Work Text:
Yamazaki Sousuke’s childhood was filled with flowers.
He remembered vases of flowers decorating every surface of his house before he could even walk. His mother always sang to herself when she artfully arranged them – bouquets of flowers that Sousuke’s father brought home as a surprise, gifts from friends and family, little posies she decided to buy when she passed by the local flower shop – and Sousuke remembered him peering over the tabletop or kitchen counter to watch her snip at the stems and thorns.
And in the summer they’d visit his grandparents in the countryside, at their little countryside house, where his grandmother tended to a beautiful flower garden – so well-kept and organized that when Sousuke looked out of the window on the top of the house he would see an array of bright, vibrant flowerbeds that contained all the colours of the rainbow, and no flowerbed ever clashed.
He would always watch his grandmother tend to the flowers, and eventually she let him help out – watering the plants, planting seeds into the soil, clearing pests from the leaves, picking the freshest flowers to decorate the house or to give to people. From his mother and grandmother, he learned how to clean freshly plucked flowers and how to arrange them nicely in vases and bouquets.
“One day you’ll meet someone so incredibly lovely,” His grandmother had said, showing Sousuke how to curl a ribbon. “That you’ll find no beautiful flower could possibly compare to them.”
Sousuke had always closely admired azaleas of his grandmother’s rhododendron bush, the clusters of chrysanthemum, the long lilies, the shy peonies and bold favourites of roses, and never once did he really think that there could possibly be anyone prettier than his favourite flowers.
“Yamazaki-san, can you help me get the box over there?”
Sousuke glanced over to see Nitori Aiichirou, a fellow employee at the flower shop, with turquoise eyes that reminded Sousuke of forget-me-nots, straining to reach the top shelf behind the counter.
“Sure,” Sousuke quirked a small smile at the sight. He gently nudged Nitori aside before retrieving the box. It was without a doubt that Sousuke was a valuable addition to the flower shop: he was over six-feet-tall with strong muscles from years of swimming, always ready to help reach high places and carry heavy boxes from the delivery van.
“Thank you, Yamazaki-san!” Nitori said brightly. Nitori had worked at the flower shop longer than Sousuke, despite being younger than him by a year. He was fidgety and jumpy during the first few days on their overlapping shifts (which Sousuke was used to seeing in other people, because he gave off a pretty natural intimidating aura with his size and kind-of perpetual blank glare) until Sousuke had broke into a short laugh and smile at a duck joke Nitori had been making to a customer.
(It was also without a doubt that Sousuke surprised everyone in the flowery faded-pink shop when he walked through the threshold one day, this big, stoic-faced boy, in response to the ad looking for new employees. He later went on to surprise everyone with his affinity with flowers, and his easy smile to children, adults and elderlies alike.)
Sousuke was checking the list of flower orders for the month at the back of the shop when the bell at the doorway had jangled loudly, followed by a bright and chirpy “welcome!” of one of the bright-eyed employees, sounds he had grown accustomed to after working at the flower shop for so long.
Ferns, gardenias…
“Do you need any help, sir?”
“No, well—uh, have you got any lilies?”
Calla lilies, spider flowers…
“Over there!”
“Thanks.”
Tulips, violets…
“Can I have some help with these?”
“Of course! Yamazaki-san!”
Sousuke turned around, taking one last look at the list. “Over here please.”
White carnations, roses…
“Thanks.”
Sousuke looked up from the carnations and lilies placed carefully on the counter.
Red, red roses.
Rubbing the back of his neck, the customer was looking to the side. Sousuke couldn’t help noticing that he had tousled red hair – it was long enough to be tied back in a loose, short ponytail, with locks of hair brushing over the side of his face.
He turned, and that’s when Sousuke saw his eyes.
A shocking red, as if to match his hair, with a multitude of shades that made Sousuke think of his grandmother’s flower garden – the same vibrancy, the same flicker of light, the same artful flecks of colour. Sousuke was reminded of his grandmother’s rhododendron bush with his favourite azaleas, which suddenly paled in comparison.
“Um.” The customer opened his mouth and Sousuke had to stop himself from looking at his lips for more than a second longer. “Hi.”
The hand lowered, but was now fiddling with one of the many bracelets on his other wrist. His red, red eyes met Sousuke’s teal, blue ones, and Sousuke wondered if this was what his grandmother had meant when he would meet someone that no beautiful flower could possibly compare to.
“Hi.” Sousuke’s lips quirked into a smile and the redhead blushed visibly. “What are these for?”
a little ways down the road.
.
.
.
“Are you done yet?”
“Almost. Calm down, Rin, I just need to clock out.”
“You said that like five minutes ago.”
Sousuke glanced over the counter at Matsuoka Rin, recurring “customer” of over four months with red eyes that Sousuke thought were brighter than his grandmother’s azaleas.
Aside from being distractingly beautiful, he was also fussy as hell.
“Alright alright, I’m done now.” Sousuke struggled not to smile even more than he already was as he closed the notebook the flower shop used for the days’ accounts. He locked it back into the drawer it belonged to before heading towards the employees’ room in the back, waving over his shoulder to acknowledge Nitori’s “see you tomorrow, Yamazaki-san!”
Rin had followed Sousuke, just like he had done the past few times ever since Sousuke had said it was OK to do so, instead of waiting outside. He remembered his female colleagues giggling behind their hands and Rin blushing bright red.
“So Tachibana and Nanase aren’t coming?” Sousuke asked as he untied his apron.
“Nope.” Rin puffed. “I tried to hint to Makoto, you know. I said he could take Haru along, and then he blushed and started stuttering about how he was going to be busy today and he didn’t want to bother us or anything.”
Sousuke snorted in amusement. He could imagine the broad-shouldered barista from the café just in the next block blushing from his neck up and fumbling with his glasses in denial. “Just the two of us then.”
“Yeah.” Rin shrugged, leaning against the wall and crossing his arms. They were going to catch a late-night movie that Rin hadn’t been able to stop talking about. It involved something about sharks, which made Sousuke think of the time they went to the aquarium and Rin had spent most of the time pointing and gazing at the various fishes, laughing the kind of laugh that lit up his entire face, glancing at Sousuke every now and then to ask “did you see that?”
(Of course, Sousuke hadn’t. He had spent all that time trailing after Rin with his gaze, committing each smile and laugh and grin to his memory; the blueish-gray hue of the aquarium had softened the dazzling, shocking colour of Rin’s eyes and hair, making everything seem completely ethereal and dreamlike.)
Sousuke opened his locker and pulled his work shirt over his head. He looked up to see Rin staring straight at him.
“Rin?”
“Huh—what,” Rin blinked and looked up, flustered.
Sousuke smirked. “Were you checking me out?”
“What—no!” Rin straightened up, blushing almost immediately.
“Right, because you weren’t completely obvious at all.” Sousuke shook his head. “Just like you weren’t utterly obvious each time you passed by the flower shop after your first visit.”
“Wha—I—Sousuke!” Rin’s voice pitched higher than usual and Sousuke stifled a laugh. It had only been three months after Rin had finally mustered the courage to ask him out, but Sousuke was already familiar with how to push his buttons. He wasn’t going to deny it – it was really cute when Rin got flustered. “We don’t talk about that, you bastard.”
“I don’t recall making that agreement, Rin,” Sousuke teased, rolling his shoulder and pretending he didn’t seen Rin’s gaze still at the way his muscles rippled at the movement. “You were cute.”
Rin scoffed, looking away. “Jesus, now you’re just making fun of me.”
Sousuke laughed, reaching for his bluish-gray button-up and slipping it on. “Mhm.” He deftly closed the buttons before shutting his locker, then leaning against the lockers and tilting his head at Rin. “I kept getting distracting from work each time I noticed you though.”
Rin turned to him in surprise. “No you didn’t.”
“Yes I did.” Sousuke said bluntly. His lips quirked into another smile, reaching over and taking a lock of Rin’s hair, twirling it lightly in his fingers. “Yet for someone so distractingly beautiful, you talk a hell lot.”
“Shut up.” Rin pursed his lips, looking torn between breaking into a smile and scowling, his face tinted red and his eyes flitting to the side. “You’re talking a hell lot right now.”
Sousuke smiled, his hand dropping and lightly threading his fingers through the spaces between Rin’s. “I’ll stop talking now.”
He waited for Rin to look up before leaning down, drawing him just a little closer, and kissing him on the lips.