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“Hey hey! Ding ding ding! Ding! Hey! Over here!”
At the sound of the Thousand Café Zukan’s service bell, Green perked up, almost spilling their brewing pot of tea across the table in surprise.
Whenever they made anything, whether it be food, drink or the odd craft project in their spare time, Green had a tendency to slip into a flow state, facing their tasks head on with little regard to the world around them. There were only two things that could snap them out of that state- the sound of a customer, and the voice of one of the other flowers.
And, right about now, they were hearing both at the same time. Not a rare occurrence, but still quite a shock when they were just about to restock on Green Tea.
Looking up from the table, Green could make out the long sleeve of Aqua’s shirt clamoring over the edge of the counter, repeatedly tapping the service bell. If that wasn’t enough, the kid was literally saying “ding” over and over again. Standing beside Aqua was Seth, waiting quietly and expectantly, their notebook opened to a page covered in details for a large order of food.
Many people in the food service industry would be too annoyed by such antics to keep their cool- such was apparent the last time Orange tried working the bar with Green and literally punched Yellow for ordering 15 consecutive orders of cornbread and chilli. But Green took pride and joy in serving customers a warm plate and a happy smile. No matter how big the order, it was worth it in the name of spreading kindness.
“Yoohoo, Greennnn!” Aqua chimed from below the counter, “Ding ding! I’m making bell sounds! I want to order!”
“Aqua, would you please be respectful?” Seth scolded, pulling the bell away from Aqua's arm, “Green is doing a service for us, which means you should be polite and thankful. We need to work on your manners, kid.”
"It’s no problem at all," Green signed, their eyes closed in a pleased display, "What would you two like to order?"
In response to Green’s gestures, Aqua jumped up from the floor, landing gently on Seth’s head like a falling petal.
“Uuu, Seth, Seth, what did they say? Was it somethin’ good?”
Seth scrambled to remove Aqua from their hair, grabbing her under the arms and holding her in front of them like a cat. Her arms went limp, but her impish grin didn’t falter in the slightest.
“Green said that they are ready to take our order,” Seth translated, “Now would you please stop climbing on me? Your sharp fingernails on my skin are an affront to my senses.”
Aqua’s face didn’t move an inch, the information seemingly bouncing right off of her skull, falling on deaf ears. Although Green couldn’t make out her eyes below her bangs, they could infer that they were staring unblinkingly at Seth, much like a wild lizard keeping watch on a fly.
Aqua was always quite a pleasure to be around, in Green’s eyes. She had a sort of curiosity and wonder for the world that they looked up to, something that seemed to have left the eyes of every other person Green had met. No matter if it was something as exciting as playing games with the others, or something as boring and tedious as watching them make Beef Wellington, Aqua always looked so excited to see something new, and to try it herself. Green missed having that sort of unfettered appreciation for the beauty of life. The constant stress of running nearly every restaurant across the Flower Kingdom made it hard to feel that kind of appreciation. Despite this, they always savoured happiness in the small doses it came in. Every interaction with the flowers was a gift, and this moment was no different.
“What am I going to do with you, you absolute creature of a human?” Seth sighed, setting Aqua back down on the floor. “Now, anyway, where were we? Ah yes, food.”
Seth set their notebook down on the counter, pulling two stools up for them and Aqua. Although the counter was often empty due to the exclusive nature of the Flower Castle’s café only letting the flowers through most of the time, the counter some nights doubled as bar seating- and whenever it did, Green knew it would be a good night.
“Ahem…” Seth cleared their throat, preparing to read through the list, “Alright, so for me, I would like to order one serving of katsudon, along with a Scarlixir imported from the Dark Sanctuary. Can you do that?”
Green nodded, diligently taking note of Seth’s order in a Mew Mew Kissy Cutie licensed notepad that had inexplicably been dropped somewhere in the castle around a month ago.
“And for the kid… we’ll order… I’m sorry, what is this?”
Green craned over to look at Seth’s notebook. Inside was what appeared to be Aqua’s handwriting, written in red gel pen and almost completely illegible. In the same moment, Aqua looked over to the notebook, her third eye opening wide in excitement as she pointed out her handiwork.
“Uee hee hee! Sigma Meal Skibidi Slicers!”
At the invocation of this completely nonsensical phrase, Seth turned their head slowly towards Aqua with a look of abject disgust.
“Never say that string of words in front of me again, or I’m taking away your iPad. All that YouTube brainrot is starting to get to your head.”
Aqua huffed, crossing her arms as she turned away from the notebook. In the spirit of their lightner idol, Seth raised their finger to correct her.
“If I recall the video you are referencing correctly, the correct name for what you are ordering is ‘quesadilla.’ Would you please refer to it by its correct title so that Green actually knows what you’re ordering?”
“Uuu… quesadilla please.” Aqua muttered, “And some Green Tea.”
Aqua’s sudden silence was… out of character for her, to say the least. Green had seen such hesitation in others, but never her. And, in this case, it all came down to Seth. Green had always gotten along with Seth, as they did with everyone else. The two of them were definitely some of the more intellectual of the group, they were both non-binary (something they didn’t share with anyone else in the dark world at this current time), and Seth was one of the only other flowers who knew sign language. As such, they always found themselves talking with each other when the whole gang would gather due to their similarities. But there was one key difference between them- Seth could often be rude to others that they deemed less smart than them, or more annoying. That’s where Green had them beat.
And that’s also why Green felt such profound compassion for Aqua’s plight in this moment. Green knew so well the kind of stress and pain that useless societal expectations could put on others, especially somebody still growing into themself like she was. A young bud must be nurtured, not trampled. Even though Seth didn’t seem to have any bad intentions, the way they shut down Aqua was something that Green couldn’t take lying down, especially seeing the way that it dimmed that light she so naturally gave off.
They had to counter it. And they knew just the way.
Green proceeded to pull a dry erase whiteboard from under the counter, and quickly scrawled something on it in verdant marker. Looking up, they could see Aqua’s pout slightly subside as she began to look in curiosity towards the sign. Giving her a smile, green turned the sign around.
“One order of Sigma Meal Skibidi Slicers, and one cup of Liquid Rizz. Anything else?”
Aqua looked at the whiteboard, her mouth agape in joy and her eyes sparkling as she read.
“Yes, yes, YES!!! I want uhhh… uhhh… Uuu! An Ohio Cream Wednesday!”
Hearing Aqua utter the bizarre references once again, Seth looked towards her, and then at Green, their gaze narrowing as they looked at the writing on the sign.
"Green, are you kidding me?" Seth signed frantically, "Don’t encourage her! She’s been quoting this mindless nonsense for days now! Any more and her vocabulary’s going to be reduced to nothing but internet buzzwords!"
Green shook their head with a smile on their face, setting down the posterboard to free their hands for conversation.
"Words change, Seth. And so does self expression. What’s so wrong with her talking this way if it makes her happy?"
Seth’s eyebrows furrowed, as their hands moved faster.
"What’s wrong with it? All of this hogwash can NOT be good for her brain. She’s gonna be stupid! Do you want her to be stupid?"
Green thought for a moment, before gently signing back.
"Would you still love her if she was?"
Seth stood up from their seat, barely containing their rising frustration.
"What!? What kind of question is that!? Of course I would! She’s basically my little sister!"
"Well then why does it matter to you so much?"
"Because I CARE about her! The world’s a really shitty place, Green. If she doesn’t have the smarts to handle it, she’s gonna get absolutely steamrolled by reality."
Green’s eyes softened, a warm smile gracing their lips.
"That’s just the thing, Seth. Reality’s a harsh thing. She’s a child, discovering the world, discovering herself for the first time. And that’s a beautiful thing. If you teach her that finding her own interests and enjoying them is wrong, then all you’re doing is enforcing that harsh reality on her when it’s not necessary. How would you like it if I had done that to you all those years ago?”
Seth tensed for a moment, before sitting back down, defeated.
"You’re… right. I guess, in a way, I’ve been making the very problems I’ve been trying to solve. I just want her to be happy and safe, you know? You’re the most caring out of all of us. You should get it."
Green laughed softly, before pulling up a stool behind the counter and sitting across from Seth.
"I do. I remember when you were young, you know. Back when you still went by a color name like the rest of us. I was terrified when you told me you were non-binary, because I know what it’s like to navigate the world when you don’t fit into the boxes society sets for you. It’s… lonely. Tiring. But I was also really happy to see you blossoming into a new you, somebody who was unapologetically their own, without anybody telling them what they could be. That’s why, that day, I vowed that I would do my best to nurture you and stay by your side, so that you’d never be alone on this path. So that you could persevere, knowing that there is always someone in your corner who loves you."
Listening closely to these words, Seth took off their glasses briefly to clean them, their mouth tugging into a faint smile.
"You’re really kind, Green. You know that? It’s no wonder Aqua likes you so much."
Green grinned at this, flattered.
"I try my best. Green is the color of kindness, I suppose. Although you’re pretty kind yourself, deep down. You just gotta let it shine a little more."
A moment later, however, Green stood up from their stool, picking up the whiteboard from in front of Aqua.
"I just want to add, though. We need to remind Aqua that we’re invested in her choices. And that means we’re going to play along. Both of us."
Seth perked up, realizing that they had been signed up for something they did not ask for.
“I’m sorry, what?”
But alas, it was too late for them.
Green quickly scribbled a new phrase across their whiteboard, flipping it around to show Seth and Aqua.
“If you would like, you may also order today’s special. A burger, with no honey mustard.”
Green turned their head to Seth, a knowing smirk on their face. Seth could only watch in horror as Aqua gasped in recognition at this phrase.
“Green…” Seth mouthed, “What have you done?”
In almost no time at all, it seemed as if Aqua had been supercharged with energy, as she jumped up from her seat, pirouetting across the table in mirth.
“UEE HEE HEE! EATING A BURGER WITH NO HONEY MUSTARD! EATING A BURGER WITH NO HONEY MUSTARD! EATING A BURGER WITH NO HONEY MUSTARD!”
“GOD DAMMIT, Green!” Seth groaned, their head in their hands, “She’s gonna be like this for HOURS! Why did you do that?”
Green giggled faintly, signing once again to Seth.
"Payback. Now anyway, that’ll be 67 flowery dollars, please."