GYWO May Challenge: Speedwell (Bouquets)

[gaiages]

GYWO May Challenge: The Language of Flowers (Speedwell)
Bouquets

Bouquets can be beautiful—especially when they convey your feelings.

Rating: General Audiences

1,163 words
Relationship(s) / Characters: OC/OC ; OC & Alphinaud ; OC & Alisaie
Tags: Post-Endwalker (no spoilers) ; fluff ; wedding planning ; the language of flowers
CWs: none

Get Your Words Out (GYWO) does a monthly prompt challenge, and this month, you'd get a flower assigned to you and you'd go from there. I ended up getting speedwell, which I struggled with at first, but once I got the other names and saw they're often used in wedding floral arrangements, I knew what I had to do from there :)

Also, don't the twins deserve to be annoying little siblings excited to help? I love them

Other links: Tumblr | AO3

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Speedwell / Veronica / Bird's Eye

Female fidelity; Facility and semblance; loyalty, kindness, devotion and commitment

https://www.interflora.co.uk/page/flower-types/veronica

---

Laurent looks through the gardens of Gridania's Botanist Guild, tapping a finger to his cheek as his gaze falls over the colorful swathes of flowers. This is important, but there are so many I could use… what would be best…

"I don't get it—why are you so set on doing all the arrangements yourself?"

"You're the one who insisted we come, Alisaie. Let Laurent think for a moment before you pester him."

"Oh, you're one to talk, Alphinaud. Who was it that was asking questions every two seconds on the airship ride over here—"

Laurent sighs. They're the same as ever… The twins were dead set on helping with the bonding ceremony, but unfortunately for him and his fiance, they tended to be meddlesome than anything else.

Kris had been patient for a while, allowing the two to hover around and test the various meals he was cooking. However, at some point, he banned them from the kitchen, saying something about 'needing alone time to think' and 'having a headache'.

At the time, Laurent wondered what they could have possibly done to have Kris shoo them away, as calm and patient as he usually was—but as the twins continued to 'help' him with the floral arrangements, he was starting to see why.

They're just trying to help… I just need… to remember that… Laurent takes a deep breath before turning to the twins. "Did Kris tell you why he wanted to cook all the meals himself?"

Alphinaud looks down thoughtfully. "…I don't think we asked?"

"I tried to ask, but you kept pestering him about every single thing in the recipe!"

"I just wanted to learn how the ingredients worked together—"

"Stop! Stop." Laurent pinches the bridge of his nose. They're just… trying to help… "Taking care of the arrangements and picking out which flowers go in them is my way of showing how much I love him. Kris is doing the same, but with cooking instead."

"…Oh, that's really sweet…" Alisaie looks down at the blooms with a small smile, the faintest hint of a blush coloring her ears. I didn't take her to be the romantic type…

Her brother, however, is less impressed by his explanation. "That makes sense for a bouquet, but all the flowers? It seems like a lot… surely the other botanists can help?"

Laurent shrugs. "They could, yes, but I'd rather do it myself."

"But why—"

"Ugh, you just don't get it, Alphinaud—"

"Stop. Both of you. Don't interrupt." The bluntness in Laurent's tone causes the twins to fall silent, waiting for him to continue. He sighs again, then kneels near a specific set of blooms. "Flowers hold all sorts of meanings, beyond how they look. Picking the right ones to convey your feelings can be difficult, but if you do so properly, seeing the recipient's eyes light up when they see them makes it all worth it."

Laurent lightly brushes his fingers against the flowers he's kneeling next to. "Take these, for example. Many people call these speedwell flowers, though I prefer the name bird's eye. Different colored blooms have different meanings. These white ones convey commitment and devotion—perfect for a bonding bouquet, and why you see them so often."

He turns to the pink bird's eyes next to the white ones. "The pink blooms are used less frequently, but they hold the meanings of romance and tenderness… which also make them a good choice." Laurent carefully picks some white and pink flowers before standing up. "But these won't make for proper bouquets alone—at least, not for the ones I plan to make.

"You see…" Laurent walks between a few rows of carefully cultivated flowers, aware of the twins following close behind him—and blissfully silent. "Most bonding bouquets will have roses as their centerpiece. It makes sense, as they're the most common symbol of love, but… Kris and I have a different flower that holds special meaning for us."

After walking a bit further, Laurent stops next to a plot of carnations. "These carnations… they can represent all sorts of things in floriography, but…" He picks some of the blooms and looks at them, a tender expression on his face. "More important than that… is that these white and black carnations represent our love and devotion to one another. Even if I told another botanist that, the likelihood they'd be able to arrange them in a way that conveyed the message properly is low."

Laurent waves the twins over. "Come here. Hold the bouquets for me, we're not quite done yet. Don't jumble them up now—" They continue to walk through the Gridanian gardens, Laurent occasionally stopping to pick a few flowers for the bouquets, and the twins carefully holding the growing bundles as to not upset their placement.

Eventually, he kneels down. "There, that should do it. Let me just…" Laurent carefully takes each bouquet and binds the stems together with twine before handing them back.

The twins look down at the small bouquets. While they seem relatively simple on the surface—one of predominantly white carnations and pink bird's eyes, the other black carnations and white bird's eye—knowing the sentiment behind the bouquets and the thought that went into it made the bundles far more beautiful than any arrangement they'd seen before.

"Wow…" Alisaie looked at the bouquets with a smile. "They're so beautiful…"

"I've never really thought of flowers this way!" Alphinaud mirrored his sister's smile, then looked at Laurent inquisitively. "You know, I don't think I've heard you talk this much before…"

"Huh?" Laurent doesn't look up from examining some lavender. "I'm not sure what you mean."

"You're right, Alphinaud!" Alisaie looks up from the flowers. "Normally, Laurent will just stand around looking all grumpy and mean—"

"—I'm not mean—"

"—then just give you a look if you ask something until you leave."

Laurent sighs and lifts his gaze from the lavender to look at the twins, and Alisaie laughs. "See, just like that!"

"…I'm not giving you a look…" It was so nice while they were quiet…

"Don't tease him, Alisaie." Alphinaud chuckles despite himself, then clears his throat. "Still, you practically held a lecture for us out here."

"Hm. I suppose I did…?" Laurent frowns slightly. Eir would always listen to me talk about flowers and ask questions… so I didn't think about how it may bore them…

"Well, I for one think this is a far more interesting lecture than anything I've heard at the Studium." Alisaie sits down next to Laurent and looks at the lavender he was examining. "Is that lavender? Are you going to use it in some arrangement too? What does it mean?"

Laurent huffs at the barrage of questions, but he couldn't hide his smile at Alisaie's interest. "Ah, well, these are very calming flowers, so…"

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~