"Daisuke, I swear, if I have to pull you out of there…!" Levi chuckled as he looked down. His boyfriend lay on his back, half hidden by a bush. Pfft! He looks like a mechanic working under a car! The dark-skinned man could near the snip of his boyfriend's clippers as he trimmed the bush from below. They and two others—Clover Eves and Peter Graham—were volunteering at the local library, helping maintain the garden outside.
As the resident botanist, Daisuke led the way. Clover didn't know him or his boyfriend, Levi Emerson, but she also loved gardening, even if only on a recreational level. She, too, saw the library's flyer request for aid and signed up. Like Levi, Clover's boyfriend, Peter, came along only as an excuse to spend more time with her. At present, they were one flower bed away, and she was excitedly dangling a wiggling worm in his face.
"Awwww, look at it, it's so cute!" the orange-haired girl cried as the worm writhed across her pale palm.
"Let me see!" Daisuke sat up at once, pushing through branches and leaves as if they weren't even there, hopping up and striding over to Clover.
"Of course! I say something standing right here and you don't hear it," Levi chuckled to himself. "That Clover girl says something about a worm and you're off! I swear, you love gardening more than you love me! In fact, you're falling in love all over again right now!"
In his haste to see the worm, Daisuke pushed the entire bush up to crawl out from beneath it, and it landed with a soft but heavy thud when he released it. Levi chuckled and shook his head again. Strong and stubborn as an ox, that man was.
"Marvelous!" Daisuke cried, adjusting his glasses to get a better look at the specimen Clover held. Peter gave them both an awkward, slightly nervous smile. He wasn't scared of worms, but he didn't see how they were cute. He locked eyes with Levi, who seemed to agree.
Don't question it, the taller, older man advised silently.
Don't worry, I don't. Peter's eyes crinkled behind his glasses in a smile. He'd been with Clover long enough to know she had a heart so big it ached even for worms. Because of her love of gardening, she'd sliced many a worm in half in her day (always accidentally) and she was always was guilty.
"You know it doesn't kill them, right?" Peter once asked, observing his girlfriend wincing and worrying over a worm she bisected.
"I know! But I still feel bad!" It was an accurate summary of Clover. Now she and Daisuke fawned over the worm as if it was a pet or a mascot.
Good thing he's gay! Levi thought with a smirk, watching his boyfriend gush as he rambled excitedly with Clover. After a while, the gamer finally turned his attention back to his part of the library garden. He bent over and firmly grasped a nearby weed.
"Hnnnngh!" His back muscles tensed and flexed. "I shouldn't need a powerup for such a tiny thing! HRRRNNNGGG—!"
"Ahem."
"Daisuke!" Levi stumbled back, releasing the plant in his surprise. Oh, NOW you notice me, huh?! Of course, it's plant-related…
"Allow me," Daisuke teased, bending over and pinching the weed. Despite himself, Levi watched closely, interested to see just how easy it would be for Daisuke "the Ox" Hirano, especially since he was only using his thumb and forefinger. Daisuke gave it a gentle twist, wiggling it, and then it came right up, roots and all.
"Whaaaat?!" Levi cried. "What kind of cheat code, God mode hack was that?!"
"The Green Thumb Intelligence and/or Anti-Emerson Buff, I guess," Daisuke chuckled and shrugged his broad shoulders.
Despite himself, Levi had to smile. Oh, Daisuke, I love when you indulge me in my stupid gay-mer humor!
A few feet away, and a few minutes later, Peter made the same mistake Levi did, only he wasn't able to keep himself balanced.
"Woah!" The boy tumbled backward. His face flushed in embarrassment while Clover gasped in surprise and alarm.
"Déjà vu!" Levi muttered when she reached out a hand to help him up. Daisuke stood behind Levi, sighing happily at the scene. After gently correcting the boy, teaching him how to properly remove small weeds from gardens, Peter didn't stumble again.
"It's just sad that these ones are considered weeds," he remarked, looking at the clovers in his hand.
"Oh, is that why you chose to start on this side of the garden?" Clover laughed, and Peter nodded shyly.
It's sappy, yeah, but I'm a hopeless romantic! AndClover was incredibly kind and warm. She was one of his biggest supporters as he transitioned. He knew he was trans long before they met, but they happened to meet around the time he was just starting HRT. She literally and metaphorically held his hand through it all. He was glad to say that nobody he knew personally was transphobic, but there was something extra special about Clover. My friends and family gladly and proudly fly the trans flag for me, but Clover Eves knows exactly what I need as Peter Graham!
"Wait. Seriously? Awww…!" Clover laughed and Peter's face grew even warmer.
It feels the way her hair looks! He thought, brown eyes darting to his girlfriend's orange hair. "Sorry, I had to kill ya," he joked weakly, eyes darting to the fistful of clovers again. No, wait, dumb joke! Dumb joke! "A-a-also, you know what's funny? I used to think these were the only clovers that existed. I mean, I hadn't known they were also pink flowers!" he rambled.
"Ah, yes!" Daisuke's eyes lit up again as he and Levi walked over to the other happy couple.
Seriously! It's like a dog whistle! Mention anything about gardening—or things in gardens—and he just… materializes! Levi snickered.
"Trifolium pratense! Or the red clover. Trifolium repens, meanwhile, is the white clover. As I'm sure you can guess, Trifolium is clover. Well, technically it means "three-leaf". But clovers can also be known as trefoil—" Daisuke happily listed every type of clover under the sun. His trio of companions exchanged amused looks, silently betting on how long he could talk without needing to breathe.
"Oh, wait, hey, look!" Peter cried suddenly. As they listened to Daisuke chatter, his eyes swept the ground, and lo and behold…
"No. Way." Both Levi and Clover were in disbelief, but a second later, Clover began to grin.
"Four-leaf clover!" Daisuke's voice drowned out Clover's in excitement and volume as Peter handed Clover the four-leaf clover, beaming proudly. "Did you know?" the botanist continued excitedly, "that there is an expression—to be (or to live) in clover—that means that one lives a carefree life of ease, comfort, or prosperity?" And the others didn't need to be botanists to get it.
AN: All this was based on real life, from trimming bushes from below, to loving worms, to twisting weeds out of the ground rather than pulling, to getting rid of clovers (sadly, all three-leaf).