Simplicity is Bliss
Title: Simplicity is Bliss
Fandom: Original
Rating: PG-13
Warnings: some strong language
Summary: Sometimes, we overanalyze.
Notes: Written for the May week 2 challenge at brigits_flame, theme “morning glory.” I had a lot of trouble with this one, not going to lie. Also I think I overuse symmetrical endings. But that's just me.
…
On a perfectly ordinary Tuesday, Jonah found a bouquet of morning glories on his desk.
Which…was odd.
He picked it up, running his fingertips over the petals, looking for a card, a note, anything.
None of the above. He frowned, setting the bouquet back down and crossing to the door, poking his head out. “Em?”
His secretary glanced up at him through horn-rimmed glasses, not pausing in her typing. “Sir?”
“Did you see who put those flowers on my desk?”
Emlyn’s eyebrows shot up. “Someone left flowers on your desk?”
“Yeah, there’s a whole bouquet.” Jonah leaned against the doorframe, crossing his arms over his chest. “No card, no nothing.” He hesitated. “You don’t think it was Ifan, do you? Fuck, I hope it wasn’t Ifan.”
Emlyn snorted. “Doubt it, sir.”
“You don’t think he’d send me flowers?”
“No, sir, for two reasons.” She held up one perfectly manicured hand, ticking off as she spoke. “One, he’s too showy to do anything anonymous, romantic or not. Two, you told him he was an absolute wanker and that you never wanted to talk to him again.”
Jonah sniffed. “He is, and I don’t.” He sighed. “Would’ve been kind of nice.”
“You’re moping again, sir.”
“Thank you, Emlyn, I was aware.” Jonah shook his head. “Fine, fine, so it wasn’t Ifan. Any ideas?”
“None that would be useful, sir, and you have a conference call in seven minutes.”
“Point taken.”
…
“I get it, mate, absolutely,” Jonah said absently into his Bluetooth, drumming his fingertips on the keyboard of his laptop. “But I’m just saying that’s not the wisest legal course to take.”
Mr Williams launched off on a tirade in his ear and Jonah rolled his eyes, letting his gaze slip over to the bouquet on his desk. Emlyn had found a vase in the break room and set the flowers in water, and Jonah had to admit they looked nice-even if they were driving him crazy.
Who the hell sends anonymous flowers, anyway? What’s with that?
He drummed his fingertips absently on the keyboard of his laptop, then bit back a sigh and opened a new window, pulling up Google and typing in flower meanings morning glory. The search engine cheerfully provided him with eighty-one thousand results and he winced, cautiously clicking on the first one.
To his considerable relief, it presented him with an organized, alphabetical list of flowers and their meanings. He scrolled down to the Ms and let his mouse hover over the result.
Morning Glory: Affection.
He stared at it.
Affection?
What the hell use was that? He heaved a frustrated sigh.
“-Listening to a word I say, Adams?”
Mr Williams’ voice startled him out of the reverie and he winced. “Yes, sir, of course. Sorry. Spilt some coffee. Shall we finish this at the meeting this afternoon?”
...
“Nice flowers.”
Jonah glanced up from his document to see Gareth lounging in the doorway. “Don’t you even start,” Jonah said crossly, shutting his computer. “They’re driving me insane.”
Gareth cocked an eyebrow,. “Why? I meant it, they’re nice.”
“No note, no card, no nothing.” Jonah leaned back in his chair. “Who the hell sends anonymous flowers, anyway?”
“Maybe you’ve got a secret admirer?” Amusement sparked in his eyes, and Jonah resisted the urge to strangle him. “Mark in Human Resources fancies you.”
Jonah snorted. “Mark in HR absolutely does not-” He paused. “Wait. Really?”
Gareth chuckled. “No idea, mate. Look, I just came by to ask you for lunch. We can puzzle over your mysterious lover over pizza. How about it?”
“It’s only half ten.”
“I’ll come by at noon.” Jonah hesitated, and Gareth grinned. “C’mon. I’ll treat.”
Jonah felt his resolve crack. It was the cheekbones, they got him every time. “Fine. See you then.”
Gareth’s grin turned slightly smug. “Sure thing.” He turned to go and then hesitated, turning back. “Hey.” Jonah raised an eyebrow at him questioningly, and Gareth tilted his head to the side slightly, as if looking for the right words. “The flowers. Don’t overthink stuff, yeah? Maybe someone just wanted to do something nice for you.”
“I’m a lawyer,” Jonah reminded him. “It’s my job to be suspicious.”
Gareth rolled his eyes and left.
…
“I wasn’t joking about Mark in HR,” Gareth told him over steaming slices of pizza. “He really does have a thing.”
Jonah wiped his mouth on a napkin and took a sip of his drink. “Yeah, but-he’s a bit of a tosser, isn’t he? Not really the go-out-and-buy-you-flowers type.”
Gareth shrugged. “Maybe he’s turning over a new leaf.”
“Don’t think he has any problem turning over leaves, but I think they tend to be dried.” Gareth frowned in confusion and Jonah mimed lighting up a joint.
“You’re joking.” Jonah grinned and shook his head, and Gareth laughed. “I take it back, then, he’d be shit for you.”
Jonah shrugged. “Dunno. Ifan was too straight-laced, maybe I need someone who doesn’t mind playing around.”
“There’s playing around, and then there’s smoking up like you’re still in university,” Gareth pointed out.
“I hate it when you make points,” Jonah grumbled. Gareth laughed, turning back to his pizza, and Jonah watched him for a moment. “What would you do, then?”
“What would I do what?” Gareth asked around a mouthful.
“If someone just left a bunch of flowers on your desk, what would you do?”
Gareth swallowed and rolled his eyes. “I’d stop dwelling on it, mate.”
“You would not.”
“Fine. I’d Google the flowers, figure out what they meant, and then go from there.”
“I did that!” Jonah swallowed an unfortunately large bite, choked momentarily, and then got his breath back. “They just mean ‘affection,’ and that doesn’t mean anything.”
Gareth snorted a laugh. “I’m pretty sure ‘affection’ means ‘affection.’ You do still have friends, don’t you?” Jonah scowled at him, and Gareth grinned. “Jonah, just relax, will you? There’s such a thing as a simple gift, you know.”
“Yeah, but-” This whole argument sounded a whole lot better in his head. “But I didn’t do anything. People don’t just give people stuff. It doesn’t happen.”
Gareth shrugged. “Maybe someone saw that you’ve been moping around a lot lately.”
“I haven’t!”
“Oh, yes, you have.” Gareth leaned back in his chair. “Ever since Ifan, you’ve been in a slump. No one’s blaming you or anything,” he said quickly when Jonah narrowed his eyes at him. “Ifan’s a bag of wank and you’re all the better without him, in my opinion. But the point of it is-I dunno, most people are at least a bit pleased when they get something nice. Maybe you should just…take it for what it is.”
“And what’s that?”
“A gesture of friendship? A comfort gift? Whatever you want it to be, mate.” He picked up another slice of pizza. “Just…relax about it.”
“Easier said then done,” Jonah muttered.
“Shut up and eat your pizza.”
…
Jonah toyed with one of the petals of the flowers idly, running it between his fingers. Deceptively simple little fuckers.
Emlyn knocked on the doorframe. “Sir? I’m heading home for the night.”
He blinked. “Uh-yeah. Great work today, Em, thanks.”
She cocked her head to the side slightly, chestnut curls slipping over her shoulders. “Everything alright, sir?”
“Yeah, everything’s fine. I’m heading out myself.” He paused, fingers lingering on the flowers, and then got to his feet, slipping his laptop into his briefcase. “I’ll see you tomorrow, then?”
“Yes. Goodnight, I-Oh, nearly forgot.” She slipped out of his office and he heard her rummaging on her desk for a moment before she reappeared. “Mr Bevan dropped this on his way out.”
He took the post-it note from her, squinting to read Gareth’s scrawling writing.
Stop. Stressing. About. The flowers. Seriously, mate, relax.
Coffee tomorrow? Give me a call.
Cheers,
G.
For a moment, he stared at the note. “Bloody fuck and a half,” he said. “I’m an idiot.”
“That you are, sir,” Emlyn said cheerfully, and he barely had time to roll his eyes at her as he blew out the door.
…
It took two rings of the doorbell before Gareth appeared, hair damp, a towel wrapped around his waist.
“Oh, it’s you,” he said. “That’s good luck. Would’ve been awkward if it was anyone else.”
“You sent me flowers,” Jonah said, without preamble.
Gareth blinked. “Uh, yes. Yes, I did.”
“You-” Jonah stared at him. “You sent me flowers.” Gareth’s lips twitched up slightly in a smile. “Just-you sent me flowers?”
“I think we’ve established that I sent you flowers, mate.” Gareth leaned against the doorframe. “Is that okay?”
“Yeah. I mean, no. I mean-” Words. Why were words difficult all of a sudden? “Why did you send me flowers?”
Gareth shrugged. “Because you needed cheering up. Because I’m your friend and it’s my job to cheer you up. Because they were pretty.” He paused. “And…possibly because I like you.”
Jonah kept staring. “But-you didn’t-I mean-you didn’t leave a card. Or a note. Or anything.”
“In retrospect, I’m thinking I should’ve. Would’ve saved you a fair bit of stress, apparently.” Gareth’s smile turned cautious. “I didn’t want you to be weird about it. Guess that was dumb, right?”
“I…” This was stupid. He shouldn’t be tongue-tied around Gareth.
Except that he was always tongue-tied around Gareth.
It was the cheekbones.
“I think…” Jonah chewed his lower lip. “I think I should kiss you, about now.”
Gareth raised his eyebrows. “Don’t feel obligated. They were just flowers.”
“Let me rephrase.” Jonah stepped forward, cupping Gareth’s face in his hands. “I’m going to kiss you, now.”
“Oh.” Gareth’s hands settled on his waist. “Well, that’s alright, then.”
…
On a perfectly ordinary Wednesday that wasn’t ordinary at all, Jonah found a bouquet of morning glories on his desk.
“Did you figure out who sent those?” Emlyn asked curiously, turning in her chair.
“Yeah,” he said, grinning at her over his shoulder. “I did.”
“Good.” She turned back to her desk. “You certainly spent enough time pissing about it.”
He chuckled, looking down at them. “Shouldn’t have,” he said. “Didn’t need to at all.”
Fandom: Original
Rating: PG-13
Warnings: some strong language
Summary: Sometimes, we overanalyze.
Notes: Written for the May week 2 challenge at brigits_flame, theme “morning glory.” I had a lot of trouble with this one, not going to lie. Also I think I overuse symmetrical endings. But that's just me.
…
On a perfectly ordinary Tuesday, Jonah found a bouquet of morning glories on his desk.
Which…was odd.
He picked it up, running his fingertips over the petals, looking for a card, a note, anything.
None of the above. He frowned, setting the bouquet back down and crossing to the door, poking his head out. “Em?”
His secretary glanced up at him through horn-rimmed glasses, not pausing in her typing. “Sir?”
“Did you see who put those flowers on my desk?”
Emlyn’s eyebrows shot up. “Someone left flowers on your desk?”
“Yeah, there’s a whole bouquet.” Jonah leaned against the doorframe, crossing his arms over his chest. “No card, no nothing.” He hesitated. “You don’t think it was Ifan, do you? Fuck, I hope it wasn’t Ifan.”
Emlyn snorted. “Doubt it, sir.”
“You don’t think he’d send me flowers?”
“No, sir, for two reasons.” She held up one perfectly manicured hand, ticking off as she spoke. “One, he’s too showy to do anything anonymous, romantic or not. Two, you told him he was an absolute wanker and that you never wanted to talk to him again.”
Jonah sniffed. “He is, and I don’t.” He sighed. “Would’ve been kind of nice.”
“You’re moping again, sir.”
“Thank you, Emlyn, I was aware.” Jonah shook his head. “Fine, fine, so it wasn’t Ifan. Any ideas?”
“None that would be useful, sir, and you have a conference call in seven minutes.”
“Point taken.”
…
“I get it, mate, absolutely,” Jonah said absently into his Bluetooth, drumming his fingertips on the keyboard of his laptop. “But I’m just saying that’s not the wisest legal course to take.”
Mr Williams launched off on a tirade in his ear and Jonah rolled his eyes, letting his gaze slip over to the bouquet on his desk. Emlyn had found a vase in the break room and set the flowers in water, and Jonah had to admit they looked nice-even if they were driving him crazy.
Who the hell sends anonymous flowers, anyway? What’s with that?
He drummed his fingertips absently on the keyboard of his laptop, then bit back a sigh and opened a new window, pulling up Google and typing in flower meanings morning glory. The search engine cheerfully provided him with eighty-one thousand results and he winced, cautiously clicking on the first one.
To his considerable relief, it presented him with an organized, alphabetical list of flowers and their meanings. He scrolled down to the Ms and let his mouse hover over the result.
Morning Glory: Affection.
He stared at it.
Affection?
What the hell use was that? He heaved a frustrated sigh.
“-Listening to a word I say, Adams?”
Mr Williams’ voice startled him out of the reverie and he winced. “Yes, sir, of course. Sorry. Spilt some coffee. Shall we finish this at the meeting this afternoon?”
...
“Nice flowers.”
Jonah glanced up from his document to see Gareth lounging in the doorway. “Don’t you even start,” Jonah said crossly, shutting his computer. “They’re driving me insane.”
Gareth cocked an eyebrow,. “Why? I meant it, they’re nice.”
“No note, no card, no nothing.” Jonah leaned back in his chair. “Who the hell sends anonymous flowers, anyway?”
“Maybe you’ve got a secret admirer?” Amusement sparked in his eyes, and Jonah resisted the urge to strangle him. “Mark in Human Resources fancies you.”
Jonah snorted. “Mark in HR absolutely does not-” He paused. “Wait. Really?”
Gareth chuckled. “No idea, mate. Look, I just came by to ask you for lunch. We can puzzle over your mysterious lover over pizza. How about it?”
“It’s only half ten.”
“I’ll come by at noon.” Jonah hesitated, and Gareth grinned. “C’mon. I’ll treat.”
Jonah felt his resolve crack. It was the cheekbones, they got him every time. “Fine. See you then.”
Gareth’s grin turned slightly smug. “Sure thing.” He turned to go and then hesitated, turning back. “Hey.” Jonah raised an eyebrow at him questioningly, and Gareth tilted his head to the side slightly, as if looking for the right words. “The flowers. Don’t overthink stuff, yeah? Maybe someone just wanted to do something nice for you.”
“I’m a lawyer,” Jonah reminded him. “It’s my job to be suspicious.”
Gareth rolled his eyes and left.
…
“I wasn’t joking about Mark in HR,” Gareth told him over steaming slices of pizza. “He really does have a thing.”
Jonah wiped his mouth on a napkin and took a sip of his drink. “Yeah, but-he’s a bit of a tosser, isn’t he? Not really the go-out-and-buy-you-flowers type.”
Gareth shrugged. “Maybe he’s turning over a new leaf.”
“Don’t think he has any problem turning over leaves, but I think they tend to be dried.” Gareth frowned in confusion and Jonah mimed lighting up a joint.
“You’re joking.” Jonah grinned and shook his head, and Gareth laughed. “I take it back, then, he’d be shit for you.”
Jonah shrugged. “Dunno. Ifan was too straight-laced, maybe I need someone who doesn’t mind playing around.”
“There’s playing around, and then there’s smoking up like you’re still in university,” Gareth pointed out.
“I hate it when you make points,” Jonah grumbled. Gareth laughed, turning back to his pizza, and Jonah watched him for a moment. “What would you do, then?”
“What would I do what?” Gareth asked around a mouthful.
“If someone just left a bunch of flowers on your desk, what would you do?”
Gareth swallowed and rolled his eyes. “I’d stop dwelling on it, mate.”
“You would not.”
“Fine. I’d Google the flowers, figure out what they meant, and then go from there.”
“I did that!” Jonah swallowed an unfortunately large bite, choked momentarily, and then got his breath back. “They just mean ‘affection,’ and that doesn’t mean anything.”
Gareth snorted a laugh. “I’m pretty sure ‘affection’ means ‘affection.’ You do still have friends, don’t you?” Jonah scowled at him, and Gareth grinned. “Jonah, just relax, will you? There’s such a thing as a simple gift, you know.”
“Yeah, but-” This whole argument sounded a whole lot better in his head. “But I didn’t do anything. People don’t just give people stuff. It doesn’t happen.”
Gareth shrugged. “Maybe someone saw that you’ve been moping around a lot lately.”
“I haven’t!”
“Oh, yes, you have.” Gareth leaned back in his chair. “Ever since Ifan, you’ve been in a slump. No one’s blaming you or anything,” he said quickly when Jonah narrowed his eyes at him. “Ifan’s a bag of wank and you’re all the better without him, in my opinion. But the point of it is-I dunno, most people are at least a bit pleased when they get something nice. Maybe you should just…take it for what it is.”
“And what’s that?”
“A gesture of friendship? A comfort gift? Whatever you want it to be, mate.” He picked up another slice of pizza. “Just…relax about it.”
“Easier said then done,” Jonah muttered.
“Shut up and eat your pizza.”
…
Jonah toyed with one of the petals of the flowers idly, running it between his fingers. Deceptively simple little fuckers.
Emlyn knocked on the doorframe. “Sir? I’m heading home for the night.”
He blinked. “Uh-yeah. Great work today, Em, thanks.”
She cocked her head to the side slightly, chestnut curls slipping over her shoulders. “Everything alright, sir?”
“Yeah, everything’s fine. I’m heading out myself.” He paused, fingers lingering on the flowers, and then got to his feet, slipping his laptop into his briefcase. “I’ll see you tomorrow, then?”
“Yes. Goodnight, I-Oh, nearly forgot.” She slipped out of his office and he heard her rummaging on her desk for a moment before she reappeared. “Mr Bevan dropped this on his way out.”
He took the post-it note from her, squinting to read Gareth’s scrawling writing.
Stop. Stressing. About. The flowers. Seriously, mate, relax.
Coffee tomorrow? Give me a call.
Cheers,
G.
For a moment, he stared at the note. “Bloody fuck and a half,” he said. “I’m an idiot.”
“That you are, sir,” Emlyn said cheerfully, and he barely had time to roll his eyes at her as he blew out the door.
…
It took two rings of the doorbell before Gareth appeared, hair damp, a towel wrapped around his waist.
“Oh, it’s you,” he said. “That’s good luck. Would’ve been awkward if it was anyone else.”
“You sent me flowers,” Jonah said, without preamble.
Gareth blinked. “Uh, yes. Yes, I did.”
“You-” Jonah stared at him. “You sent me flowers.” Gareth’s lips twitched up slightly in a smile. “Just-you sent me flowers?”
“I think we’ve established that I sent you flowers, mate.” Gareth leaned against the doorframe. “Is that okay?”
“Yeah. I mean, no. I mean-” Words. Why were words difficult all of a sudden? “Why did you send me flowers?”
Gareth shrugged. “Because you needed cheering up. Because I’m your friend and it’s my job to cheer you up. Because they were pretty.” He paused. “And…possibly because I like you.”
Jonah kept staring. “But-you didn’t-I mean-you didn’t leave a card. Or a note. Or anything.”
“In retrospect, I’m thinking I should’ve. Would’ve saved you a fair bit of stress, apparently.” Gareth’s smile turned cautious. “I didn’t want you to be weird about it. Guess that was dumb, right?”
“I…” This was stupid. He shouldn’t be tongue-tied around Gareth.
Except that he was always tongue-tied around Gareth.
It was the cheekbones.
“I think…” Jonah chewed his lower lip. “I think I should kiss you, about now.”
Gareth raised his eyebrows. “Don’t feel obligated. They were just flowers.”
“Let me rephrase.” Jonah stepped forward, cupping Gareth’s face in his hands. “I’m going to kiss you, now.”
“Oh.” Gareth’s hands settled on his waist. “Well, that’s alright, then.”
…
On a perfectly ordinary Wednesday that wasn’t ordinary at all, Jonah found a bouquet of morning glories on his desk.
“Did you figure out who sent those?” Emlyn asked curiously, turning in her chair.
“Yeah,” he said, grinning at her over his shoulder. “I did.”
“Good.” She turned back to her desk. “You certainly spent enough time pissing about it.”
He chuckled, looking down at them. “Shouldn’t have,” he said. “Didn’t need to at all.”