Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Argos hummed to himself, today was an exciting day. He would get to do his favourite job, welcoming people to the Void. He enthusiastically travelled to the reception where the new Void resident would be. He couldn't wait to meet them. Argos thought the Void needed more residents, the more the merrier. You can never have too many friends!

He didn't know how long he had been lost in thoughts, but before he knew it, he was already standing outside the reception. He took a deep breath, preparing himself for the new friend, and went in.

There he saw a six-feet tall man with a flower head

who was absolutely gorgeous. 

His black eyes were breathtaking, and everything about him was perfect. Argos couldn't help but stare at his beautiful face. After a while, he forced himself to break eye contact and to act normal.

Argos stammered, “H-Hello! My name is Argos!,” he nervously smiled. “And it says here that you're…Mr plant?”

Mr plant nodded.

“Okay, okay! Mr plant, I'm going to show you around the Void and introduce you to your new home!” Argos said, trying to ignore his heart beating violently in his chest.

Argos led Mr plant around parts of the Void. He talked for the whole trip, introducing himself and explaining how things work there. Although it was obvious that Mr plant was annoyed, Argos didn't notice, or rather he didn't want to notice.

After the tour, it was time for him to show Mr plant his house. Argos picked up his house key from his bag and prayed that he would live close to him before looking at the key number.

He frowned. Mr plant was supposed to live many voids away from his.

Argos’ shoulders slumped and a pang of disappointment sparked in his chest. But he shook his head. No, this won't do. He would make sure Mr plant lived close to him, he would make sure that they were neighbours.

“Umm…there's been a slight problem with your house key, I'm gonna need to fix this real quick. Just wait here for a moment please!” Argos lied.

Luckily, Mr plant didn't notice something was off. He was just glad he would be getting a break from social interaction.

Chapter Text

BEEP BEEP BEEP–

Argos shut the alarm clock off and got ready to start his day. He quickly rushed through his morning routine. Today he had mail duty, and he would be delivering mail to his new friend, and now neighbour! He was so proud of himself for being able to get Mr plant to live near him by…pulling some strings.

He went off to work, visiting house after house giving them their mail. It was repetitive but he would never get bored of this. Argos knocked at a green door, which a man with a green tulip head opened.

“Hello! Do you have any mail for me to deliver today?”

The man handed him an envelope and closed his door without saying anything. Argos looked at the letter to see that he wanted it sent to…Mr plant.

Jealousy burned in his chest. Did Mr plant already have a lover? Was this all for nothing? His heart sank, he couldn't stand the thought of Mr plant being with someone else while he's right there.

Argos travelled to Mr plant's Void to give him the letter, but upon Mr plant opening the door, he changed his mind. He would not be giving up on him.

“Mr plant! I just wanted to let you know that there's…no mail for you today.”

Mr plant just stared for a while before shutting the door closed.

“Great talking to you! Let's hang out soon!” It came out more like a plea than an invitation.

Argos returned back to his Void, and instantly took the crumpled letter inside his pocket. He held it up and lit it on fire, making sure to destroy it.

He and Mr plant were meant to be, they were soulmates. And he wasn't going to let anyone get in the way between them.

That night, Argos tossed and turned in bed, unable to sleep. He came up with different scenarios involving him and Mr plant. He thought of the things they could do together, and how he would accomplish his goal of dating him.

Chapter Text

Rain poured down outside, the sounds of little platters of raindrops hitting the pavement could be heard.

Mr flower was glad he brought a raincoat, the path to Mr plant's house didn't take long but he still didn't want to get wet.

Even though Mr plant had moved in a few days ago, this was his first time seeing his friend in the Void. Mr plant had not responded to his letters asking if he could come over, and Mr flower found it a bit strange, so just to make sure, he went to Mr plant's house today. Afterall, why would Mr plant not want his best friend to visit him?

It took Mr plant a while to open the door.

Mr flower excitedly waved at him, he missed his friend so much. He hung his raincoat up and they settled down in the living room.

Mr flower broke the silence,“How's it going in the Void? Do you like it?”

Mr plant shrugged.

It wasn't the most interesting response, but he was used to it.

After spending a good whole minutes trying to think of how he would bring up the question, he decided he should just be straight forward.

“Why didn't you answer my letters?”

Mr plant paused for a while, before shrugging.

Mr flower frowned at this. Normally he didn't mind his friend's short responses, but this time was different. He was expecting a longer response, perhaps an explanation. Even just ‘I was busy’ would be enough.

“I thought maybe, you know, you'd want me to visit you? Are we not best friends?” He snapped.

If Mr plant could talk, at that moment he would say that no they are not best friends. And frankly, he was getting quite annoyed by his tantrums.

“I'm sorry,” Mr flower looked down. “I didn't mean to be rude. I just missed you so much”

Mr flower had been living in the Void for a few months, and had successfully convinced Mr plant to come live there too. Those few months were the longest days of his life, and he doesn't want to live apart from his best friend ever again. He missed his mannerisms, his presence, his face.

After catching Mr plant up to everything and chatting for a while, Mr flower got off to leave. He glanced at the window to see that the rain had stopped.

He waved goodbye before leaving to go back to his house. There was a feeling in his chest that he couldn't exactly pinpoint, trying to invade his mind, but he just ignored it.

Unnecessary feelings can be dealt with later.

Chapter Text

Today was supposed to be the day Argos visited Mr plant. From his postman job, he heard that someone needed to deliver some documents to Mr plant's house, and of course Argos volunteered.

Curiosity got the better of him and he peeked to see what the documents were about, even though he's not allowed to do that. But they were just some DNA results.

Argos was beaming, he couldn't wait to see Mr plant. He did manage to stay a few days without seeing him by looking at the pictures he took of him, but he started to miss him.

But it rained, and he didn't wanna deal with that so he just waited for the rain to stop before going to his house. That was a mistake.

Now he was near on the road to his house, and just saw Mr flower leaving.

What was he doing in his place…why couldn't he just leave them alone?!

Argos wanted to rip his stupid head off so he stopped getting in the way of him and Mr plant. Perhaps he would do that, but not today. Today he still had to go to Mr plant.

He made sure Mr flower didn't see him, and took a few pictures of him. He waited for him to leave before going to Mr plant's house.

“Hello!” He knocked. There was no answer, so he just opened the door and got inside. He saw Mr plant sitting on the chair, looking at him.

Argos invited himself on the chair in front of Mr plant. This was his chance to talk to him. He can’t mess this up. The atmosphere thickened, it seemed like air didn't exist at the moment.

“I'm gonna make some tea for us!” Argos got up quickly to do so. Tea would calm him down, it was a great idea. After brewing two cups of tea, he brought those back on the table.

“I got your DNA results back” Argos gave him the documents. “You're half banana leaf.”

Mr plant didn't say anything. Argos took a sip out of his tea to ease his tensions. He tried to think of what to say next, wondering what would make him like him more.

Wait…people love those they can relate to. That's it, he knew the perfect thing to say.

“You know, I'm one-sixteenth banana leaf, and we go through a lot of trouble!” Argos felt proud of himself, this would definitely make Mr plant know that they have a lot in common. He took a satisfied slurp of what was left in his teacup.

Mr plant fantasised about bashing Argos’ head in, watching the blood seep into his shoes and onto the floor. How dare he come up to his house uninvited, go through his own cabinet, make tea in his own house, and now say this.

He was getting tired of dealing with all the unannounced social interactions. It was all very tiring for him and irritated him.

He didn't want to deal with this anymore, he just wanted to watch some TV and sleep his day away. But he wouldn't be able to do this when some guy who thinks he's his best friend, and some weirdo wouldn't leave him alone.

After tolerating for a few minutes, listening to Argos blabbering about some things, he finally decided to leave.

“Can we go stargazing soon?”

Mr plant shut the door in his face.

Chapter Text

Argos couldn't stop giggling when he would think about that day. It went so well! Mr plant would see that they have many similarities, and he would definitely talk to him again soon.

He hung up pictures of Mr plant on the wall, he looked so cute. There were pictures of him sleeping, eating, and watching TV and many more. There could never be too many pictures of him.

On the other side of the wall, he had pictures of Mr flower. His face scribbled on with a red pen and crossed out.

Unlike how Argos looked at the Mr plant shrine with love, he looked at this with pure hatred. He clenched his teeth unknowingly. His heart burned in his chest, he wished Mr flower would just die.

A sudden idea pops in his head.

Argos smiled, he knew how to solve this once and for all, and have his happy ending that he deserved.

He got out the things he needed for it. A rope, gloves, and a sharp knife. Perfect. It's also pretty convenient that he had a key to Mr flower's apartment.

Chapter Text

The lights in Mr flower's house were off. He probably is well asleep by now, which made things easier.

Argos quietly unlocked the door, trying to be as sneaky as possible so he wouldn't get caught. Adrenaline pumped in his blood, he fantasised about stabbing and twisting a knife in Mr flower's chest. He's been waiting all day for this, and could not wait any longer.

He wandered around his house, trying to find where he would be. The house was so quiet that you could hear a pin drop. So he had to be careful.

He didn't dare breathe too loud, as he didn't want to be too loud and fail this plan. He went from room to room, quietly and carefully, before finally finding his bedroom.

This was it. Here's your chance.

Argos got his knife out, held his breath, and slammed open the bedroom door.

But there was no one there.

Confused, Argos looked around. Only to be suddenly blinded with the lights being turned on. He could hear a voice before his eyes could adjust to the sudden brightness.

“W–What are you doing in my house!?” There was pure terror in Mr flower's voice.

Shit, he got caught.

Argos desperately thought of a way out of this; he could try stabbing but he was pretty sure Mr flower was bigger and stronger than him. He turned around, making sure to not let Mr flower see the knife.

“I...I thought there was someone in here! I live next to your house and heard some noises, so I just wanted to see if everything was okay!” Please believe his lie please fall for it.

He absolutely did not fall for it.

“What do you mean!? That doesn't make any sense!” Mr flower was basically yelling at this point.

Argos bit the inside of his cheek, there was only one way out of this now. He tightened his grip on the knife handle. Before Mr flower could do anything else, Argos threw the knife at him, aiming at his head.

The knife charged at Mr flower but just before it could hit him, Mr flower dodged. Instead, the knife struck the wall, breaking a chunk of it on impact.

Mr flower's eyes widened, he couldn’t breathe for a few seconds. Somehow he managed to get a few words out.

“You..You're crazy!!” He screamed at Argos. “Oh my Ashur I…I could've died! What the hell is wrong with you!?”

Shit. Argos did not know how to save the situation now.

Mr flower suddenly ran towards the telephone, forcing his trembling legs to move.

He's gonna call the police.

Argos ran for him and stopped him before he could even touch it.

“Oh no, you're not gonna call the police. I've been living here for a very long time, and you, just a few months. Now imagine who the police would believe. A good innocent Void resident, or someone who tried to kill the resident with a knife.”

“What...But I didn't–”

“It doesn't matter. The police are just going to believe me.” Argos said in a sweet tone. “So you won't tell anyone about it, okay?”

Mr flower couldn't believe what was happening. The hesitation seemed to make Argos rather impatient, so he just nodded before he said anything else. He didn't want to hear his stupid voice again.

“This is all your fault really, if you hadn't tried to steal Mr plant from me, I wouldn't have to try kill you.”

Mr flower breathily laughed, “What the hell are you talking about? So I almost died because you were jealous of me being friends with Mr plant?”

Gosh this was so stupid.

“You're not just friends, I see the way you look at him,” Argos huffed.

“Just…Get out of my house. Please.”

Argos didn't say anything else and left. Before leaving, he said, “Stay away from Mr plant,” and closed the door.

Mr flower dropped down to the floor, his legs unable to support his body any further. He sighed.

What a day. He hoped to never see this guy ever again.

Chapter Text

Mr plant woke up from his void. Time to cook breakfast. He lightly toasted an orange, and ate it on the pan itself. He couldn't be bothered to wash the dishes today.

He looked at his to-do list.

Watch TV.

Mr plant sat on his comfortable couch and put the TV on. As he was thinking of what to watch, a door knock could be heard.

He wished to be left alone. But the knocking continued. Finally, he got up to open the door, wanting to murder the person who had ruined his routine.

Mr flower appeared. Hadn't he already come over just yesterday? Mr plant fidgeted with his hands, hoping he wouldn't stay for long.

“Hi Mr plant! I left my raincoat here yesterday, I'm just here to get it back!”

A raincoat? Mr plant thought of where he might have left it. Probably on the coat hanger. He quickly obtained the coat and gave it to Mr flower.

Mr plant shut the door before he could say anything else.

He went back to watch his TV. He didn't like the show he put on. But it was familiar, comforting. And he liked it that way.

…

Did he?

A sudden commercial break snapped him out of his thoughts. He usually hated commercials, but this time he was glad for it.

“DO YOU WANT A STAR? WELL NOW YOU CAN GET A STAR FOR ONLY A DOLLAR!! COME GET YOUR HAPPY STAR!!”

The moon man sounded annoying and obnoxious, but the stars looked awfully nice. Mr plant went out of his house, and to that shop.

He walked pretty fast and didn't stop to look at anything or anyone. Even though some neighbours attempted small talk, he just ignored them.

The plan was to get those stars, and get back home. He wasn't going to let anyone get in the way of it.

“YOU, SIR! DO YOU WANT A STAR?”

The moon man's voice grated against his ears. It was irritating.

Mr plant nodded and gave him a dollar. No more or less than needed.

“ONLY A DOLLAR? WITH THAT YOU CAN ONLY BUY A SAD STAR!! DON'T YOU WANT A HAPPY STAR? HAPPY STARS ARE ONLY 9.99 DOLLAR!!”

Rage boiled in his blood. He couldn't believe he sacrificed his TV day for this. If the moon man didn't stop talking soon, Mr plant would make him.

“YOU’RE A TERRIBLE PERSON YOU KNOW!! COMING HERE WITH ONLY A DOLLAR WHEN YOU KNEW THEY WERE NINE NINETY NINE!! TAKE IT! TAKE YOUR MEASELY LITTLE STAR AND GET OUT! AND BE CAREFUL, BECAUSE THE EDGES ARE SHARP!!” He handed him a sad star.

A sudden idea pops into Mr plant’s mind, and without thinking twice, he charged the star at the moon man, hitting his eye.

His screams enraged him even more as he took another star and threw it at his other eye. The stars’ sharpness cut through his eyes as blood trickled down from them.

There the moon laid on the floor, bleeding and dead. How pitiful.

Mr plant huffed. This was exhausting. And his star was ruined now, covered in the moon man's blood.

On the way back home, out of nowhere, Argos popped out in front of him. “Mr plant! I saw this on TV and I thought of you,” he handed a happy star to Mr plant.

Huh. Maybe Argos wasn't so bad after all. Mr plant took in the happy star, feeling its touch against his skin. He got his star at last.

“I was thinking that maybe we could go stargazing or–”

Mr plant left before Argos could finish his sentence.

Chapter Text

The lights flickered. The moon shined brightly through the open window. Cold breeze flew in.

Mr flower sighed. He's been stuck in bed for the whole day, unable to get up. He didn't know why. He didn't know how to get out of this state.

Everything felt like a haze, like it was a dream and he was not actually there. It did not feel real.

Whenever he tried to get out of bed and do something– anything, his attempts failed. It was as if gravity was sinking him down.

He has been unable to sleep or eat. He did not want to do anything anymore. Maybe he didn't need to. Maybe it would be better if he stayed like this forever.

If he was gone..would anyone miss him? He didn't have much friends. Now that he thought of it, he was pretty sure Mr plant was his only friend. It's not like he wanted more though, Mr plant was enough. He didn't need anyone else.

Did Mr plant really feel the same way about him though?

Mr flower curled up in a ball. His mind was buzzing and his thoughts were all crumpled up messily.

He didn't know how to feel real again. He desperately wanted to. But all that was left in him was numbness and pain.

Maybe he should call Mr plant. Yes, that's it. He just needs to talk to someone. Mr flower reached out to the telephone, it was just near him. Which was perfect because he didn't want to bother getting up.

He took it on his bed beside him and dialled Mr plant's number. The phone rings for a few seconds before hanging up.

No no no please pick up, I need you now.

He tried to call him again, but the result was still the same. With his hopes crushed, Mr flower didn't know what to do. Who else could he talk with? Who else did he know in his life?

Perhaps the mail guy…Argos was his name?

Mr flower knew he was desperate but he didn't think it would be that bad. Sure he tried to kill him, but talking to him would be more tolerable than this crushing sense of doom that didn't seem to disappear no matter what he did.

His hands went to dial his number, almost idly. The phone rings for a few moments before he picked up.

“Hello! Who is this?”

Shit what does he say?

“Hello?”

Mr flower shifted uncomfortably, forcing himself to talk. “Uhh..hi–”

“You!? What are you calling me for, was it not enough to steal Mr plant away from me!?”

Now he remembered why he tried to avoid him.

“I..I don't know,” he truly didn't know what to say. It was quite funny, he was so desperate to talk to someone but now that he can talk, it was as if all the words suddenly vanished.

Argos’ voice was annoying and obnoxious, still it kept him grounded. For some reason, it calmed him down quite a bit. He wondered how Argos recognised his voice just by saying a few words though.

There was silence from both sides of the call before Argos talked again. “Well, do you need anything?”

“No..I guess not.”

“I’m hanging up then–”

“No, don’t!” Mr flower didn’t even realise he yelled. “Sorry, just…could you stay on the line? I just..I just need someone to talk to.”

Shit, he messed this up didn’t he? There was no way Argos would do this for him, he literally tried to kill him just a few days ago.

“Okay, fine.”

“Wait what..really?”

“Yeah sure, I have nothing to do anyways.” Mr flower could hear him cluck his tongue. “Why didn’t you call Mr plant?”

Ah. He should’ve known the conversation would circle its way to him. That’s probably why Argos agreed to talk, to find out more about Mr plant.

Mr flower pulled the telephone closer to himself, wrapping his arms around it. “I did, he didn’t really…answer.”


Argos sounded happy at that. Of course he would. Mr flower huffed.

Maybe this wasn’t so bad though. Mr plant had never been the most social person, so maybe if this psychopath somehow managed to win his heart, he would be less depressed. Still, for an unknown reason, his heart hurted at that thought.

He wouldn’t be special anymore.

Despite that, Mr flower wanted to help his friend have more friends, or rather a boyfriend. Maybe Mr plant would be less lonely then. He asked,“Would you like me to tell you about Mr plant?” to which Argos enthusiastically agreed. He hoped he wouldn’t regret this.

They chatted for hours, mainly talking about Mr plant. Argos didn't seem so bad afterall. Maybe they could be friends too.

The numbing feeling that Mr flower had a few hours ago seemed to have faded as feelings of joy sparks in him once again.

Chapter Text

Mr plant sneezed onto his tissue. He wanted to buy a new movie CD to watch today, but as destiny would have it, he got sick. He sat there cursing himself.

He's been waiting for this for months, even saving up money for it. It was a sequel to his favourite movie. But now, he'll never be able to watch it. It's probably all sold out by now anyways, everyone would be fighting for it.

Just when he thought his day couldn't get any worse, someone knocked on the door. It was Argos again. Counting to three in his head, Mr plant went to open the door.

Argos immediately let himself in, testing Mr plant's patience. “Hi Mr plant! You look…Are you sick?” Argos said in a sweet voice. Mr plant nodded.

“Oh, I'll make you some soup then! It'll make you feel better” There he goes again, making food in Mr plant's kitchen without his permission. Maybe he should get rid of Argos once and for all, he could go back to the way he was. He could go back to being...alone.

Although the smell of soup was quite nice. Perhaps he would spare him today. Argos cut up and put vegetables in the soup, stirring it. Mr plant patiently waited for it, fidgeting with his hands.

“I almost forgot!” Argos suddenly took out a CD, “I got this for you, Mr plant.”

Mr plant accepted the CD, to find out that it's the CD of the movie that he wanted to watch.

But how did Argos know that? He never told him about it.

Whatever, Mr plant was just glad to have it. He watched Argos cook while he fiddled with the CD in his hands.

Argos’ black curly hair kept falling on his face. Mr plant wondered if it pricked his many eyes. He reached out to put his hair behind his ears.

“M–Mr plant!” Argos stammered, “Thank you!”

His face could be seen now. Not thought Mr plant cared about that, he just didn't want any hair falling on his soup.

“I think it's ready now,” Argos took out a bowl from his cabinet and poured the soup there. He put a spoon and gave it to Mr plant. “I hope you like it,” he gave a soft smile.

Mr plant drank the soup. It was…okay. But it was still better than an empty stomach. Smelt better than it tasted though.

“Do you want to watch the movie together?” Argos looked down.

Now he was pushing it. Mr plant pointed to the door, signalling him to leave. A small frown appeared on Argos’ face for a spilt second before it disappeared. Argos left, without saying anything else. Thank god.

Mr plant put on the movie while drinking his soup. It was amazing, he thought it was worth the wait. His throat started to clear up soon. Maybe his sickness is getting better.

While the movie went on, he thought of the multi-eyed man who made this possible. Argos had gone out of his way to buy the movie for him. Mr plant had just remembered that the movie was in so much demand that people waited outside the store overnights for it…Did Argos really do that just to buy it for him?

A sudden guilt hits Mr plant as he realised just how unappreciative he had been of Argos. He was quite annoying but still, he helped him a lot. Mr plant sighed and glanced at the happy star sitting on his desk. Maybe he should do something for Argos, as a thank you gift. But for now, he should just pay attention to the movie.