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"Raz! How you doing? Did you come by to jam out for a bit?" Helmut rolled towards the junior psychonaut happily.
Raz flushed and held a colorful little paper envelope to his chest carefully. "Oh, no, I, uh… is Agent Zanotto around? I have a plant question. A couple actually."
"Let me go find him!" Helmut started rolling around the house. "Bobby! Raz is here with a plant question! That's more your wheelhouse than mine, so I figured you'd want to take care of it."
"Coming!" Bob called from the back garden. When he came to the entrance, he smiled when he saw Raz standing there. "Razputin! To what do I owe the pleasure?"
"Well, I want to try growing something from a seed, but I've never really… done that before. I was hoping to get some advice before I start so it actually blooms," Raz handed Bob the packet of seeds and shuffled his feet.
Bob adjusted his glasses to look at the little packet and smiled. "Lilac, eh? They're a little fussy, but pretty forgiving if you treat them right. This for anyone special in particular?"
Raz shrugged and looked away. "No! I mean sort of! I mean… they're for Lili, and I know they'll take a while to grow, but I figured it'll be worth it, right?"
"You're right about them taking a while, if you're planning to grow lilac from seed," Bob chuckled. "I actually think I have a cheat sheet around here somewhere for how to properly germinate lilac. Do you happen to know what lilac means? In the language of flowers?"
Raz jolted and bit his lip, and Helmut laughed. "Given his expression, I think he does, but for those of us that aren't in the know, what do lilacs mean, Bobby?"
Bob sifted through a few books with a soft smile. "Lilacs mean first love. Something I'm sure my great niece will know."
"I really hope so…" Raz mumbled, flushing harder when Bob and Helmut started to laugh. He rubbed his arm nervously until Bob let out a small "aha" and pulled a binder from his bookshelf, skimming to a plastic divider and pulling out a sheet of paper.
"Here we go, germinating lilac. I hope you know this is going to take a few months , Raz. Lilac is a bush, so it's slow to grow," Bob handed back the seeds and the paper with a raised brow. "And if you need any help, I'm more than happy to-"
"I really want to do this myself!" Raz cut him off and bit his lip. "Sorry...I just… really want to do this by myself. but…I could come to you for tips?"
"Sounds good," Bob chuckled softly and patted Raz's shoulder. "I'm always here if you need me. For plant matters or advice. It might not be good advice, but at least it'll be free, right?"
Raz laughed as he put seeds and paper in his pocket and nodded. "Thank you Agent Zanotto! Thank you, Agent Fulbear! I'm gonna go get started right away!"
He waved as he ran out and Bob sighed.
"He reminds me of you, Helmut," Bob picked up the rolling jar with a soft smile. "I finally got my aloe plant sprouting new leaves, by the way. I had to prune quite a lot to get her healthy again. She was quite mad at me."
"I could always have grown you another one when I get my body back," Helmut laughed.
Bob laughed and shook his head. "I wouldn't have wanted a new one. I wanted the one you grew me for our fifth anniversary."
"Well, I'm glad she's perked up, then," Helmut said softly, content to be in his husband's arms for a while.
-----
Raz looked carefully at the five terra cotta pots in front of him, and bit his lip as he read the directions Bob had given him for potting the germinated seeds.
Just as he placed the fifth seed in the fifth pot, Adam put a hand on his shoulder and Raz jumped a foot in the air.
"Don't scare me like that!" Raz clutched his chest and turned back to the pots with a sigh as Adam laughed.
"Sorry, Raz," Adam patted his back and looked over the pots with interest. "Did you get an assignment from Bob Zanotto?"
"No, uh, can you keep a secret?" Raz sprinkled plant food in the pots and looked at the instructions again. When Adam crossed his arms and nodded with a smirk, Raz smiled sheepishly. "They're for Lili. I'm trying to grow her flowers from seeds. I want to make sure one survives though, so I'm doing five, just in case."
"She's gonna love it, little guy," Adam chuckled. "But my lips are sealed, promise."
Raz smiled and placed the pots as the directions told him to, and he cleaned up his station with a grin. The pots didn't look like much now, but he hoped at least one sprouted.
-----
"Agent Zanotto? When should I start talking to the bushes? I know I won't understand them if they talk back, but I heard talking to them helps them grow, and I don't know when to start," Raz bounced up to Bob and smiled sheepishly. "I've kind of already started, telling them good morning and good night, commenting when I give them plant food or water."
"Do you see sprouts?" Bob raised an eyebrow. When Raz nodded, he smiled. "Then you're in the clear. Talk to them about anything and everything. Plants love to listen about your day, about your hopes and dreams, and perhaps the little redheads they're intended for?"
Raz flushed and looked around frantically and Bob laughed softly. "Don't worry, Raz. I made sure she wasn't around. But now is a perfectly good time to start talking to them. It'll only help them grow better."
Raz nodded and smiled. "Okay! Thank you! Oh! Do you want to see a picture I took of the first sprouts?"
"If I ever say no to that question, you can be sure my brain's been switched out," Bob chuckled as Raz pulled out his phone and opened a picture. Each of the five pots had the smallest green sprout sticking up out of them, and Bob smiled softly.
"You're doing marvelously, Raz. The hard part is over, it should be smooth sailing from here on out," Bob patted Raz's shoulder gently and Raz beamed.
"I can't wait to give them to her...I really hope she likes them," Raz looked at the picture one last time before putting his phone back in his pocket.
"Raz, you're taking the time to grow flowers from seeds just for her," Bob chuckled. "She's going to love it."
"Thank you," Raz smiled. "Okay! I'm gonna go talk to them for a bit!"
"Sounds good," Bob watched him run away with a smile.
Raz was a sweet kid.
-----
"Who are you reading to, Raz?" Gisu smiled as she leaned on the back of his chair. Raz looked up from the book he was reading and he blushed softly, pointing to the tiny bushes in his window.
"I'm growing some lilac bushes for Lili, and it's good to talk to them, even if you can't hear them talk back," Raz smiled sheepishly. "Lili told me this was her favorite book of fairy tales to check out of the library, so I've been reading some of them to the bushes."
Gisu grinned as she put her hands on her cheeks. "Oh my God, that is the cutest thing I've ever heard! She's gonna love them!"
Raz grinned and turned back to the book. "Her birthday is in about two months, I'm trying to get them flowering before then so they look their best when I give them to her."
"That is the sweetest, most romantic thing I've ever heard," Gisu kissed the top of his helmet with a chuckle. "You've got a lucky girlfriend, Raz."
"I just really wanted to give her something she'd like…" Raz smiled as he looked at the plants. "She deserves it."
Gisu smiled and patted his back. "Well, I'll let you get back to your reading. Keep me updated, okay?"
"Will do!" Raz smiled and waved as Gisu left.
"Where was I?" Raz turned back to the book. "Oh right! The human midwife was told to only apply the magic cream to the baby, but without thinking, she rubbed her eye-"
-----
"Lili! There you are!" Raz grinned as he ran up and took her hands. "Okay, I know your birthday isn't for another month, but if I wait any longer to give you your present, I'm going to explode. Literally. Come with me!"
Lili didn't get a chance to respond as he started running and dragging her with him. Bob grinned and looked at Helmut, picking him up and quickly following after.
"I have to see this!" Bob laughed to himself as he chased after the children, Helmut laughing boisterously.
They caught up easily because at some point, Raz stopped running and covered Lili's eyes with his hands.
"Where are you taking me, Raz?"
"Just inside the Questionable Area!" Raz grinned. "Your present is just… weirdly shaped? So I couldn't put them in a box. You'll see!"
"Okay," Lili sounded skeptical. Raz grinned as he brought her to a table in the Questionable Area. Adam and Gisu were grinning as they guarded the five pots on the table. Raz carefully guided Lili to just in front of the table.
"Are you ready to see your early birthday present?" Raz was bouncing in place as Bob and Helmut caught up.
"It better not be something weird, Raz," Lili crossed her arms and smirked as Raz laughed.
"You tell me," Raz pulled his hands away carefully. Lili blinked in the light for a moment before her eyes readjusted to the light and she gasped.
On the table were the five pots, each one with a healthy little lilac shrub inside. She covered her mouth with her hands as she took a closer look. Adam and Gisu gave Raz a thumbs up as they left.
"Raz! This is so cool! Where did you find lilac starters this time of year?"
"I didn't," Raz rocked back and forth on his feet with a flush. "I… raised them from seeds I wasn't sure how many would sprout, so I did five, but they all grew for me…"
Lili turned to look at him in shock. "You grew five lilac plants from seeds ?"
"And I talked to them, read to them, and made sure they all got plenty of sunlight and water," Raz flushed. "Do you like it?"
" Like it?" Lili laughed, throwing her arms around his neck. "I love it! This is the best present ever!"
She kissed his cheek and turned back to the table. "Oh, they're so pretty! And healthy! You did a really good job, considering you can't understand plants."
Raz grinned and noticed Bob and Helmut for the first time, waving sheepishly. "Your great uncle gave me some tips, but I wanted to do it all myself."
"Shh shh shh! The plants are talking!" Lili held up a hand. "Uh huh? Oh! Okay! Oh, that's so sweet! Yeah? Yeah! Okay! Okay, I'll tell him!"
Lili turned to Raz with the widest grin. "They say you took such extra special care of them, they wanted to make sure they were as pretty as possible when they bloomed and they think I'm very lucky to have a boy who loves me so much that he talks about me as much as you do."
Raz flushed and laughed nervously. "They… they said that? What else did they say?"
"Not much, they didn't want you to be too embarrassed," Lili smiled. "I love them, Raz, I can't wait to plant them in the ground."
Lili kissed his cheek again and flushed. "So… is there a reason you picked lilacs?"
Bob grinned as Raz laughed shyly.
"Well, uh, you were talking about the language of flowers and stuff and you were really interested in it, so I checked out a book from the library about it and it said that lilacs, were, uh… that they meant… you know…"
"First love," Lili laughed and hugged him tight. "You are so cute and such a sap!"
Raz hugged her back tightly, blushing a bright red. "Happy early birthday, Lili. I'm really glad you like it…"
"I'd have liked anything you got me, as long a they weren't cut flowers," Lili mumbled into his shoulder. "But this was really sweet, and I'm really gonna have to pull out all the stops on your birthday!"
Raz laughed and rested his head against hers. "You don't have to!"
"I want to, though!" Lili grinned. "C'mon, help me plant these!"
"Okay! Where should we put them?" Raz picked up two of the pots in his hands and a third with telekinesis.
"I know just the place!" Lili took the other two and grinned, running off happily. Raz laughed and followed her, carefully carrying his pots.
Bob laughed softly and patted Helmut's ball. "I had total faith in him. I knew he was going to make it work."
"Yeah, he's a good kid and he's got a good head on his shoulders," Helmut chuckled. "He was a little adventurous, going for a bush instead of something more simple."
"I agree, but I think the payoff was worth it," Bob sighed. "It's so nice to see young love."
"Reminds me of when we met," Helmut's voice was soft and warm and Bob sighed.
"Yeah. We'll get your body back soon and then we can do things like this for each other."
"I look forward to it."
-----
Lili smiled as she looked at the five baby bushes planted outside the library. Raz was curled up on his side, asleep, and Lili gently took his helmet off to stroke his hair.
He's a good boy, Lili
You'd better do your best to keep him!
He couldn't stop talking about you! He's completely head over heels!
Lili laughed and gently shushed the bushes. "I'll do my best. He is pretty special."
Raz sighed in his sleep as she stroked his hair and she smiled.
He really was something special.