Can Ram Say, "I Love You."?

Kiss Your Tulips

Conveniently near the school, Ram had taken a visit with Duen and Bohn to the flower shop the couple often frequented. Bohn was an unwanted guest, mainly because the cool boy knew he'd be the third wheel if Bohn came with, and he somehow still managed to show up. Duen seemed all too eager to help choose the perfect flower for his friend's first lover and said that Bohn would be a great asset considering he was King's closest friend.

The shop was small and quaint, yet despite it size held a great variety of beautiful flowers. It was centered with piles of roses rich in color, assorting from white to the deepest red. As pretty as the roses were, they were too common for Ram's taste. He wanted a special flower for someone special.

A row of blue flowers in the corner of the store caught his eye, alluring him in with little whispers of, "P'King." He made his way to them and slid one of their petals between his fingertips. The lover had noticed that King loved to pet his plants and wanted him to feel the softest petals. Deciding these were perfect, he picked up the pot only to see a giant hand force them back on the shelf. Bohn entered his vision with a handful of unknown, red flowers.

"Hydrangeas aren't romantic. You should get these. They symbolize love," Bohn urged the flowers to Ram with a smirk. Ram glared at him.

"Trust me. Considering all of the flowers I've bought for Duen, I'm practically an expert at this."

Ram didn't want to put his faith in Bohn, but he made a good point. Seeing that he had no reason not to believe him, he reluctantly purchased the rubied beauties.

On campus, Ram settled at a picnic table with the flowers wrapped nicely in front of him and anxiously waited for King. All day, his heart had been scampering as he impatiently waited for evening to arrive. He'd done his best to avoid interactions with King throughout his day, wanting their first interaction to make a big impact. It was difficult since King purposefully went out of his way to see his boyfriend at school, but somehow, as if by fate, he had managed to swerve from the clingy senior.

On queue, the bubbly boy seated himself next to Ram with a welcoming arm slung over his shoulder and a grin plastered on his face.

"There's the mystery man of the hour! Getting sick of me already?" King teased.

Ram rolled his eyes. When he took interest in something, or someone, it was nearly impossible for him to lose interest. His nature made him far too loyal. How could he ever get tired of that stupidly cute smile?

Even if Ram wanted to lose interest, he was too far gone. His future plans were made with King in mind, he had worked on communication for this person, and he was getting used to spending a lot of time with him. Since moving into his condo, they had learned each other's patterns, watched movies together, and argued over video games. King had become part of Ram's routine.

"I'm getting sick of math," Ram said. It was one of his weaker subjects, especially since college had made it one hundred times more complicated.

"Anything I can help you with?" King removed his arm from Ram's shoulder and searched the table for his math homework that was usually covered in gray smudges and numbers. Rather than the papers and pens, he took notice of the bouquet resting on the table.

"What's this?" he picked up the flowers, immediately forgetting about their prior conversation, and admired the blossoms in their containment. He snuck his head through the entrance and drew a steady breath.

Ram watched him with a soft smile. Bohn was right, to his surprise. "They're for you. Do you know what these flowers mean?" he asked. It was a rhetorical question. King knew so much about plants that he was bound to know their meanings too. He'd say 'love', prompting Ram to make his confession.

"Yep, these are carnations. They are commonly used for Mother's Day to symbolize maternal love," King said with a twinkle in his eyes. He set the flowers back in place and glanced at Ram with his head teetered to the side.

WHAT? Bohn! You idiot! He wanted romantic love, not motherly love. Ram felt panicked at the unexpected turn of events. The poor boy had been preparing for a different outcomes and planned how to act for each one, but this was not on the list of options.

The worst outcome was that King would feel overwhelmed and break up with him, which was Ram's worst nightmare but also very unlikely to happen. A neutral outcome would be King accepting his love and not returning it but still staying together. Ram's hope was for King to have matched feelings.

"Wait, is this your way of asking me to meet my mother?" King asked.

Of course, King would come to that conclusion. Ram had offered King Mother's Day flowers. His body wilted at the thought of meeting his family. Parents could be the most judgmental people. Seeing that King loved his mother to death, if she disapproved of Ram then he would be dumped that second. King's sister approved, but she was obsessed with boy's love! His mind turned to a puddle, not knowing what to say.

"Let's talk about family meetings later. I can give my mom the flowers though. That'd make a great first impression," King said with an assuring grin. He patted Ram's hand and waited for Ram to give him the 'okay'. They had come so far with communication.

"Sure," Ram slightly nodded and hoisted his backpack from his seat to pull out his homework.