Primroses. Calla lilies. White roses. And a few red carnations, just for good measure.

Lovino had spent all day making a bouquet for Antonio, knowing that he was due to return to their room that evening. After much arguing (sic: begging), Antonio had finally agreed to move back into the Tomato Dorms, and to stop taking up the spare bed in the nurse's office. So Lovino had learned a few things about flower arrangement, and flower meanings from the floristry club, and had made a bouquet, as a welcome back gift for Antonio...Arthur wasn't the only one now who could show Antonio pretty flowers, and give him fancy tea...

Speaking of tea, Lovino had decided to attempt to make his own blend of tea for Antonio, instead of forking out for that fancy crap that Arthur drank. Nothing seemed like a better welcome back gift for Lovino's not-crush, than flowers which showed his feelings, and special, home-made tea...

If Antonio didn't like him, then, perhaps, Lovino could at least go back to being his friend. Well, that would be a step in the right direction, at least...

"Oh, so you like carnations, do you?" Arthur chuckled, walking Antonio past the rosebushes.

"They're my favourite flowers," Antonio replied.

"Well then, you're going to love what I've planted here!"

And Antonio was lead into a large area of the greenhouse, filled with row upon row of carnations. The outer ring was made up of red ones, and then the inner rings were filled with purple, white, yellow, and then, in the centre, there was a small patch of striped carnations.

"For some reason, I've taken a bit of a shine to them, recently," Arthur explained, "Well, I think they look much better than the spider lilies which used to grow here. Much less depressing!"

"Depressing? How can a flower be depressing?" Antonio enquired, playing with the petals of a red carnation.

The blonde Etoile sighed. "Spider lilies signify lost memories and abandonment, in Japanese hanakotoba," he responded, "Or...so they say..."

Arthur squeezed his eyes shut for a second, as the sight of Antonio admiring the carnations became a vision of Kiku playing with a spider lily...The last thing he needed was to be reminded of him...

"Do you know the meanings of carnations?" Antonio asked, snapping Arthur out of his daze.

"I'm not familiar with them, why?" The Etoile said.

The Spaniard plucked a red carnation from its spot in the soil, "Red carnations signify love, white signifies good luck...Yellow signifies disappointment, and striped ones mean, 'no', or 'I can't be with you', in flower language!"

Arthur's face suddenly reddened a little. "That's quite impressive!"

"Oh, I wouldn't say that," Antonio giggled, "My mama keeps a garden of them at home, and she taught me the meanings of carnations when I was very little. She only likes the red ones, though..."

"And what about you? Which colour carnations do you like, Antonio?" Arthur enquired.

Antonio 'mmed', as he pretended to stop and think about it, "Red, of course!"

The Etoile nodded. "Wait here a moment."

When the blonde returned, he had a small pot, and a length of white ribbon in his hands. He surveyed the patch of carnations carefully, and selected a small bouquet of red ones, plus one striped one. He took care only to choose the very best of the bunch, with the softest, crinkliest petals, and he tied them up with the length of ribbon, and put them in the pot, before he handed them to Antonio.

"For you, darling," he said jokily, pecking Antonio on the cheek.

"Oh, Arthur, they're beautiful," Antonio gushed, "Thank you," and he returned the peck.

Arthur chuckled good naturedly. "Why don't I take you out somewhere tomorrow, Antonio? I was thinking of taking a taxi to a beach...We could sunbathe, go swimming, maybe do something a bit...Naughty~"

Antonio giggled nervously as his face flushed, and he backed away from Arthur. "That does sound fun, but...How far is it to the beach from here?"

"'Bout twenty minutes in the taxi," Arthur answered.

"Ok, sounds great! I'll see you in the morning!"

"Yeah, see you about nine!" The Etoile agreed.

When Antonio arrived back at his and Lovino's room, his room-mate wasn't there, but he found a bouquet of flowers, and some home-made tea, addressed to him, on his desk.

Welcome back, Antonio, the tags read, in Italian, by the looks of the words.

Antonio carefully examined the flowers. Primroses, meaning 'I can't live without you'. The calla lilies said, 'magnificent beauty'. 'Pure love', the white roses added. And Antonio guessed that Lovino only added the red carnations, because he knew that Antonio liked them.

Antonio moved the bouquet, to make room for Arthur's carnations. But he picked the striped one out of its ribbon...

Antonio was already asleep when Lovino returned to their room. He used the glow of his phone to inspect his desk, and found a single, striped carnation, along with the bouquet that he'd made for Antonio.

A striped carnation. A no.