You always liked cloudwatching. It was a calm way to help you relax. And being relaxed is something that's rare these days. Out behind your lakeside house without the lake, was a large, vast valley that led to rolling hills in the distance. You'd always come home from work and look at the sky. Lying on the soft grass made your back feel better, and cleared your head.

You have a tough time concentrating at work. Whenever you're trying to accomplish something, annoying co-workers will start to mess with you. There's Gilbert, the concieted, cocky guy who uses "awesome" in at least every sentence, and Antonio, the slightly creepy Spaniard who always had a weird grin plastered across his face.

But the absolute WORST of them all is Francis.

Francis is a sick perv who'll go around feeling you up and saying creepy things like, "Ohonhonhon, mon cherie, you look very nice today~" or "Damn, Gil. Have you SEEN this?" Gesturing to your butt. You've become too familiar with his skeevy actions, and you'd always brush off his compliments with a "Pssh.. Please." And walk off to try to accomplish something. Even though you were annoyed on end by Francis, you didn't know that you were unconsiously saving your feelings for him in a huge resevoir behind your heartsrtings, feeling your heart skip a beat when you see him laugh. Not his creeper laugh, but his sincere, honest-to-god laugh. Oh, and how did that lauugh make you smile uncontrollably.

Today, however, Francis didn't turn up for work. Surprising everyone, even yourself, you asked Gilbert a question. "Where's F-Francis?"

Gilbert just sneered at you and said, "Oh... he's... nowhere."

You scoffed him and went back to your desk where a pile of papers were waiting to be filed and looked over. After they were all put in the right places, you retired early, earning a few questionable smirks from Antonio and Gilbert.

You arrived at your house at around six-thirty. You dumped your bag of junk on an awaiting chair and sighed, then tromped to your room to get dressed in some free clothes.

You put on a extra-large t-shirt that bore old paint and grass stains that you could never get to wash out and some loose sweatpants. Before you did anything, you needed to get your cloud therapy. You day was stressful, as usual. And not havinng Francis around just made it that much weirder.

You walked out the back of your door and settled down in your spot. The sun was at that point where it was about to sink under the hills, casting large flares of orange into your (e/c) eyes. You sat there in tranquility, absorbing as much quietness as you could.

*SNAP*

A twig cracked from behind you.

Turning around, you saw, right before your very eyes, a handome, well-dressed Francis, holding a boquet of roses behind him. You put on an angry face, but somewhere deep inside you, the dam holding back your feelings cracked.

Francis didn't say anything, he just walked over to your spot and sat next to you, eyeing the beautiful sunset.

"It is perfect, is it not? Just like you." He said, turning his face toward you.

You laughed half-heartedly and sunk your head into your knees, hugging them. "Didn't your mother ever tell you that lying was wrong?"

Francis seemed taken aback, much to your shock, he put his hand on your forehead.

"W-What are you doing?!?!" You hollered, feeling your face instictivley heat up at his soft touch. It wasn't like the times where he tried to rub your butt, this was a different feel. He was touching you like you were a fragile china doll.

He looked up and stuck out his tongue in concentration. "Trying to see if my darling has a fever. Surely you cannot be serious in what you are saying?"

You ripped your face away from his enticing touch and said, "Of course I am."

"But why, you are beautiful."

"As if. I'm sitting here in my sweats and oversized shirt. There is nothing remotley sexy about that."

Francis laughed. That bastard LAUGHED. "But of course, you must be joking! You are beautiful the way you are, mon cherie. I admire how you put your nose to the grindstone and try to get things done even when Gilbert, Antonio and I are constantly messing with you. Your unbreakable determination is sexy."

"Then why must you grope me all the time?" You asked, already annoyed.

"Well, I do that to annoy you and to satisfy myself~" He said, handing over the roses. "Here, these are for you."

You took them and sniffed every single bud in the boquet. They all smelled ravishing. You looked up skeptically at Francis and felt the resevoir break a little more. He was grinning. Not his usual one, but a rare one that not many people got to see.

Then, the face broke. He looked at you funny, then trailed a thumb across your cheeks. You were crying. Instantly, you wiped them away, not wanting him to see you cry, but they just started flowing more and more.

The dam had finally broke.

"OkohmygoshFrancisI'velovedyousinceforever. Thank you so much." You cried, burying your face into his shoulder. Francis patted your hair and muttered into your ear, "Its ok, I'm here, and I won't let anything happen to you... It's alright."

You pulled your undoubtedly red and puffy face up to his, where Francis kissed away your remaining tears. Just as the sun was about to sink under the horizon, Francis pulled you closer to him and he pressed his warm lips against yours. You melted into the kiss, enjoying every bit of it.

He then broke the kiss (much to your sadness) and got up to extended a hand toward yours. You gladly took his and brought your roses back inside.

You brought out a vase and placed them in water, then followed Francis to your bedroom so you could sleep for the night.

When you awoke, the roses were still bright red. A week after, they were still growing strong. Even a month after you and Francis had offically been declared a couple, they were in full bloom still. Those roses would be an everlasting symbol of your love for each other.

And unmistakenly, they will never wilt.