Begonias

Epilogue|Begonias

Clay hummed to himself as he tipped over the watering cans, the plant taking every drop like it was dehydrated.

Clay went back in, smiling as he saw Nick and Darryl still playing the game of Monopoly that they started two hours ago.

He was glad they could keep busy, but it was getting a bit late. He should probably make dinner.

He refilled the watering can before heading back into the welcoming summer heat.

His expansive garden welcomed him.

It was beautiful; There were four different plots of land, each growing two different fruits or vegetables. There were vine fences covered in greenery, and a whole greenhouse nearby.

Clay had decided to take advantage of the expansive backyard, and after he got out of the hospital a year ago, he thought gardening would be a good workout too.

Clay smiled as he went to the garden, watering his flowers.

These plans were more.. a reminder. They were determined and beautiful flowers. He chose them for obvious reasons.

Once he figured out the species of flower that haunted him, he knew what he wanted to do. Everyone was confused by it, but he knew it would help him in the long run. Now, instead of being terrified of pink flowers, he felt a flush of pride.

He gently placed his fingers under the petals of the pretty flower, picking it and placing it into his hair, behind his ear so it would stay.

He continued watering the garden, picking weeds when he found them. When he was done tending to it, he went started getting things for tonight's dinner.

He picked the green and red bell peppers carefully, grabbing four of them. Then he went over to the shallots, picking just enough in place of onions, which weren't in growing season.

He didn't originally plan on keeping his garlic plants, but they were determined to stick around. He pulled one up, brushing some dirt off.

He picked some cucumbers, Bean pods, and some cabbage before heading in.

Nick was there when he got there, smirking at him.

"So how's it going, Greenie?" Clay chuckled at the nickname. Green was his favorite color, and the color of his thumb, so Sapnap was quick to pick up the nickname.

"Pretty good," Clay answered as he went to the sink to rinse off the vegetables. As he finished and started to dry them off he realized something.

"Oh, forgot the tomatoes. Be right in." And he was right in after he got the juicy red fruits.

As soon as he had everything in and rinsed, Darryl was there, helping him get everything set. They were going to have black beans and rice with homegrown salad on the side. Clay smiled to himself as he popped the black beans out of the pods.

Clay had gotten better at cooking these past months, and this was obvious as he cut the shallots with ease.

The second he put the knife on the cutting board, letting his guard down, a familiar pair of arms slipped around his waist. Clay yelped a bit in surprise, before laughing off his initial surprise.

"Hey, sunshine." Clay said, lifting his arm to get George within forehead kissing distance. George chuckled at him, before grabbing his chin to get a real kiss, quick and sweet.

The smaller boy took a deep breath through his nose, humming. The rice had finished cooking since Clay had started it earlier, while he was gardening. Darryl was busy starting on sauteing the shallots that Clay had just handed to him.

"What's for dinner tonight?" George said lowly, his voice doing that thing that sent shivers down Clay's spine. Clay turned around, glaring at him for a second before he started to cut the bell peppers.

"It's black beans and rice with bell peppers and shallots. And salad." George snuggled deeper into his boyfriend's back, smiling.

"You act like you aren't more proud of your garden than your YouTube channel." Clay laughed at this as he scraped the peppers into a bowl, setting it on the counter next to Darryl for when he needed them. Darryl smiled and thanked him.

Since the beans were fresh, they cooked faster. Dinner would probably be done in the span of half an hour.

"Want to get started coding that plugin?" Clay asked George, who smirked at him in return.

"Maybe we could do something else..?" George asked, his eyebrows moving suggestively. Dreams face lit up, and George laughed, smacking him on the shoulder.

---

Dinner was great, as it always was now that Clay and Darrell were partners; Clay would grow, and most of the time, Darryl would cook.

Clay hummed as he and George worked together doing the dishes, smiling at one another. Then he got the phone call.

Clay picked up the phone, and his expression lit up in recognition as he heard Jarred, that boy from oh so long ago.

"Yeah, I can do that."

---

It was around ten in the morning, and Clay had set up some chairs in his garden, his flowers to the right, and a camera crew across from him.

He was dressed in a normal white button-up, and his gardening jeans, which were a stained up pair of light wash jeans, with holes worn through the knees. He couldn't help but smile.

Jarred had made progress. He was now recording interviews to go on the charity webpage. He was more confident, but still just as kind as he was the last time they met.

Speaking of the last time they met, all of the questions were about the symptoms of the disease and how they had affected Clay. It was about traumas.

This interview was more about the way he got through it, and how well he'd recovered from it. The upside of the worst of it.

When they were nearly done, Jarred finally asked the question.

"So, did you ever figure out which species of flower it was?" This made Clay smile.

"Yes, Actually."

He reached over to the potted plant at his side.

"These are the very same flower that caused me so much pain, grown from seeds into what you see now."

"These are my Begonias."

An

Thank all of you so much for coming along with me on this journey. I just want to let you know that I appreciate every comment, and that all of your feedback has made some of my bad days a million times better.

I hope you will keep in touch, because this is far from the last fanfic I will be writing. Not even the last DreamNotFound fic.

Next chapter is a sneak peek.

I wish you all good reading.

Sincerely, Blythe.