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Wilbur looked up from where he was leaned over the counter as he heard the bell on the door chime. He smiled and waved at Niki, who returned the gestures and walked over to the café part of the store. The L’Manberg Bookstore was Wilburs pride and joy, having started it up from nothing, to now being the most popular bookstore in all of L’Manberg. The town itself wasn’t very big; one of those towns where everyone seemed to know everyone. Wilbur liked it this way, a lovely difference from his birth home of Endlantis, which always seemed to be too empty, too quiet. The Minecraft family moved to L’Manberg when Wilbur was 15, meaning he could quickly finish High School and go to College. He decided to Major in music, as it was one of his favourite hobbies. Getting his qualification, he relaxed for a bit, taking the time to get used to his home. He had rented a small apartment near one of the many rivers that flowed through the town.
A few months later, Wilbur had the overwhelming urge to start a bookstore. You know, as you do. Only, he decided to go through with it. Wilburs two friends from College, Niki and Eret, had been more than happy to help Wilbur with his dream. Niki focused more on the practical points, such as what would draw customers attention, what would make them interested, etc. while Eret focused on the design of the place. With the two of them helping, and Wils dad, Phil, knowing who to ask about a building, it didn’t take long before the bookstore was ready to be opened. The location was perfect; it was just off to the side of The Prime Path, which was a strip of road that ran through the middle of L’Manberg. Why it was named, no one really knew. They didn’t bother to ask questions.
Niki had the idea of opening a café in the back of the store, which she ran alongside a man named BadBoyHalo, who they quickly found out could make amazing muffins. Wilbur found himself dragged into his work, enjoying the effort it took to keep the place running. When he had the time, he was exploring the other stores close to the bookstore. One of them was a flower shop, which Wilbur had quickly taken a liking to. It helped that the owner of the store, a man by the name of Alexis Quackity, was very cute. Wilbur couldn’t help but be attracted to the man. However, the feelings didn’t seem to be reciprocated. Every time Wilbur asked Quackity out, the other man would always turn him down. It didn’t bother him too much though, him and Quackity becoming slightly more than acquaintances but not quite friends yet. That changed rather quickly though.
~
Wilbur was on his lunch break, reading a new screenplay that had recently come out (yes he’s a nerd. Sue him) as he snacked on a croissant Niki had baked for him. He was so engrossed in the book, he didn’t hear the door open, or someone walk up to the desk.
“Reading on the job? You’re lucky that you’re your own boss.” Wilbur looked up, startled, only to be looking at Alexis Quackity himself, the man that had been plaguing Wilburs thoughts for far too long. He smiled as he quickly bookmarked his page and set the book down, giving the other man his full attention.
“What can I say? There are some perks,” he joked, pulling a laugh from Quackity. Wilbur noticed Quackity fidgeting more than usual; he kept one hand behind his back, and he was constantly reaching up to adjust his headband, which he had switched in place of his usual beanie. Wilbur personally thought he was stunning with his hair pushed back, but that was something to keep to himself. Wilbur, of course, was as subtle as a brick wall, and took no time in mentioning these changes to Quackity.
“You feeling ok, Q? You’re a lot more fidgety than usual.” Quackity took a deep breath as he pulled his hand out from behind his back, revealing a beautiful bouquet of red and white flowers. Wilbur had no clue what they meant, but it seemed Quackity was prepared for this, as he started to talk.
“Uh, the red carnations mean love and affection, the red amaryllis mean love, passion, and subtle signs of attraction. And I was gonna do red camellia too but then I realised that the bouquet would be very red, and I noticed that I had some white camellia which basically mean adoration, and they’re often given to someone who is well-liked,” Quackity rambled as he pointed to each flower as he named them. Wilbur quickly stepped out from behind the counter, gently removed one of the carnations from the bouquet, and placed it in Quackitys hair, shutting him up.
“Quackity, is this you trying to ask me on a date?” Wilbur teased. Quackity simply nodded, too flustered to speak.
“Well then, yes. I would love to go on a date with you.” As Wilbur tried to get Quackity out of his frozen state, a quiet “Thank fuck!” followed by a “Language.” could be heard from the café.
Wilbur eventually agreed on a time and place for the date as he found a vase to put the bouquet in. They parted ways, each as giddy as the other, both looking forward to their date.
~
Wilbur ran his hands over his suit for what was possibly the millionth time. He was honestly nervous for his date with Alex. Niki had helped him pick out a suit, considering they were going to a rather fancy restaurant; he wanted to make a good impression. He took a deep breath, and headed towards the restaurant.
He ended up arriving right as Quackity did, which was very convenient. The first thing Wilbur noticed was how nice Quackity looked. He was wearing a beautiful navy blue dress with gold decorations all around the rim. Alex had another bouquet in his hands, different colours than last time. Wilbur recognised the carnations and their meaning, but had no clue what the other flowers meant. Wilbur walked up to Alex after taking a moment to gather his thoughts.
“You look amazing,” Wilbur complimented. Quackity blushed and not-at-all subtly checked out Wilbur.
“Don’t look half bad yourself, Wil. Here, these are for you.” Quackity handed him the bouquet, which he gratefully took.
“Thank you. Mind telling me what they mean?” Quackity half-heartedly rolled his eyes.
“If I must. You probably recognise the carnations. I already told you what those mean. These,” he pointed to the blue flowers, “are blue orchids. They stand for beauty, rarity, uniqueness, and spirituality. And there’s also orange roses in there. Those mean enthusiasm and passion. Did you know that different amounts of roses mean different things?” he asked. Wilbur tilted his head slightly.
“Really? What does,” he quickly counted the roses, “six roses mean?”
“Six roses mean ‘I want to be yours’,” Quackity responded confidently, while Wilbur went through the five stages of grief in the span of a second. He quickly composed himself.
“Well, should we go in instead of standing out here all night?” Wilbur offered his arm which Quackity immediately took.
“We probably should. Do you think they’ll put the bouquet in a vase if we ask?” he spoke as they made their way to their table after checking in. Wilbur pulled out both their seats and they sat.
“Well, there’s an empty vase on the table, so might as well.” He placed the flowers gently in the glass vase and looked back at Alex. “So, what do you plan on getting?”
The two ordered and talked about everything and nothing. Eventually, as they were waiting on their main course, the topic got around to the two mens respective stores.
“So, what caused you to open a bookstore?” Alex asked curiously. Wilbur huffed out a laugh.
“It’s an interesting story. You see, I used to live in Endlantis. 2/10, do not recommend. It was far too quiet for me. Another problem was that no one seemed to know how to drive properly, my dad being the exception. I was 14, almost 15, and was walking home from school. I was doing all my road safety things, you know? Looking both ways, listening, all that shit. Was halfway across the street when a car came barrelling down the road, hitting me square on.” Quackity was looking terrified at this point, but also very confused.
“That’s tragic, but what does it have to do with your bookstore?” Wilbur jokingly shushed him.
“I’m getting to that point.” He continued the story. “So, got whacked by a car going about 80 in a school zone, which is very much illegal. But anyway, I was rushed to hospital. I ended up going into what they called ‘traumatic cardiac arrest’, which is basically a heart attack induced by, you guessed it, trauma. Was on and off for a bit, then suddenly I just flatlined. They did everything they could, which involved a bunch of shit that could’ve and did seriously fuck me up, but eventually had to declare me dead. So you know, everyone got all sad and shit. Dad was distraught. Fucking 10 hours later, I am very much alive and breathing. They hadn’t removed my heart monitor for some reason, so almost sent the nurse into cardiac arrest when it started beeping after 10 hours of me being dead. And before you ask, no, I don’t remember what it’s like to be dead.” They were interrupted by the waiter bringing the main course.
“Thanks.” Quackity turned his attention back to Wilbur. “How the fuck did you just come back to life? I’m no medical expert, but I’m pretty sure that’s not supposed to happen.” Wilbur smiled.
“Yeah, it’s not. Apparently it’s called ‘Lazarus Syndrome’ and is incredibly rare. Anyway, remember how I mentioned the shit they put in me fucked me up a bit?” Alex nodded. “Well, that caused me to have many problems for a while. I’m fine now, don’t worry. But basically, dad was like ‘ umm what the fuck, you can’t get away with that so he sued them and won. And since I’m the one who died, I got the money. Well, dad put it in a trust fund for me when I turned 18. So, that’s what caused us to move to L’Manberg, and then I went to College and shit. Met two of my closest friends, Niki and Eret. Then, I was just reading and had the thought ‘ what if I opened a bookstore’ and because I have no impulse control, I did it. Niki had the idea of the café in the back, and Eret helped design the place. I used some of the money I got from suing the medical centre to pay for it, which is why that story was important.” Wilbur took a breath. “And there you have it. The story of how ‘The L’Manberg Bookstore’ came to be.” Quackity was silent for a moment.
“That was… not what I was expecting. I thought you were gonna say something like ‘ oh yeah its always been my passion.’ Not that you died!”
“Yeah, well, I’m just built different. Anyway,” he gestured towards Quackity, “why did you start your store?”
“Well, first of all, I didn’t die. And honestly, it was just something I wanted to do. The irony is my brother is colour-blind.” Wilbur stared at him.
“Wait, your brother is colour-blind, so you open a flower shop?” he asked disbelievingly. Quackity chuckled.
“Yeah, George didn’t find it funny. He loves the blue flowers because they’re one of the only ones he can see.”
They stayed talking even after they had eaten, walking through town appreciating the sights. And if at one point Quackity reached for Wilburs hand, well, who was he to say no?
~
One date became two, two became four, and before they knew it, they were standing under an arch together, family on either side of them. Throughout it all, one thing that stayed the same was Quackity bringing Wilbur flowers. And no matter what, there would always be at least two carnations. One for the bouquet, and one for Wilbur to tuck into Quackitys hair.
“So, what do you think of the invitations?” Wilbur looked up from where he was cooking, Quackity holding out a piece of paper.
“They’re beautiful, duck. Almost as beautiful as you.” Quackity blushed and hit Wilbur gently with the paper. Delicate cursive covered the paper, apart from two spots on either side. The left contained a quill, extremely similar to the one Wilbur used to sign receipts. And to the right was a stunning red carnation, reminiscent of the one Quackity first gave Wilbur all those years ago.