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this'll be my first time sharing my writing here, so hopefully i've formatted everything correctly! afaik i don't think there are any necessary content warnings for this
based on the "love in bloom" theme, a little story about a man and his complicated feelings towards a certain tree and it's flowers, or rather the person the name of the tree reminds him of.
(genuinely though, this was fun to write, and resulted in the funny joke i made throughout the writing period about how i was writing a fic for a shipping oneshot competition, where half of my fic is about how much sordward hates sonia)
The mansion of Galar’s very own royal family was well kept, to nobody’s surprise boasting an equally marvelous garden to compliment the mansion itself, perhaps even being more of a marvel than their home. Day in and day out they had staff specifically posted to work on keeping the garden in an adequate state, with it being very common for them to invite their guests for a stroll around the garden.
Truly, nobody would dare deny it was a sight to behold.
Nobody except for the eldest son of the family, who found that one aspect of it bothered him. He would frequent the garden for his afternoon tea, finding himself sitting in an area home to some trees. That was what bugged him, not the trees themselves, but a specific flower that grew upon them.
Very frequently did he find the people around him in awe, complimentary of the beautiful magnolia flowers that bloomed on the tree. He just didn’t understand it, he hated them.
Or rather, he hated the name of the flower. He hated that name, serving to remind him of that woman and her grandmother, that accursed book they conspired against him to make. The way they had spread such slander on his family’s name, acting as though his ancestors were liars. He had almost tried to appreciate the flowers, trying to come up with other ways to call them or to just pretend they didn’t have a name altogether, but they still reminded him of that woman.
He wasn’t sure what it was, but every time he gazed at those flowers in their beauty, he could only think of her, he could only see her face. The shadow they cast over him, reminiscent of how she had obscured his family’s legacy with that book. The way the flowers would eventually fall off of the tree, landing in his tea as though to mock him. Mocking how no matter how much he tried, all paths of his life seemed to continue leading to her.
And yet, he couldn’t bring himself to do anything about it. It felt wrong to ask the staff to remove those trees, after all he appreciated his workers, and he wouldn’t dare ask them to get rid of something they had dedicated so much time to already. He wouldn’t avoid sitting there as usual despite how much it bothered him, he was too used to that spot. And worst of all, he couldn’t bring himself to forget about Sonia. No matter how much he felt as though she had ruined his life, he found himself thinking about her a lot. He wasn’t sure if it was admiration, or perhaps jealousy that she had everything he wanted. That she had made a name for herself beyond her family’s legacy. That she had made her family proud of her, while he had only managed to make his family look worse in the eyes of the public, something his parents made sure he knew they weren’t happy with.
He sat himself down at the table again, blowing on the cup before taking a sip, being careful to avoid burning himself. It was quiet out, with his team of Pokemon laying across the yard. Sirfetch’d was resting against Golisopod’s shell, his leek sword and shield laying next to it. Bisharp seemed to be the only one still awake, getting up to some quiet training alone, making sure to sharpen its blades. A lone magnolia flower fell from the tree, drifting down and landing just in front of him on the table.
He wasn’t annoyed. Maybe it was that it hadn’t landed in his tea like they had a nasty habit of doing, or maybe that he just was feeling a bit odd on that day. He found himself staring at the flower for a moment before picking it up, being gentle as to not disturb its current state. The sun reflected through the branches, illuminating the hands he was holding the flower with.
Feeling the sun shine onto him like that through these trees was unusual, but it was a welcome sensation.
The flower in his hands was soft, he was afraid that if he even held it the wrong way, it’d be ruined. It was beautiful to look at, it reminded him of something.
He shook his head, putting it down. Surely that wasn’t it, he wasn’t thinking of her. What a foolish idea, that he’d consider her beautiful after all she’s done to him. His feelings for the flower have nothing to do with his feelings towards her, he reassured himself, as though his hatred towards it hadn’t stemmed from that very thing.
Sordward was sure of one thing, he didn’t think Sonia was beautiful. He would agree she was attractive, with her eyes as bright as her personality, the way her hair would always be tied up with these adorable heart pins in it, the same pins she’d use to decorate the rest of her outfit. She was a very fashionable woman, always sure to catch his eye with it. Her face was well structured, her body was nice, though he tried not to take note of that too much out of respect.
Surely, it didn’t mean anything to just acknowledge that someone was objectively attractive. He didn’t understand why his chest suddenly felt tight at the thought, or why his face felt hot. His eyes drifted back towards that flower again. Perhaps he shouldn’t spend too much time in the garden if he was having these thoughts.
He finished his tea, finally recalling his Pokemon to go back inside and to his study for some reading. He looked through his bookshelves, freezing when he got to one particular entry in his collection.
What a nuisance.
He didn’t understand why he hadn’t just thrown that blasphemous garbage out already. Perhaps it was for the same reason he couldn’t bring himself to request his staff to get rid of those flowers, and why he couldn’t stop thinking about her. Her constant presence in his thoughts only served to annoy him more.
And yet, despite his internal complaining he found himself picking out that very book to read.
A guest had replaced him in his usual spot, enjoying tea while a little electric dog twitched as it slept in her lap, as though having a rather eventful dream. Sordward was nearby, watering some newly planted seeds. A small amount of the trees had already begun to grow, showcasing some newly bloomed parkinsonia flowers. Their bright appearance complimented the pure white of the nearby magnolia trees only a little less than the woman sitting beneath them did. He placed down the watering can, stepping over to take a seat across from the woman at the table.
“I can see why you wanted to show me this garden…” She twirled her hair, one hand gripping the handle of her cup. “It’s beautiful.”
She seemed content, seemingly lost in her own mind as she stared into the distance, but he still seemed somewhat bothered. Had she really not realized why he brought her to see this?
“Professor, do you know the significance of these trees?”
“Hm?” She tilted her head. “Well, I know that this is a magnolia tree, just like my family name…”
Sordward smiled, nodding as he continued on. Of course she would know that, she was likely the smartest person he knew.
“These magnolia trees have been present in the garden for a while. I’ve frequented this spot during my afternoon tea for years.” He paused, fiddling with the golden button on his sleeve. “However, I used to hate these trees. I despised it whenever the flowers would fall and land in my tea. I despised how often people would compliment them specifically out of anything else in the garden. And most of all, I hated that whenever I saw these trees, you were the only thing that would come to mind."
He swallowed a lump in his throat. Should he really be saying all of this? It may have been the truth, but it was surely coming off rather harshly. Still, he felt like this was something he needed to get off his chest, a confession he needed to make. He almost found himself chuckling at his own thought process, just how much he had changed to feel as though he should honestly tell Sonia of all people how he's felt all along. Part of him felt a bit sour admitting it to her of all people, no matter what their relationship now was.
“It was this spot in which I realized I was in love with you, Professor. One of these flowers fell before me, and I couldn’t understand why I thought it was beautiful despite how intensely I had hated these flowers. Why I thought you were beautiful despite all that had happened between us. For the first time I actually noticed the sun shining through the gaps of the trees. You’re like my sun, shining on me no matter how much my position in life obscures me.”
He stood up, stepping towards her.
“Here, let me show you the new additions. They’re not fully bloomed yet, but I still want to show you.”
She nodded, softly placing Yamper on the ground as she took his hand. They stood before the very few trees that had started to grow, and the bright flowers that adorned them.
“I’m sure you’d know this yourself, but this is parkinsonia. The flowers that bloom on these plants are bright and eyecatching, just like someone I happen to know.” He carefully picked out a flower from the shrub, placing it in her hair. “I asked the gardeners to plant this for me a small while after we first moved towards becoming friends. And recently, I’ve requested to be in charge of taking care of these. I can’t wait to show you it when it’s grown more, when our relationship has grown more. In the past, it always felt to me as though your existence was mocking me. That you, like those magnolia trees, existed just to cast me in a shadow, to leave me living a miserable life.” He let go of her hand, hiding his face as he usually did when embarrassed, one of his eyes being the only part still visible to her. "What a fool I was."
“Sordward…” Sonia stared at him, a soft smile on her face. Tears were starting to well up in her eyes, at a loss for words. She wasn’t unhappy, even if she had felt a little sad at his admittance that he truly used to hate her that much. He wasn’t the best at showing affection through words, or even actions, but this display told her everything she needed to know about how he felt. It was bittersweet, but she couldn't help but feel comforted. This was the first time he would allow himself to be vulnerable around her, to not constantly put up a guard as though he was expecting her to do something to hurt him.
“Sonia, I…don’t know what the words are to say what I wish to say.” He leaned towards her, tilting her head up with his hand as his lips met hers for the first time. He let the kiss linger, but he loosened his grip to allow her to move away if she wished to, not that she did. He kept his eyes open for a moment, to stare into her eyes until she finally closed them. Her eyes were truly one of the most beautiful parts of her.
She truly was as beautiful as—no, she was far more beautiful than those magnolia flowers that reminded him so much of her.
based on the "love in bloom" theme, a little story about a man and his complicated feelings towards a certain tree and it's flowers, or rather the person the name of the tree reminds him of.
The mansion of Galar’s very own royal family was well kept, to nobody’s surprise boasting an equally marvelous garden to compliment the mansion itself, perhaps even being more of a marvel than their home. Day in and day out they had staff specifically posted to work on keeping the garden in an adequate state, with it being very common for them to invite their guests for a stroll around the garden.
Truly, nobody would dare deny it was a sight to behold.
Nobody except for the eldest son of the family, who found that one aspect of it bothered him. He would frequent the garden for his afternoon tea, finding himself sitting in an area home to some trees. That was what bugged him, not the trees themselves, but a specific flower that grew upon them.
Very frequently did he find the people around him in awe, complimentary of the beautiful magnolia flowers that bloomed on the tree. He just didn’t understand it, he hated them.
Or rather, he hated the name of the flower. He hated that name, serving to remind him of that woman and her grandmother, that accursed book they conspired against him to make. The way they had spread such slander on his family’s name, acting as though his ancestors were liars. He had almost tried to appreciate the flowers, trying to come up with other ways to call them or to just pretend they didn’t have a name altogether, but they still reminded him of that woman.
He wasn’t sure what it was, but every time he gazed at those flowers in their beauty, he could only think of her, he could only see her face. The shadow they cast over him, reminiscent of how she had obscured his family’s legacy with that book. The way the flowers would eventually fall off of the tree, landing in his tea as though to mock him. Mocking how no matter how much he tried, all paths of his life seemed to continue leading to her.
And yet, he couldn’t bring himself to do anything about it. It felt wrong to ask the staff to remove those trees, after all he appreciated his workers, and he wouldn’t dare ask them to get rid of something they had dedicated so much time to already. He wouldn’t avoid sitting there as usual despite how much it bothered him, he was too used to that spot. And worst of all, he couldn’t bring himself to forget about Sonia. No matter how much he felt as though she had ruined his life, he found himself thinking about her a lot. He wasn’t sure if it was admiration, or perhaps jealousy that she had everything he wanted. That she had made a name for herself beyond her family’s legacy. That she had made her family proud of her, while he had only managed to make his family look worse in the eyes of the public, something his parents made sure he knew they weren’t happy with.
He sat himself down at the table again, blowing on the cup before taking a sip, being careful to avoid burning himself. It was quiet out, with his team of Pokemon laying across the yard. Sirfetch’d was resting against Golisopod’s shell, his leek sword and shield laying next to it. Bisharp seemed to be the only one still awake, getting up to some quiet training alone, making sure to sharpen its blades. A lone magnolia flower fell from the tree, drifting down and landing just in front of him on the table.
He wasn’t annoyed. Maybe it was that it hadn’t landed in his tea like they had a nasty habit of doing, or maybe that he just was feeling a bit odd on that day. He found himself staring at the flower for a moment before picking it up, being gentle as to not disturb its current state. The sun reflected through the branches, illuminating the hands he was holding the flower with.
Feeling the sun shine onto him like that through these trees was unusual, but it was a welcome sensation.
The flower in his hands was soft, he was afraid that if he even held it the wrong way, it’d be ruined. It was beautiful to look at, it reminded him of something.
He shook his head, putting it down. Surely that wasn’t it, he wasn’t thinking of her. What a foolish idea, that he’d consider her beautiful after all she’s done to him. His feelings for the flower have nothing to do with his feelings towards her, he reassured himself, as though his hatred towards it hadn’t stemmed from that very thing.
Sordward was sure of one thing, he didn’t think Sonia was beautiful. He would agree she was attractive, with her eyes as bright as her personality, the way her hair would always be tied up with these adorable heart pins in it, the same pins she’d use to decorate the rest of her outfit. She was a very fashionable woman, always sure to catch his eye with it. Her face was well structured, her body was nice, though he tried not to take note of that too much out of respect.
Surely, it didn’t mean anything to just acknowledge that someone was objectively attractive. He didn’t understand why his chest suddenly felt tight at the thought, or why his face felt hot. His eyes drifted back towards that flower again. Perhaps he shouldn’t spend too much time in the garden if he was having these thoughts.
He finished his tea, finally recalling his Pokemon to go back inside and to his study for some reading. He looked through his bookshelves, freezing when he got to one particular entry in his collection.
What a nuisance.
He didn’t understand why he hadn’t just thrown that blasphemous garbage out already. Perhaps it was for the same reason he couldn’t bring himself to request his staff to get rid of those flowers, and why he couldn’t stop thinking about her. Her constant presence in his thoughts only served to annoy him more.
And yet, despite his internal complaining he found himself picking out that very book to read.
———————
A guest had replaced him in his usual spot, enjoying tea while a little electric dog twitched as it slept in her lap, as though having a rather eventful dream. Sordward was nearby, watering some newly planted seeds. A small amount of the trees had already begun to grow, showcasing some newly bloomed parkinsonia flowers. Their bright appearance complimented the pure white of the nearby magnolia trees only a little less than the woman sitting beneath them did. He placed down the watering can, stepping over to take a seat across from the woman at the table.
“I can see why you wanted to show me this garden…” She twirled her hair, one hand gripping the handle of her cup. “It’s beautiful.”
She seemed content, seemingly lost in her own mind as she stared into the distance, but he still seemed somewhat bothered. Had she really not realized why he brought her to see this?
“Professor, do you know the significance of these trees?”
“Hm?” She tilted her head. “Well, I know that this is a magnolia tree, just like my family name…”
Sordward smiled, nodding as he continued on. Of course she would know that, she was likely the smartest person he knew.
“These magnolia trees have been present in the garden for a while. I’ve frequented this spot during my afternoon tea for years.” He paused, fiddling with the golden button on his sleeve. “However, I used to hate these trees. I despised it whenever the flowers would fall and land in my tea. I despised how often people would compliment them specifically out of anything else in the garden. And most of all, I hated that whenever I saw these trees, you were the only thing that would come to mind."
He swallowed a lump in his throat. Should he really be saying all of this? It may have been the truth, but it was surely coming off rather harshly. Still, he felt like this was something he needed to get off his chest, a confession he needed to make. He almost found himself chuckling at his own thought process, just how much he had changed to feel as though he should honestly tell Sonia of all people how he's felt all along. Part of him felt a bit sour admitting it to her of all people, no matter what their relationship now was.
“It was this spot in which I realized I was in love with you, Professor. One of these flowers fell before me, and I couldn’t understand why I thought it was beautiful despite how intensely I had hated these flowers. Why I thought you were beautiful despite all that had happened between us. For the first time I actually noticed the sun shining through the gaps of the trees. You’re like my sun, shining on me no matter how much my position in life obscures me.”
He stood up, stepping towards her.
“Here, let me show you the new additions. They’re not fully bloomed yet, but I still want to show you.”
She nodded, softly placing Yamper on the ground as she took his hand. They stood before the very few trees that had started to grow, and the bright flowers that adorned them.
“I’m sure you’d know this yourself, but this is parkinsonia. The flowers that bloom on these plants are bright and eyecatching, just like someone I happen to know.” He carefully picked out a flower from the shrub, placing it in her hair. “I asked the gardeners to plant this for me a small while after we first moved towards becoming friends. And recently, I’ve requested to be in charge of taking care of these. I can’t wait to show you it when it’s grown more, when our relationship has grown more. In the past, it always felt to me as though your existence was mocking me. That you, like those magnolia trees, existed just to cast me in a shadow, to leave me living a miserable life.” He let go of her hand, hiding his face as he usually did when embarrassed, one of his eyes being the only part still visible to her. "What a fool I was."
“Sordward…” Sonia stared at him, a soft smile on her face. Tears were starting to well up in her eyes, at a loss for words. She wasn’t unhappy, even if she had felt a little sad at his admittance that he truly used to hate her that much. He wasn’t the best at showing affection through words, or even actions, but this display told her everything she needed to know about how he felt. It was bittersweet, but she couldn't help but feel comforted. This was the first time he would allow himself to be vulnerable around her, to not constantly put up a guard as though he was expecting her to do something to hurt him.
“Sonia, I…don’t know what the words are to say what I wish to say.” He leaned towards her, tilting her head up with his hand as his lips met hers for the first time. He let the kiss linger, but he loosened his grip to allow her to move away if she wished to, not that she did. He kept his eyes open for a moment, to stare into her eyes until she finally closed them. Her eyes were truly one of the most beautiful parts of her.
She truly was as beautiful as—no, she was far more beautiful than those magnolia flowers that reminded him so much of her.
