The first time it happened, Flora didn't think too much about it. She could've just picked those red petunias from her greenhouse during one of her gardening frenzies when she was stressed out over her nature spells exam.
The next time it happened, Flora knew it wasn't a coincidence. Sunflowers only grew on Earth, and there weren't many botanists in Magix that sold giant bouquets of it. Nonetheless, she planted the flowers, satisfied that they had mysteriously been given to her so she could use the seeds to start the germination process early in the season.
The third time it happened, Flora questioned her dorm mates if they had seen anyone place them there, because the pink and white tulips weren't hard to notice, the bounty of flowers laying obviously and perfectly still on her wooden desk.
"No, I didn't see anyone. They were just there when I got back from class," Bloom had said, shrugging from the couch as Kiko jumped into her lap, and she stroked her bunny as Flora's eyebrows quizzically knitted together, walking back into the room to stare at the gift.
It didn't happen again for another two months, and this time, the bouquet of red roses definitely caught the other girls' attention.
"So who's your secret admirer?" Stella was draped over Flora's bed, staring as Flora picked up the roses, turning it around to see if there was any indication of who or where the flowers were from.
"I am not quite sure," Flora mumbled, not seeing any markings at all. They were just plain roses, wrapped in a rubber band to keep its bundle.
"Well, whoever it is, can you ask him to give Brandon some tips?" Stella asked, before getting up and walking out the room.
Flora giggled, placing the roses into her tote bag to bring to her garden later, planning to add it to a small field where she had designated for her mystery flowers.
Not that she didn't like the thrill of receiving flowers from a random stranger, Flora was curious as to who was putting in the time and effort to surprise her with these little gifts. Flowers weren't exactly the most expensive thing to give to a girl, most of the bundles were store-bought, and Flora has been to the florist a few times to know that it wouldn't break the bank to get a bundle every month or so.
But still, someone was doing it and Flora wanted to know who, especially when the fifth time was a plant that she had been trying to find for the past few weeks.
"What is that?" Musa questioned from the dining room table when Flora walked out of her room with the plant in her arm. She struggled to get a good grip on the pot as she waddled towards the front door, the three thick books about growing and maintaining the plant were nestled in her other arm.
"It's a monstera."
"What is it?" Bloom asked again, as she got up from the couch and helped Flora open the front door.
"It's a species of evergreen tropical vines and shrubs. They are really hard to grow, so I must take it to the greenhouse immediately and plant it. These things can grow up to 10 feet tall!" Flora excitedly explained, slipping on her shoes.
"Is it from Flower Boy?" Tecna asked, smiling at her friend from the couch, using the nickname that they had come up for him.
Flora nodded, using the plant's leaves to hide her blush. At this point, all the girls knew and they were unable to solve the mystery, despite their best efforts. They were all curious to find out who it was, not only for Flora, but it was also worrisome to know that they could get into their apartment undetected.
"Aren't you at all dying to know who it is?" Stella asked, leaning over the couch arm to look up at Flora, who was standing at the door, ready to leave.
"Just a little," Flora responded, shrugging. "But they'll come out when they're ready."
The lie slipped out of Flora's mouth so easily, because she had convinced herself that she didn't need to know. But there was such a curiosity in finding Flower Boy that she almost bought a mini camera to catch the mystery man in action.
"I can not do that."
"Why not?"
"It goes against what I believe in for the purpose of technology," Tecna said from her desk, looking over to the bed where Flora sat. "Technology should not be used to spy on other people, especially on people who are just leaving innocent gifts."
Flora frowned, knowing that her friend was right, but she was disappointed that it couldn't be done. The secret really began to upset her, as the sixth time was another plant that she had been ranting about ever since getting the monstera. The snake plant was left in her dorm room and instead of bringing it to the greenhouse this time, the evergreen was placed in such a beautiful white pot that she didn't have the heart to remove it from her desk, seeing at how perfect it looked amongst her aesthetic.
She wished she had been more persistent with Tecna, because then maybe she could've caught the seventh time it happened, the white anemones were laying on her bed against the pillow, and maybe she could've put an end to this mystery.
So many thoughts and ideas ran through her head as the days went on, and the thought of the mystery man consumed her day to day life. Flora would come back to her from class and be disappointed when there was no gift laying in wait. She would blush every time they hung out with the boys and the girls teased her for having a secret admirer, and she would have to listen to Sky and Brandon suggest a million ideas on how to catch Flower Boy.
For a few months, it didn't happen again, and life moved on and so did the other girls. Flora got over the disappointment of not being able to discover who the secret was and instead focused on her studies and missions, hanging out with the Winx and Specialists to distract herself, and tended to her garden, still making sure that her little field dedicated to her mystery flowers remained blooming.
"Where are you going?"
"Magix," Flora responded, adjusting the tote bag in her arm. "I need a few more seeds to finish planting my snapdragons for the season."
Walked out of the room after saying her goodbyes, Flora began her journey to Magix. She got on the bus at Alfea's entrance, listening to the busy buzz of students and teachers on the bus, who were enjoying their free Saturday afternoon. Once Magix was in sight, Flora stepped out of the vehicle, and she eyed the florist down the street, smiling at how bustling the store was. She began walking towards the shop, but paused when a familiar head of maroon locks walked out the door.
Flora couldn't believe her eyes. She watched as Riven walked out of the florist, a bundle of orange peonies in his hands. It was an unexpected sight, Riven had on his signature facial expression, eyebrows curled in a frown, lips in a straight line, but he was walking with the flowers so delicately, holding them upright and making sure that the stems didn't break.
She wondered who he was buying the flowers for. From what she recalled, he wasn't in a relationship, and Musa and he had decided on just being friends and nothing more. Maybe he was dating someone they didn't know about.
Or could Riven be Flower Boy?
Flora shook her head, walking into the florist once Riven rode off on his bike, flowers still carefully held in his hands. It couldn't be him. It's been a long time since she's received anything from Flower Boy, so she had thought that it was over. And why would Riven be giving her flowers and plants anyways? He was never interested in her like that.
However, the same orange peonies were on her desk the next day and it confirmed her suspicions.
"Whoa, they're back."
Flora nodded, staring at the peonies in her hands. There was no doubt that they were the same ones that Riven was holding yesterday. But what did that mean? He was her secret admirer this whole time? Maybe he was just the messenger?
"Do you still not know who it could be?" Bloom asked, flopping down onto her bed.
"No," Flora lied, putting the flowers back down on her desk. "I don't."
She grabbed her bag, throwing in her keys and phone before marching over to the door. She had to confront Riven, she had waited too long trying to know who this mystery man was to sit and question the idea of if he was the one or not. If it wasn't him, she was going to make him tell her who it was.
"Where are you going?"
"To the greenhouse."
"What about your flowers?"
Flora was already out the door. She made the trek to Red Fountain, since it was late and no buses were running, she used the time to think about what she was going to say to Riven. She racked her brain trying to connect the dots of when the gifts began to appear in her room to Riven, and she was surprised at how many times she overlooked his presence.
She thought back at all the times they had hung out over the past year, usually with one or two others, but he was the only common denominator when she talked about which flowers were her favorite or what plant she had wanted next.
Riven was there when they were with Musa and Aisha at the coffee shop and she mentioned how beautiful the petunias were growing in her garden, but she didn't have enough red ones to complete the row. He was there when Bloom told Flora about sunflowers from Earth, while studying at the library with him and Sky. He was there when she got distracted and found an article on monsteras while they were looking up a gift for Brandon to give to Stella. All the other instances in between and afterwards, Riven was there, and she had totally looked past it.
Deep in her heart, she knew it had to be Riven. There was no question as to if wasn't him anymore.
But she still didn't know what it meant. Riven was the last person she would have thought to be giving her these gifts because one, it was Riven, who was known to be unemotional and never do these types of gestural, romantic acts. Musa didn't like it anyways.
Two, why Flora? They were friends, of course, but she never thought they could be more. Maybe once or twice when she caught the shape of his large bicep when he had his arms crossed over his chest, or when his violet eyes lingered a little too long on hers, or when he caught her by surprise during one of their missions and were about to get caught so he had grab her and pin her against the wall using his body, a hand covering her mouth.
Shaking her head, Flora groaned, trying to get the feeling of his body pressed against her out of her mind.
Once Flora made it to Red Fountain, she walked over to the apartments, where the boys' door was luckily always unlocked. She slipped in, grateful to see that everyone was out, and that Riven's door was open.
"Hello?" Flora tapped on the ajar door with her knuckles, catching the attention of the maroon-haired Specialist who was sitting at his desk.
He looked up, but he didn't turn around. Riven turned his head ever so slightly, and Flora was only able to see his side profile.
"Thank you."
"For what?" Riven said, clenching his jaw.
Flora was unable to use her words, terrified that if she was wrong, it would lead down a road of embarrassment that she didn't think that she would ever recover from. But Flora knew she wasn't wrong. She can't be. She doesn't want to be.
"You're Flower Boy."
Riven didn't respond for a moment. He just stayed still, his eyes darting back towards his desk. She watched as his muscles in his neck tensed, and she tried not to stare at his toned bicep peeking out from under the tight t-shirt he had on.
"I hated that nickname," he said after a silence.
Flora held in her sigh of relief. Carefully, she walked into the room, shutting the door behind her as she did. She watched Riven, gauging the situation. Riven was a character of thin ice, one wrong step and you're on his bad side. But he didn't move.
She walked up behind him, and it wasn't until she lightly put a hand on his shoulder that he spun his chair around so that he finally faced her, only looking up slightly since even when sitting, he was still at a good height against Flora.
"Thank you," Flora said again, a small smile on her lips.
He just blinked, raising a hand to place over hers. She felt the calluses of his palm scratch the back of her hand, but she still shivered at the touch.
"Flo, I-"
Before he could say anything else, she leaned down, capturing his lips with hers, and Flora was surprised at how soft he was. The way his lips moved against hers, the way he grabbed her hand that was on his shoulder, the way he placed another hand on her hip to guide her to sit on his lap. She never expected Riven to be so gentle. She had always thought of him as firm and sharp, but with the delicacy of the gifts and how he was holding her right now, all that disappeared.
She raised her other hand to cup his face, opening her lips ever so slightly but enough for Riven to get the hint and slip his tongue in her mouth. Both of his large hands now laid on her hips, and she felt every one of the strokes of his thumb on the bare skin of her midriff.
Breaking for air, Flora leaned her forehead onto Riven's, and her emerald eyes fluttered open to lock with his violet eyes. They were shiny, filled with a look of care and passion that she never saw in him before, in anyone. He wrapped his arms around her waist, holding her against him and not allowing her to move from her position on his lap.
"What does this make us?" Riven whispered. He had not prepared to get caught so soon, so he didn't have a game plan of what to do. He had wanted, and needed, more time to think of a way to explain his actions, tell her his feelings, work out logistics of the group dynamic, go over their history. But Riven had nothing.
Flora bit her lip, stroking his cheek with her thumb before she leaned back, smiling at Riven. "I don't know, but I want to be your Flower Girl."
Riven chuckled, shaking his head at her joke. "I told you I hated that nickname," but he tightened his grip on Flora, making her squeal as he moved them onto the bed, falling onto his covers before connecting their lips again.
As much Riven despised being called something as soft and cheesy like that, he knew that he wanted to be Flora's Flower Boy forever.
sweet and fun chapter :) it got very serious in my last chap and in the next one i already wrote so i wanted to loosen the tension a little. also pls send me ideas and i'll try my best to write it!
