Pink Roses and Sweet Peas

by sam_art66

Summary:

Barok decides to pay Mr. Naruhodou a visit.

It has been a very long day for Barok.

His apprentice was nowhere to be found, leaving him to deal with all the work by himself. He was used to this, considering he worked alone for a very long time, but it definitely took a toll on his mood. He had plans for this day, and wanted to get the work done as soon as possible.
When he exited his office, the sun was already starting to set, coloring the sky in a gentle orange hue. Such a beautiful sky seemed more than appropriate for today, in Barok’s opinion - after all, today he is supposed to go visit Mr. Naruhodou.

He decides to go on foot, considering whether he should buy something on his way. As he passes by several shopping stands, he watches the crowd. There is something serene, about the way people run around with their errands and take care of their shops as if it was any normal day, while to him it was such a special occasion.
That last thought makes his heart ache, just a bit.

One of the stands catches his eye, with its colorful flowers and wrappings. A flower shop. He approaches the shopkeeper, avoiding all eye contact. Barok wonders what sort of flowers would Mr. Naruhodou like, but in the end, vaguely remembers that the man couldn’t tell apart a lily from a rose, even if his life would depend on it. He sighs quietly in disappointment; this leaves the choice of flowers entirely up to him.

He tries to remember the meanings of the flowers before him, in his mind, the childhood memory of skimming through Klimt’s new book is very vivid, yet the contents of the book have mostly slipped away… he can feel the time pressure, as the shopkeeper looks at him, waiting for his order. Finally, amongst all the roses, he spots a singular pink one. Of trust and happiness… a gentle flower of a beautiful meaning - perfect for a gift! He recalls, his brother’s voice echoing in his head.
He mentions the flower to the shopkeeper, but frowns when he sees a “bouquet” composed of merely one flower. As he asks to surround the rose with the gentle sweet peas, wondering whether this would be appropriate as a gift… but he decided to go through with it, and paid for the pink bouquet.

As he turns around, ready to resume his walk, he spots familiar pink hair in the crowd. Iris clearly has noticed him too, rushing to him cheerily.
Regardless of his previous annoyance with work holding him back from the visit, he decides that it would be highly impolite to reject a conversation. Iris inquires about the flowers immediately. Her brows furrow slightly at the mention of Mr. Naruhodou, but the frown disappears as quickly as it appeared, leaving Barok to wonder whether it was just his imagination. The girl is polite enough to invite him over for tea, but he politely declines - but under some pressure from her, promises to come over some other day.

After Iris runs out of topics to chat him up about, they bid each other farewell, and Barok finally resumes his journey with relief. His pace quickens, as he notices the sky went from a soft orange into an intense red hue. He’d feel bad were he to arrive after dark.

Finally, in front of him is the destination of his journey. He opens the cold, iron gate and walks in further. As he ventures further down the path, he starts doubting his memory. But after one more turn, he’s finally there. His heart freezes for a split moment, but he doesn’t stop his walk, until he’s right there in front of him. He takes a deep breath, to calm himself, and finally speaks up:

-Hello… Mr. Naruhodou.-

He checks on the flowers one more time, making sure the arrangement looks good.

-I apologize for arriving so late. Were it up to me entirely, I would come here first thing in the morning. But I suppose it’s better this way… since I’m done with all the work for today, I can keep you company for much longer.-

Barok kneels down and places the flowers gently, on the marble plate of a simple gravestone. He finds no more strength in himself to get back up on his feet.
-I sincerely hope you like the bouquet… and pray do forgive, adding sweet peas. This is definitely not our goodbye, I just thought that perhaps, they would be to your liking. Although if you’d prefer something else, I will readily oblige.-

He closes his eyes, knowing no answer will come.