"The bedroom." Mary said, and made a note to pinch Mu Gyul for that triumphant snort as soon as he wasn't carrying anything heavy. And delicate. "Probably that would be best for now in any case; it is the only room that is fully furnished already."
"Ah, that is true." Jung In said, humming. "I had forgotten."
"We won't have to sleep on the floor any more!" Mu Gyul declared happily.
"It was only temporary from the beginning." Mary reminded, opening the bedroom door as wide as it would go. She smiled at the bed that took up much of the middle of the room, then looked around for the best place for the pot.
"Temporary was supposed to be a few days, not almost two months." Mu Gyul grouched, tipping the pot with a groan of effort to get it the rest of the way through the doorway. It was a little narrower than the front door.
"Getting too old for that, rock star?" Jung In teased, slightly breathless himself, and Mu Gyul made an affronted sound.
Mary rolled her eyes, though she couldn't quite stifle a giggle, and shooed her boys towards a niche near the wall on the opposite side of the bed from the bathroom door. It was beside one of the windows, and if they opened the curtains when they rose in the morning, would be in place to bask in plenty of sunlight.
With some careful arranging, they had it shoved into the place Mary had chosen, and then Jung In leaned against the wall, breathing heavily, while Mu Gyul immediately went to the bed and collapsed across it.
"You're getting the sheets sweaty." Mary observed without looking at him again, gently rearranging viny tendrils, branches, and now crooked stalks. She shivered as Jung In reached out to help and one of his hands smoothed over the back of a large sunflower, sending ripples of warmth and affection through Mary's chest.
"Don't care." Mu Gyul groaned, though he sounded more content already, either because he was no longer carrying anything or from the fond touches to his Heart Flower.
Mary yawned and let herself be tugged down onto the bed and nearly across Jung In's lap, smoothing one hand over her nightgown to neaten it before tucking her legs up.
She leaned into Jung In's embrace, resting against his shoulder, and looked over at their Flowers. She smiled, relaxed to have them near and to be secure where she was - where they all were.
The Flowers had changed a little, in the couple of weeks since they'd moved in to the house - though Mary's sunflowers the most noticeably. They had brightened, the petals unfurling even further than before, as Jung In's tree spread its branches higher and put forth some new leaves. Mu Gyul's vines, wound tightly around both tree and sunflowers, holding them close, had thrown out even more brilliant little star-shaped blooms, tucked everywhere around the others.
"Would you prefer to have them somewhere else?" Jung In asked, and Mary hummed curiously. "We are moved in properly - at least, all the furniture has been brought in; there won't be any more people in helping. We could safely move them elsewhere in the house," he gestured at the pot, "without worrying about them being disturbed."
"No, I like having them in here." Mary said, tucking her cheek a little lower so her face wasn't pressed right against Jung In's collarbone. "Don't you?"
"As you wish, dearest." Jung In said, stroking her hair and then resettling his hand low on her back. Mary hummed contentedly.
Mu Gyul came out of the bathroom, tugging the towel down off his head. "What?" he asked, squeezing one side of the towel around the still-dripping ends of his hair.
"Just pointing out that we could move the Heart Flowers somewhere else, now we've finished settling in." Jung In said as Mary stretched out a hand to Mu Gyul without sitting up.
Mu Gyul narrowed his eyes thoughtfully, then shrugged. "We could." he said, dropping his towel and moving to the bed. He kissed Mary's shoulder and curled himself around her back. "Would you prefer them to be somewhere else?" he asked, nuzzling against her.
"No, it's nice to have them here." Mary said again, tipping her head enough to peek at Mu Gyul from the corner of one eye. Jung In nodded, echoing her.
Mu Gyul grinned. "Told you." he said smugly. "They belong here. Like we do." He snuggled a little closer, lounging comfortably, though when Jung In reached for him he sat up again quickly. Mary laughed as he leaned close over her head for the offered kiss.
Mary twined her fingers through Mu Gyul's where he rested one hand on her hip as he sank down again, and looked back at the reassuring, healthy bloom of their contently mingled Flowers nearby.
"We are all where we should be." Mary said softly, snuggling into Mu Gyul behind her, and Jung In kissed her cheek, curling an arm around them both.
Jung In's Heart Flower is, of course, a tree, although I do not know what species; Mary's is a sunflower, and Mu Gyul's is a cypress vine.