"Zese flowers are wery-" Pavel paused abruptly to sneeze, and Hikaru pressed another tissue into his hand. He felt bad bringing the boy down to his conservatory. It seemed like a perfect first-date idea: they'd spend most the evening around his flowers, they'd share a home-cooked meal back in his own quarters, and, if Pavel enjoyed it as much as he did, they'd schedule to do it again.

Yet there was one major setback for the evening that Hikaru was not expecting- Pollen is not a friend to Pavel.

This wouldn't bother Hikaru as much as it did if it didn't wreck the kid up like it did. Pavel's eyes were red and watery, nose rubbed raw from all the sneezing and wiping, and it sounded like he was trying to speak while underwater. And the poor helmsman took all the blame.

"Hikaru," Pavel's voice pulled him out of his deep thoughts and he turned to face his date. The younger boy was huddled over a patch of flowers, holding the head of a sunflower in one hand and the rest in the other. He was in tears, but not from the pollen. His voice was soft as he met Hikaru's eyes. "I broke eet." He showed it to him, shaking like a child awaiting punishment.

Hikaru took both the parts of the torn flower. He'd broken so many flowers before, of course, but he couldn't help but feel even worse about bringing Pavel to the conservatory in the first place. "Hold on," He turned his back to Pavel, leaning over another set of flowers. "Close your eyes, Pavel." A small flower crown was slipped onto the ensign's hazel locks, and Hikaru stood back on his heels to admire his work. Pavel opened his eyes as he felt the other pulling away, blinked, and gently touched the flower petals. "Oh..." He mumbled, thin lips curling into a smile, then spreading into a grin that brightened the entire room.

Pavel carefully looked around the conservatory for the prettiest flowers. Why was he the only one to have a crown? Hands fumbled around as he braided the stems together and placed it on Hikaru's head. "Thank you, Pav." He smiled at him, patting the crown. "I'm sure it looks very nice." Pavel blushed and nodded. "Da."


This is dedicated to a great fanfiction writer and one of my friends, Stony 22. Thanks for forcing me to write again! Thank you for reading.