Orange Roses
Maya always received orange roses from him.
Sometimes in a bouquet, but usually in a single stem. They were sent at any time of any day; as frequent and as rare; whether for occasions or no reason at all.
Every time she received roses from him, it never failed to bring a smile to her face. Each and every single one of the roses meant so much to her, giving her a heartwarming feeling that came along with it. Even if he joked around and acted foolish as he gave them, she knew that the roses were special and meant something. They did not need words to explain, and did not need a reason for the reoccurring sending of roses.
To keep the whole gesture interesting, he always found ways to deliver them to her creatively every now and then. That way every time Maya received the roses from him, she always had to take a second glance, and prepared herself for something unusual.
Sometimes she got tired of being on the guard so much. Sometimes she preferred the normal and typical way of delivering, but she knew that he didn't want her to feel habitual about it, and thus, lose its meaning. She was open about it, feeling touched at the importance he gave to come up with new ideas to keep her interested. That's why she never got tired or ever complained. She wanted him to deliver them to her as much as he did.
Often times he delivered them to her personally. He would flash her his usual smirk, wink flirtatiously, and push the roses to her hands. It slightly irritated her, but still she would accept his offering without a question. She would then thank him, and he'd smile at her, telling her it was no problem.
Other times she would wake up in the morning and find the roses on her bedside table, accompanied with a short note.
"To my best friend Maya." or
"I hope you know how much you mean to me." or
"Just saying hi! Have a nice day!"
At other, definitely odd times, animals would deliver to her. Either dogs, cats, or even birds would have a single rose clamped in its mouth, with a note attached around its neck.
Another one of his strange antics would be for him to materialize the flowers in different places at different times. Sometimes the flowers would suddenly appear on her table. Sometimes, as if he knew she was upset and needed cheering up, the flowers would appear in her hands. And at times, he would even make them appear behind her ear as hair ornaments.
One of the most memorable times of his gesture that Maya treasured so dearly was on the day of Valentine's. He had yet again amazed her by handing her a dozen orange roses in front of the student body in school during an assembly. The crowd saw and was cheering, and she was horribly flushed, but she secretly loved the attention and his boldness to be able to publicize this act.
But no matter how romantic the gesture might had been, Maya knew it was just something that came normally from him. He was popular, loud, and obnoxious; why couldn't he handle showing his care for their friendship in front of so many people?
No matter how differently he presented those flowers to her, all the while, the message meant quite the same. Just flowers, just a note. A friendly gesture that became habitual for the both of them for the last two years. Even if her family and friends questioned their growing relationship, all Maya could reply was that they were just friends.
But how many times had Maya hoped to find a different note.
So many times had she yearned for him to express in another way, utter some words that she would die to hear from his lips while he gave the roses to her.
Oh how she waited each day…
That finally…
He might just confess to her some feelings of love.
But they were just friends. She hated those two words. Just friends. Just friends for the rest of her heartbreaking, bitter, tragic, vainly waiting, agonizing, sad, sad life.
Yuta always gave her orange roses.
It didn't matter when or how, but he did. Whether she was home, outside, with her family, or with her friends; it didn't matter.
Just as long as he gave her those precious orange roses that meant so much between the two of them. It was the symbol of their friendship.
It started two years ago, after the Five Holy Stones saga, when he had found her under a willow tree in the castle gardens. She had been crying, mentioning some sort of "unrequited love" from the prince and his choice to marry her as a part of his "duty". And of course, she didn't intend to marry someone out of the groom's obligations as a prince. She rejected the only person she loved, walking away from the life she claimed to have wanted so badly to sin for.
That time, Yuta had been carrying orange roses, out to finally confess his love for his long time crush, Nina. But because he found her so upset, he gave her those roses instead to cheer her up, and it did, renewing their forgotten friendship from that day on.
He stood by her the entire time, helping her nurse her broken heart and life. All the while he started sending her orange roses to remind her that he would be there for her. Then the sending became more frequent, and eventually, became habitual, their own little way of letting each other know how important their friendship was.
Because of his need to help her pick up the pieces of her shattered life, he never found the time to reveal his romantic feelings for his love, Nina. And he never did wanted to, as his feelings found their way to her instead.
If seen beneath what was beneath, the truth was, the roses were a symbol of his love.
He knew she wasn't a dimwit, and he had been hoping that she would find out for herself. The thought was inevitable. She just had to, at least a some point, question about the romantic possibilities between them through those roses. To realize that the roses meant so much more than just a friendly gesture.
Anyone could tell her that the roses meant more. He heard her friends whisper, tease, and giggle about it to her when they were all huddled together as a group. He even heard the suspicions of strangers, these gossips echoing throughout the school ever since the Valentine's day incident. Everyone knew that he had feelings for her; everyone but herself it seemed.
But perhaps she already knew and needed more time to consider her feelings for him. She was testing the waters to see if she felt the same, calculating in her mind whether to give the romantic relationship a try or not.
Or perhaps she already knew and didn't reciprocate. Maybe she was just pretending not be aware of his feelings so that she wouldn't have to hurt him by rejecting him and making their whole relationship crumble down.
Or perhaps she hadn't sensed his romantic feelings for her at all.
But what more could he do? Sending roses to her made a statement itself, a strong one at that. Roses were sent to people for a purpose according to their color. Red meant love, and yellow meant friendship. Orange was a color between the two, and the most logical meaning for sending orange roses to her would be the desire to be seen in a romantic light, far beyond what they already had. Yuta wanted so much more from her. And if she wasn't grasping the concept of it, then he could do no more.
At least not to the extent of actually expressing his love for her out in the open. He wasn't brave enough to do so, and he told himself he wouldn't be able to live up to losing their whole relationship for a simple chance of having more. He couldn't, and wouldn't risk anything to lose what they had.
That's why when he sent her the roses, he gave no reason, and no feelings were ever revealed.
Just flowers, just a note.
Author's Notes: Here you go, a YutaxMaya fic! Please read and review! I worked very hard on this! And if you guys want, I might write an ending to this depending on the reviews.
To YutaxNina fans: I'm sorry. I just love these two together.
Please read and review, once again!
