22th story in my series of short stories with various VK characters. Independent from the previous 21. :D
#: 22
Title: "Waiting for you."
Characters: Kaname-centered, a few others appear as well. :)
AU. And not all is what it seems to be. *lol* XD
.
.
Each day was like an endless cycle for Kaname.
The owner of the shop would roll up the shutters, and he'd flinch at the sudden sunlight hitting his sensitive senses.
The man would carry him back into a more shady area so that he didn't burn up during the hotter hours of the day, but always made sure to leave him in full sight of the customers.
Kaname was after all, among the most beautiful merchandise in that shop, far superior to anyone surrounding him.
The business hours would start, and with them, a continuous stream of people coming in and out of the shop, the noise, smells, heavy movements all inevitably disturbing to Kaname and the others, but that was inevitable whenever there was any interaction between humans and them.
Ironic, that the humans should be able to disturb them so much and yet find them so beautiful and desirable, constantly approaching them as if fascinated.
Each day, Kaname would watch the procession of customers coming in, looking around and leaving, or staying a little longer and choosing one of them. There were always new arrivals, so their number rarely diminished, although it was always bittersweet to see faces he'd grown used to seeing leave.
Aidou, a bubbly youngster who had grown on Kaname despite everything, had been picked up and sold the previous day.
The customer who took him home had spent quite a while looking at Kaname first, but the price tag attached to him made the man settle for Aidou instead.
Kaname was far, far more expensive.
He sighed softly as he watched the rain outside, and people rushing in the street, trying to avoid the drops by covering themselves with folded newspapers and all sorts of things. He wondered what that might feel like. He'd been locked indoors all his life, and never felt rain falling on his body.
He'd never known the freedom of being outside or feeling the wind on his face, much less rain.
It looked like something that must be so pleasant. And it probably would be refreshing, even with the sunlight outside.
But then, he was far too delicate and too expensive. Resistant and resilient in his sheer ability to go on surviving, and yet paradoxically so precious and delicate.
The owner didn't even want to let him get too close to the windows, by fear that too much light might harm his delicate complexion.
With each day that passed, Kaname grew more beautiful and more desirable, but still, no one took him home with them, preferring instead the cheaper and less difficult to handle ones.
On top of being expensive, he was 'special'. They expected him to be a delicate and hard to care for thing, far too different from the more quick-rewarding and readily replaced ones.
Despite the constant disappointments, he still hoped, and each day he feigned a haughty disinterest while actually carefully scrutinizing each customer that entered the shop.
He watched them talk to the owner, wander through the shop, look at the others who were for sale or ask questions, and he carefully weighed each of their gestures and words, trying to guess what type of people they might be, and whether any of them would finally buy him and become his master.
Initially, he'd feared it a little, wondering how it would be like, to be all alone, taken into someone's house and not knowing what to expect of them and all.
But the more time had passed, the more he was worried that maybe no one would choose him. That he would always be left behind, and that no one would ever love him and care for him.
Not that the owner didn't care for them, but it just… It wasn't the same thing.
The man did take great care of them, grooming them and arranging them beautifully every day, but one couldn't exactly say he loved them, or at least not the way Kaname wanted to be loved.
The man's love was a vaguely fatherly, vaguely mercantile type of thing, while Kaname wanted to be loved with the true passion that sweeps one off their feet and carries them away. A passion that would be strong enough to make him want that person to take his body and soul for themselves.
Sometimes, he wondered if maybe he had idealized views of such things.
He was horrified by the idea that maybe one day someone would drop by, take a casual look at him and buy him, only to lock him somewhere and forget about him after a short while, leaving him to spend the rest of his life in meaningless emptiness.
Now that would be horrifying. He'd much rather be stuck in the shop forever than have a master that didn't care for him.
But that fear aside, each day he watched each of the customers, holding his breath as they approached him, trying his best to look as seductive as he could, whenever the customer approaching seemed a nice person.
What if I misjudged them though…?
He shuddered at the thought, wondering if his eventual master would be a gentle one who would care for him with pleasurable caresses and soft words, or if it would be a cruel and uncaring one, that would bind him cruelly and ravage him until his body could take no more and wished for nothing but a welcome end.
He tried to look uninteresting whenever customers that appeared to be of the less pleasant type approached him, but that was far from being easy, for one who looked as gorgeous as him. It was no wonder that the owner always set up the displays with Kaname as the center of interest.
Finally, on another rainy afternoon, a young man with striking silver hair and eyes of a soft amethyst shade came in, catching everybody's attention. He'd run there after having been caught under the rain without an umbrella. He was slightly out of breath as he brushed droplets of rain off his silky hair, and Kaname felt like he'd never seen a human this enchanting.
If only he could choose me, I am sure I would be happy.
But after such a long wait living in that shop, and after getting used to seeing people come in and out without buying him each and every single day, Kaname had little hope.
The man was so lively and looked so energetic. They were absolutely opposites in everything, so what hope could he have that the other would even be interested in him to begin with? Not to mention that Kaname also feared that perhaps the other wouldn't have enough to purchase him, from how young he was.
Much to Kaname's surprise, the young man, which the shop owner seemed to know and called by his name –Zero, a name Kaname instantly committed to his memory as soon as he heard it—, approached the display and didn't even pay attention to anyone else, staring straight at him and at none of the others.
For a second, Kaname felt as if his heart had stopped, as the young man's face approached him, little beads of rain still stuck to his hair and eyelashes, an angelic smile on his lips.
He feared that his heart might break if that young man were to suddenly turn away and leave like each of the other customers.
But instead, Zero raised his hand and gently caressed him. On a rather sensitive spot.
Kaname's confusion and –much to his own surprise— delighted shock were such that he slightly blanked out, and the next thing he noticed, he was in Zero's arms, and the young man carried him to the cashier desk with complete ease.
"I'll take this one, please."
If it was possible to cling to someone for fear that the dream would suddenly end or something, Kaname clung with all he had. Zero didn't even seem surprised by the price or anything, although he vaguely mentioned while talking to the cashier that he wouldn't have had enough if not for the chairman of his school having given him some money earlier that day. The cashier, on the other hand, explained to Zero about Kaname's origins and rarity, talking about the nine orchids and other such legends, while giving him a little booklet on how to care for his new purchase.
"You made an excellent choice, sir. This orchid is really the most beautiful specimen in this flower shop. Just make sure to keep it out of the direct sunlight and give it water once or twice a week. It would be best to apply the water to the base rather than the leaves, although you can also wipe the leaves dry after misting."
Zero nodded attentively, and the owner put a shiny sateen ribbon around Kaname's pot to complete the packaging, before smiling at Zero, who in turn looked at Kaname and beamed that angelic smile of his once more.
Kaname felt as if he was swooning again, and leaned happily into the young man's embrace as Zero carried him away, out of the shop and towards a new life which would certainly be filled with happiness.
.
.
Epilogue:
"Oh, Zero, it's so gorgeous! I can't accept it!!"
"Of course you can, Yuuki! It's your birthday present, the chairman even contributed so that we'd get it for you together."
"But… it looks so attached to you…"
She did have a point. If it was in any way possible for a plant to cling onto someone, Kaname was doing it. Zero almost did a double-take when he looked closer at the orchid and realized what Yuuki meant.
And truth to be said, much as he felt guilty for harboring such feelings for something purchased as a present for Yuuki, Zero had to admit that for some reason he was also very reluctant to let go of the elegant orchid. Perhaps they could find a compromise that would please all three of them...
"Well, we do both live in the same Sun Dorms, and the buildings are really close… I suppose if you insist we could always take care of it together, or take turns with who keeps it in their room?"
Yuuki beamed happily at the suggestion. "That would work great!"
She hugged the pot, and Zero caressed the petals of one of the flowers with the tip of a finger. Kaname shuddered hard under the contact, and couldn't help but swoon again, flooded with pleasure from the young man's touch, his brain seeming to be overloaded by the sensations and unable to function properly.
But it was a delicious feeling, and he knew now that he would be very happy with them.
.
.
.
I bet you were expecting another brothel AU? XD *LOL*
This is in part inspired by me having named my orchid "Kaname". XD;
*names many of her plants after VK characters, has a "Kaname" orchid and a "Kaname" rose*
I agree with kanshou87's review that Kaname MUST be able to magically switch from plant to person body, hahaha~! XD I had the same thing in mind too. XD *lol*
Sex life will be far more interesting if he can. *is shot* 8D *lol*
The original plot bunny was to be more serious, longer, and have more angst about Kaname's fears that his master would be one who would lose interest in him fast and let him to dry up in some corner, or one who would take poor care of him and mess things up one way or another. XD;
(The part about binding and all was inspired by having seen orchids for sale in a shop that were tightly tied to the little wooden pole, with their leaves trimmed shorter because the tips had dried due to too much light or not enough water… XD; They looked a bit hurt by it, hence the line in the fic about binding and ravaging.
Gardening-wise, it's probably not as bad for them as it sounds (maybe... *felt bad for the planties anyway* D:), but anything can and will trigger strange angsty plot bunnies in my depraved mind, soooo… XD;;; Orchids and roses inevitably make me think of Kaname, so it was bound to happen. XD; *lol*