"You're positive it's okay for you to bring me here? Because I'd really feel awful if I got you in trouble."
Audrey hesitated when the door slid open, but Seymour had already entered the room, and he turned around to smile reassuringly.
"I promise, I won't get in trouble with anyone."
Audrey still took a moment to look at the small plaque by the door, wanting to be extra certain that it didn't say anything about 'Authorized Personnel Only.' Though it didn't say anything of the sort, it did have something else that caught her interest, and she moved closer to make sure she was reading it correctly. She was still getting used to the alphabet they used here, and though she could hardly even begin to decipher the fancy lettering on her new friend's shirt, the label here had opted for a much more straightforward font that made it a lot easier to read, even if the words were on the lengthy side.
"Seymour Krelborn Xenobotanical Lab." She read aloud. Her curiosity piqued, she turned back to look at him again. "How come it has your name?"
"Oh, well, um…" Seymour looked away, awkwardly rubbing a hand at the back of his neck. He'd been hoping she wouldn't notice. "The thing is… it's sort of my lab. I mean, the ship owns the space, but…"
"But you get to decide what happens in there?"
He nodded, though he was still avoiding looking at her.
Audrey watched him closely as he avoided her eyes. Most people she knew would have been eager to brag about this sort of thing, but from the way he had talked about it, she would have thought that he was just an intern of some sort.
"So you were just being humble when you said you worked here?" She asked.
He still couldn't seem to meet her eyes, and Audrey thought he looked embarrassed, like he didn't quite think he deserved it. She considered telling him that she thought it was very impressive, but decided that it might be better not to push the subject. Maybe he'd feel more like talking about it another time.
Finally following him into the room, Audrey was greeted with the sight of more plants than she'd ever seen in one place before, and anything else was quickly forgotten as Seymour began to show her around. She noticed that he almost immediately seemed to be more at ease while he began to ramble about all of the different species he was studying, and Audrey was more than happy to hang on every word.
He first led her over to a couple of ferns that grew red and yellow leaves, and he explained how their planet orbited a blue star, and those colors were better than green for absorbing that kind of light. Though it he mainly focused on terrestrial plants, he showed her over to one part of the room with a tank for growing aquatic specimens. A few feet of one of the walls had been lined with several different kinds of rocks and bricks, and Seymour explained that he was using the area to study a kind of ivy that would change colors depending on the minerals in whatever surface it was climbing. Audrey felt she could happily spend an eternity looking at plants she'd never seen before, but eventually, he opened up the walls of a small terrarium growing a plant that looked more familiar to her.
"Oh, here's one from your home! I've always loved the way it lights up."
Audrey couldn't quite manage to share his enthusiasm, though Seymour was too busy watching the twinkling bioluminescence to notice.
They were tough, leathery buds that grew surrounded by tangles of branches, carefully guarded against the wildlife that would have lived around them on Areole. She always thought it was a shame that they had to work so hard to stay alive, that they didn't have much choice but to spend their whole lives trapped. She wondered if these flowers had any way of learning to reach out and enjoy the world now that they were here on the ship, or if that sense of distrust was something too deeply ingrained.
"It's how it stays safe." She told him, idly reaching out to touch one of the branches keeping the buds caged in. "There's not a lot that grows back home, and it has to protect itself. When the lights blink on and off like that, it's harder for animals to figure out what part to try and eat."
Seymour had already learned all about it, but he figured it would be rude to say so, especially after Audrey had been so eagerly willing to listen to him. And besides, he was more concerned about why she looked a bit sad all of a sudden. He hoped he hadn't said anything wrong.
Pulling her gaze away, Audrey tried to brush the somber thoughts aside and asked him, "Do you have anything from your planet?"
Seymour nodded, and motioned for her to follow him over towards the far corner of the room. "I'm not really doing any tests on them, but I keep some around just to have something familiar."
Whatever might have been troubling her, it seemed to quickly leave her mind once he was showing her his collection of Earth flowers. He had tried to make sure he brought along a small sample of all things they had back in the shop, and Audrey was positively beaming as he explained all of their names.
Audrey thought the flowers all looked so soft and delicate that she worried she'd break them if she touched any, but she listened in fascination as Seymour told her all about them. She'd spent a lot of time looking at pictures, but now that she was seeing them in person, she was even more awestruck to see just how many shapes and colors there were.
Seeing how delighted she looked, Seymour decided to offer, "Would you like to take some?"
Audrey looked over at him, her expression furrowing in confusion. "What for?"
"You know, just to have them. I could get you a vase for your quarters if you'd like."
Audrey studied his face, wondering if this might be some sort of humor she didn't quite understand. Thinking back carefully, she did remember reading something about the customs Earth had surrounding plants, and how flowers were so plentiful that people could have their own, even if they just wanted to use them for decoration. She wasn't quite sure if she believed it at the time, though now it appeared to be true after all.
"You're sure you don't mind?"
"Of course, it's fine. I don't really need the Earth plants for anything, so you can pick any you'd like."
Audrey hardly knew how to begin choosing, but eventually her gaze settled on a plant with branching stems, and while the blossoms were small, there were many of them. So many she didn't think she could count them even if she tried. "Oh, this one's lovely. It's like when you look out the window and see the stars."
Seymour didn't have the heart to mention that baby's breath was typically something they just used as a backdrop for larger and more impressive flowers. He quickly decided that if Audrey looked at them and saw the wonder of the stars, then clearly they were something worth admiring.
Before long, he had grabbed a nearby pair of shears and trimmed off a bundle of the white flowers, and as happy as he was to see the look on Audrey's face, he was surprised when he also felt a strong ache inside. He hadn't realized until then that he was really starting to miss this. They didn't get visitors often back in the shop, and enthusiastic customers were even more uncommon, but on the rare occasions when someone was happy to be there, it was nice to know that he'd done something that could help to brighten their life. He found himself wishing he'd thought to bring along some ribbon he could use to tie them together for her. Though it wouldn't have done a lot of good anyway, seeing as he'd never really gotten the hang of trying a decent bow.
If her smile was any indication, Audrey didn't mind.