datura metel ( emil / emma )
emil had been keeping close watch over the past few months.
it started about ( what he assumed was ) three months ago, the flowers scattered around where he would normally hang around. sometimes there would be other things with them, little trinkets or snacks, but never any indication as to who was placing them there.
at first he had just assumed it was ada, since she was probably the only one who cared enough to do so, but when she never addressed it nor asked him about it, he realized that it wasn't her.
it confused the man to no end. that wasn't to say he didn't appreciate the gifts, far from it, but there was no reason he should be receiving them. there was no special occasion, and it wasn't like he ever talked to anyone else, whether that was due to his own choices or ada's influence.
after realizing they weren't from ada, he became a little less trusting of the small gifts, but nevertheless appreciated them. it'd gladly take the flowers offered to him, in fact, he'd keep them until they were well past decayed, the scent of the flowers permeating the air of his little corner in his room.
yet, he still had no idea as to who they were from.
surely the resident gardener had to be upset with all the missing flowers, especially given how beautiful he thought they were. he didn't know the names of any of them, but they were all brightly colored, with soft petals that he would feel gently between his fingers until he couldn't do so without damaging them. she seemed to take her job in the garden seriously. . . he just hoped she wouldn't think he was the one taking the flowers.
for the longest time, he remained oblivious to who could possibly be giving him these gifts. rarely were they ever placed in or around his room, more likely to be found in the places he would linger around most, like the back of the library or near the shelves in the common areas. if he was honest, it felt more comfortable that way. he never did like people in his space.
this came to a culmination when he noticed something when going back to his room after a match. he checked around the corner before going down the hallway to his room, as he always did, but while doing so, he saw the gardener. she was knelt down in front of his door, looking like she was messing with something that emil had to squint to even notice.
what in the world was she doing by his room?
he normally felt scared by the others in the manor, preventing him from ever talking to any of them directly, but emma was a little different. of course he felt anxious around her, as he did around everyone, but he couldn’t help his interest in the way that she seemed oddly familiar.
ada had once informed him that it was probably because she was in the asylum with him, causing her to seem more familiar than any of the other survivors.
somehow, it made him feel more comfortable around the other. she knew the same hardships that emil knew from that dark time. he almost felt bad for the cold way he presented himself in front of the gardener. it was just that ada had once said that she didn’t want him getting too close to anyone there— he doubted emma would be the exception.
the former patient didn’t like being made to be so distant, but he was always assured that it was for his own safety. he wanted to believe that, truly, but it was getting harder to in recent days.
with many thoughts swimming in his head, he reluctantly removes himself from the edge of the wall, shuffling towards where emma was kneeling before his room's door. he stands there silently for a moment, simply watching the gardener with a questioning expression before he pipes up.
". . emma?"
she nearly jumps out of her skin at the sudden sound of emil's voice. she looked more like a deer in headlights than anything, having been caught red - handed. despite this, the former patient didn't seem to catch onto anything, the same confused expression riddling his face.
"why are you here?" he mumbles in his usual raspy tone, tilting his head at the other in question. a polite smile graces his face on reflex, a learned behavior from years of having to feign niceties, but his nervous demeanor shines through with the way he picks at his fingernails incessantly.
“looking for ada? she isn’t here.” he shifts from foot to foot as he awaits the gardeners reply, only to get a quick head shake in reply.
“no, no, i wasn’t looking for her! i was just, uhm. .” emma trails off, clasping her hands together in front of her as she struggles to think of a proper response. after a moment, she gently nudges a bouquet of flowers that was lying on the floor near her with her shoe, trying to call his attention to it. “just dropping this off, if you don’t mind.”
he looks down at the bouquet, brows knitting together as he tilts his head a bit. they were the same kind that he had been given countless times before, the kind that he liked the most. he glances back up to emma, still looking confused.
“. . you did that?” answered by a reluctant nod from emma.
“i was hoping to be able to set it out before you got back from your match,” she begins to explain quickly, avoiding the patient's gaze. “i guess i wasn’t quick enough!”
“you weren’t,” he chides absentmindedly, shuffling closer in a cautious manner and waiting for emma to back up a bit before bending down to pick up the flowers. getting a closer look at them, he was delighted to see that the flowers contained in the bundle hadn’t changed. same smell, same look, roughly the same quantity.
the both of them stand there silently as emil picks through the flowers, more focused on them than anything else before he notices a little note that had been attached. he glances down at it, then up at emma, then back down to the note.
after a second of blankly staring at his name on the back of the small envelope, he brings it up to his mouth to snap the string holding it against the flowers with his teeth, grabbing the paper before it could fall to the floor. he couldn’t remember any of the other bouquets having a note like this. . .
he tilts his head to himself in confusion as he opens the envelope with shaky hands, withdrawing the folded paper within it and unfolding it. as soon as he opens it, he begins to read, slowly but surely.
‘ Dear Emil, ’ the letter read, ‘ I hope you’ve been well! I’m sorry to change the bouquet with the addition of this letter, but I hope you won’t mind too much. ’
he pauses his reading to look at emma, who was still standing there, blushing furiously and looking off to the side. what was she so embarrassed about? was it because he saw her?
‘ I just thought it was due time that I told you who I was, since I’m giving you all these flowers… I’m sure you can guess, but it’s Emma! I just notice you hanging around the garden sometimes when you think no one else is there, but you never go in. I’m not sure why, but you’re always welcome there! ’
his brow furrows a bit as she mentions having seen him lurking around the garden. he hadn’t meant for anyone to see him. . . maybe now he understood why emma felt so embarrassed.
‘ I just thought some flowers would make you happy! I know you spend a lot of time in your room or by yourself, but I’ve noticed that you look to be in a better mood when I leave the flowers and goodies out for you! I know this is a dumb idea, but I really like you, and I want to get to know you better. ’
emil frowns a bit at the words, but he doesn’t seem upset, per se. emma just sounded so friendly. he couldn’t grasp why she was being so kind, nor why he would’ve been advised against talking to her if she wasn’t a threat to him.
‘ Maybe for now we could just write to each other! I’ve heard you can’t read or write very well, but that’s ok. Your letters don’t have to be long, so long as it’d make you more comfortable talking to me like that. ’
‘ I hope you enjoy the flowers, Emil! And, if you wanna talk to me more, you can always find me in the garden, or you could just leave a note at my door! ’
‘ Best regards, Emma Woods.’
emil looks up at emma as he finishes reading the note, holding the paper tightly between his fingers. he says nothing, only staring at her as he thinks silently.
“. . . i know it’s stupid,” emma laughs dryly, tone sounding incredibly nervous despite the noise as she holds out a hand to take the note from him. “y-you don’t have to keep it, if you don’t like it! i just thought— i thought it’d be easier to get you to talk to me like that.”
to emma’s surprise, he doesn’t give her the paper back like she had expected him to. instead, he draws it closer to himself, holding it against his chest protectively.
“no. i want it,” he replies simply, taking a step back from her.
emma sputters for a second as she tries to think of something to say, but just decides to drop her hand and look down at the ground as her face burns with embarrassment. she felt like this was going all wrong, not at all like she had imagined it in her head. maybe she would just be better off leaving, there was no way that he would want to talk to her after—
“. . . wait,” he mutters gently before opening the door to his room, taking the note and bouquet inside with him before shutting the door.
emma wasn’t all that sure what to do now. well. . . he did tell her to wait, didn’t he? maybe she just needed to sit here until he came back. it’s not like she had anything better to do anytime soon.
hardly anything can be heard from his room. the gardener just keeps herself glued to the wall beside his doorway as she waits for him to come out again, feeling her chest tighten with dread at all the possibilities of what could happen.
what if he wasn’t going to come out? what if she was just wasting her time here and making him uncomfortable? what if she just made him even more scared of her?
with all these questions swimming in her head, for better or for worse, the next ten minutes spent outside his room don’t feel all too long. his door doesn’t open again, but she does hear shuffling from the other side of it, causing her to perk up and glance towards it.
she hears a gentle sliding noise, but the door still doesn’t open, confusing her before she looks down and sees a messily folded piece of paper shoved into the envelope that her note had come in. upon bending down to pick it up, she notices that her name had been written underneath where she had written his.
her heart begins to race with hope as she takes out and unfolds the piece of paper, being surprised as something falls from the paper. looking down at the floor, she saw what appeared to be a colorful ( yet wilted ) flower, presumably one from a bouquet she had previously given to him.
the gardener blushes happily at the notion, smiling to herself as she begins to read his return note, written in shaky handwriting.
‘ Dear Emma. I would like to talk. Thank you for the gifts. I like them a lot. I’m bad at spelling and righting but I am trying to get better. We can talk like this. Go get more paper and right back to me. I will wait.’
‘ Sincerly, Emil.’
she grins to herself and has to hold back a happy squeal as she finishes reading, folding the paper up and putting it into a pocket of her apron as she speed - walks back to her room. she would be coming back a few minutes later, of course.
she just had to go get a pen and some paper.