The tingle in their throat starts out to be the beginning of Ecolo's end, but they won't let it ruin their adoration for Ringo. Requested by a tumblr anon!

In Plain Sight

Compared to everyone Ecolo had met in their long life, Ringo was the best. She was indescribable, a girl with confidence and intelligence. Filled to the brim with whimsy and curiosity, she had caught their attention like a supernova.

She wasn't some silly human they could throw away when they finished. Ringo shone brighter than the sun, an icon they couldn't touch no matter how hard they tried. The cold eyes she would leer at them whenever she suspected their mischief or wrongdoing felt like spikes through their heart, but they smiled that same, saliva-coated grin and persevered, playing with her as much as they could.

Yet, even though they had caused her so much chaos, she still welcomed them with open arms. She made them feel like the world was their oyster, like they could do anything as long as Ringo was with them. She remained in their thoughts like the lyrics to a love song, unforgettable and beautiful.

She never forgot them. Compared to so many others, Ringo remembered Ecolo each and every time. Hearing her call out their name made them made them feel like nothing wrong would ever happen, and as simple as that, in their long span of existence, they fell for her.

It started out as a small tickle. It scratched their throat when they swallowed, but it wasn't anything they couldn't handle. As long as they could laugh and play, they paid it no mind and continued on their merry way.

The tickle turned into a pricking sensation. It cut at the roof of their mouth at night, jarring them awake with sputtering coughs. Their throat would constrict as if something was lodged right in the center. As their eyes widened, cloaked in the velvet darkness of the space with twinkling stars unable to help, they hacked up something strange into their round palm.

A petal, covered in goo and saliva, glared back at them.

Ecolo choked out a laugh. They held onto their belly and doubled over, their knees hitching towards their chest. They couldn't believe they had somehow swallowed the petal that came off the apple Ringo gave them. It was so absurd that it clung to their throat all those hours later, and as they tossed it over their shoulder, they sighed.

Then, they coughed, and coughed, and coughed.

Their brow knit, their lungs feeling as if they were on fire. They grabbed their jaw, ugly, grotesque sputtering spilling out of their mouth along with fluttering petals. They seemed endless, dribbling out in gooey globs. They beat at the stars, grabbing onto nothing as the lights faded away, leaving them stranded and strangled until they spat up every last petal.

Ever since that lonely incident, they visited Ringo more and more, distracting themselves from the singing petals that scratched along their throat and cut up their tongue. They smiled and played with her, clinging to her side as if they would die without her, a thought that recently plagued their morbid nights.

Ringo suspected something was wrong, they knew that, but they kept her distracted. Puyo battles, experiments, changing the subject, and they even went as far as mocking those she cared for all for the sake of her ignorance. Even her fiery side was just too lovely to ignore.

Yet, they couldn't understand why it continued. The more they played with Ringo, the more petals strangled them. It took all of their willpower to keep a full flower from choking them as Ringo showed them her latest experiment with the most beautiful smile on her face. When she left to tutor some of her classmates during that afternoon, Ecolo vomited a black rose into the nearest trash can in her club room and willed themself not to cry.

"I see, I see," Witch mused, holding the damp rose in a tissue after Ecolo sought her out for assistance. She clicked her tongue against the roof of her mouth. "I'm afraid to say this, but you have Hanahaki Disease."

They titled their head. "Buwah?"

She narrowed her glare. "Don't 'buwah' me, buster. This is quite serious, dangerously seriously, deadly serious." She wrapped the flower up in the tissue and set it on her counter, the various floral scents of her potions sickening Ecolo. "If it's not treated, you could die."

Ecolo burst into laughter, their off-key guffawing making her flinch. As they wiped a spare petal from their lips, they jeered, "Don't be silly! I've-"

"Let me finish!" Witch slammed her hands on her counter. "The disease is caused from unrequited love. I've seen it only a few times on my world, but I was able to cure them by…" She sighed. "...by giving them a potion that completely eradicated the illness."

"Well, good!" They shoved their hand in front of her face. "Hand it over, missy!"

"If the disease is cured-" She pushed their hand away, her lips tightening into a deep frown. "-then the feelings you have for whomever you're pinning over will disappear forever."

Ecolo's smile faded, the dawning realization an expression Witch had seen too many times before. They lowered their hand, their chest tingling as she apologized. Their shoulders dropped as they tucked their round chin to their chest, Witch's footsteps echoing towards her back room. By the time she returned with a gray vial for them, Ecolo was gone.

Such a cure was unacceptable. There had to have been another way. Her morose complexion plagued them as they traveled back to Suzuran. Witch's honest, pertinent comments seized their thoughts, filling them with despair as their heart constricted like someone had reached inside and squeezed it as tightly as possible.

They coughed as they entered Ringo's club room. Three more petals spilled over their tongue, and they swallowed them back down as Ringo's voice rang out.

"Ecolo! I'm glad you're back." She giggled, taking off a pair of goggles and gloves, her lab coat as pristine as her smile. "I'm about to start another experiment, and I could use an assistant."

"Oh, Ringo!" They spun over to her, their legs kicking up in the air. "You know I'm always there if just call out my name, and I'll be there in a jiffy to make you swoon!"

She rolled her eyes. "Very funny. Now, let's-"

She cut herself off and reached forward, her thumb and forefinger like pincers. Ecolo remained as still as a statue, watching in dumbfounded horror as she pulled off a stray petal from their chin. The air became poisonous, thick and unbreathable, while Ecolo watched Ringo turn the petal over, inspecting the deep veins running through it.

"Ecolo..." She peered down at them. "...do you eat plants? Is that part of your diet as a bioorganic creature? That's really impressive."

All they could do was laugh and laugh and laugh despite the tears blurring their vision, another rose blossoming in their corrupted lungs.