Chapter Text
The sign outside the shop always looks worn. One hook is barely holding it up and it feels like it will fall down anytime now. Every time Riko passes under it, she winces slightly, despite the fact that it never falls. She lets out a sigh of relief as she enters the small flower shop.
She is dressed in a dark pink skirt that comes down to just above her knees with a light pink floral pattern weaving through the frays. On her top half, she has a white blouse that has small flowers dotted around its fabric.
“Early as always, it seems.” The voice that makes Riko’s heart flutter calls from the open doorway located behind the counter. A head of orange hair appears soon after as the owner of the voice and shop steps into the room. “If it gets a little overwhelming for you to do everything yourself, please do ask for assistance. I know you and You had a good duo together.”
“Thanks, Chika.” Riko nods her head, her heart beating slightly faster at just the sight of the other girl. It isn’t the increased work that I’m worried about. She takes a deep breath. You’re going to be just fine Riko. “I think I can manage.”
Chika’s lips curl into a smile in response and she moves to tend to a bunch of flowers sitting on the counter.
Riko heads through the door to the back of the store and into the small staff room that they have. It is a cozy room with a small couch against one wall with a table in front of it. In the corner is a small desk with a chair tucked under it and the one laptop the store owns resting upon it. Another door with the word “Store” written on it exits the room on the other side.
She ties her hair up behind her head before grabbing an apron from behind the door that she just walked through. She fastens it behind herself and takes a deep breath. Okay Riko, you can do this. She closes her eyes and heads back out to the storefront.
Immediately she lets out a cry as she walks headfirst into something, her body recoils, falling backward. She closes her eyes and braces for the impact with the floor. It never arrives though, instead, something catches her. She opens her eyes to see Chika’s face a few inches from her own, the girl’s body bending over her and what must be her arm behind Riko’s back, preventing her from falling.
It feels like time around her freezes. She has never been this close to Chika before and it’s too much for her to take. Her heartbeat is increasing rapidly, she can smell the perfume that the girl wears, feel their bodies pressed up against each other, their faces so close together that she could easily just lean forward and kiss her boss. All confidence that she had just built up for herself is flushed from her body and she is left with the feeling of butterflies flying around in her stomach.
“Sorry about that.” Chika looks down at Riko. “Are you alright?”
“Y-Yeah…” Riko’s breaths were short and quick, mirroring the beating of her heart. “I… I sh-should’ve… um…” Her head is a swirl of emotions. But one thought keeps repeating over and over in her mind. I want to kiss her. There was no way she could, but it would be so easy to just lean forward and do so. “S-Sorry… I… I…”
“Don’t worry about it.” Chika finally stands up, pulling Riko to her feet as she does. “I should’ve knocked or something, you could’ve been changing.”
Riko’s cheeks turn from a light pink to a blood red. Chika… seeing me… She shakes her head to get the thought out of her mind. “I… I sh-should g-get back t-to work…”
“Are you okay Riko?” Chika’s brows furrow. “You are looking a little red. If you need to sit down a little, I can handle the setup for today.” She places her hand against the forehead of the girl in front of her. “You seem to have a bit of a temperature as well, you’re not ill are you?”
“N-No… I’m… j-just…” Riko struggles to come up with an excuse. The contact of Chika’s palm on her forehead and how intently the crimson eyes opposite her are staring into her own, makes her legs feel weak.
Chika’s brows furrow again, but she backs away. “Okay, I’ll let you get on with the setup.” She steps to the side, allowing Riko to pass. The red-haired girl takes a deep breath and heads back into the storefront. “Riko…” Chika calls after her. “Don’t force yourself; you can take a break whenever you need to.”
Riko looks around the storefront. Okay… that’s behind you now… let’s focus on work. She heads over to the center display, a small table that has a circular display with 3 tiers of flowers. On the bottom tier is the beautiful blues of Hydrangeas. The second tier is lit up with purple lavender flowers and the top tier has a bowl with small biscuits in the shape of Sakura flowers with pink icing on the top.
She takes one of the biscuits and takes a bite of it. Okay… they are still good. She takes a second bite and before long the biscuit is gone. I am surprised Chika can make so many and have them always be delicious. She reaches her hand out towards the bowl again.
“How are they?” The voice catches Riko off guard and her hand lurches forward, hitting the edge of the bowl and sending biscuits flying into the air.
Riko freezes for a split second before lurching into action. She grabs the bowl and tries to catch as many biscuits as she can. The majority are lost to the floor, however, she manages to save about a dozen. “S-Sorry…” She replaces the bowl and turns to Chika.
“Are you sure you’re okay Riko?” Chika sets the bundle of Lilies that she is holding onto the counter and moves behind it. “Don’t worry about this though.” She ducks down and brings out a small container. “I think I should let you in on my little secret.”
Chika starts to walk over and opens the container to reveal many more of the biscuits. “They aren’t actually baked by me.” She starts to pour them in. “I have a friend that drops them around when we run low.”
“I thought… you made them.” Riko looks at Chika with wide eyes as she continues to pick up some of the biscuits from the floor.
“She doesn’t like people knowing that she made them.” Chika finishes refilling the bowl and seals the container. She places it down and then slowly crouches to aid Riko in the picking up of the biscuits from the floor.
Not long after, they’re almost done. Riko spots one more out of the corner. She reaches over for it but feels something soft instead. She looks over and sees her fingers brushing against Chika’s. Blood rushes to her cheeks, sending a tingling feeling dancing over them. “S-Sorry… I… I d-didn’t see…”
“It’s okay Riko don’t worry.” Chika smiles and withdraws her hand, holding the biscuit as she does. She looks down at it, then over to Riko. “Here, open wide!” She giggles as she moves her hand towards Riko’s mouth.
Riko’s eyes widen as she realizes what Chika is insinuating. “N-No i-it’s okay. I-It’s b-been on the f-floor.” Her heartbeat increases once more. Chika wants to feed me… I don’t know if I could take that.
“Come on, I cleaned the floor this morning. It’s just a little fun.” Chika giggles again.
Reluctantly, Riko opens her mouth and lets Chika place the biscuit in her mouth. She takes a small bite of it, her lips brushing against the girl’s fingers as she closes them. Something about this biscuit is so much nicer than the one she had tested earlier. It sends a warmth through her body, her heartbeat speeding up at the contact of Chika’s fingers and her lips.
Chika takes the rest of the biscuit and pops it into her own mouth. “They’re so good aren’t they.”
Riko’s eyes widen even more as she sees this. She just… that was… an… an indirect… kiss… She brings her fingers to her own lips. Her heartbeat increases, her blush spreads further over her face and the butterflies return to her stomach. “Ch-Chika…” The name is barely more than a whisper, but it doesn’t look like the other girl heard her. She whispers a “Thank you.” She nods her head to Chika before she quickly gets on with her work.
Being a florist entails more than just attending to customers in the shop, or arranging the flowers for aesthetic purposes. Chika realizes when she finally became the owner of the flower shop. Yet, while it may come off as a surprise to many, she enjoys the process. She’s come to appreciate the little aspects of her job. Of course, her employees, or rather, the only employee left now, makes her entire work even more enjoyable.
The first time Chika sees Riko, she feels something stir in her heart. There was a slight skip of a beat of her heart, and she’s immediately enraptured by Riko’s beauty. Her long silky hair that cascades down her back, fluttering slightly along with the wind when she’s near the entrance and a customer enters, the occasional moments where Riko tucks some of her stray hairs behind her ears, Chika thinks that Riko is dazzling in her own way.
Anything that dazzles Chika or makes her heart race, immediately captures her attention and is most certainly likely to occupy her thoughts frequently from then on. Meeting Riko, knowing the redhead, is exactly that.
She has no idea why someone as gorgeous as the redhead would want to work in a flower shop but Chika’s glad that Riko turns out to be a great worker. Also, having Riko as an employee works wonders for her customer count.
Chika knows that Riko is a serious and hard worker, and has been a great help at the shop daily. There’s always this sense of serenity that exudes from the taller girl, and Chika finds Riko’s earnest attitude endearing at times. There are also times where she finds herself searching for where Riko is, taking notice of the way the taller girl places and arranges the stalks of roses delicately and gently together, the way Riko has this soft smile that crosses her features each time she waters the small cluster of plants in one corner of the shop.
She likes observing Riko.
Back in the present, there’s this nagging sensation that tugs at the end of Chika’s heart - that makes her glance over at Riko several times throughout the day.
The red-haired girl has seemed distracted all morning, bumping into a wall and almost falling, and accidentally knocking over a bowl of biscuit. Chika wonders if the redhead is alright. Besides making these small mistakes that she wouldn’t have had made usually, the taller girl has seemed a little red in the face.
Is she ill? Or maybe something’s bothering her… Chika frowns slightly at that thought. She wants to help Riko in any way she’s able to, or at least be able to cheer the red-haired girl up.
She ponders it for several seconds, absently toying with the leaves of the sunflowers she’s tending to, hoping for an idea to strike her out of nowhere.
A gift.
Chika’s lips twitch into a smile, the idea of gifting Riko something begins to take root in her mind.
I want to give Riko a gift that could encourage her.
Her smile grows into a grin when she finally decides what gift she should get Riko.
Deciding on and wanting to do something is different from actually doing it, Chika realizes. Her gift for Riko wrapped neatly in a box, the orange-haired girl had stored it in a pocket of her apron before Riko arrived at the shop. She had meant to give it to Riko before work started, yet here she is, already halfway through the day, the gift still sitting in her pocket.
She reaches into the pocket, her fingers feeling the edges of the giftbox. It’s a gift that she found just down the other end of the street, in a small humble accessory shop. She remembers the excitement she felt when she laid her eyes upon the item, as if it was calling out to her. It’s something that Chika is sure would fit Riko perfectly.
Just give it to Riko. Chika tells herself again. There’s an unexpected sense of nervousness that sinks at the bottom of her stomach, the slight jitters that she’s still quite unused to. Her eyes scan the shop, and she finds Riko quickly enough. The redhead is now bringing a box of materials into the staffroom and she reappears by the door after several seconds.
Sucking in a deep breath, Chika gathers her courage and calls out to the redhead, trying to ignore the rapid thumps of her heartbeat against her chest. It’s just a small gift . She reminds herself. There’s no need for her to be nervous.
“Here,” Chika offers the gift, placing it onto Riko’s hand.
Riko’s eyes widened slightly in surprise as she stuttered out a response. “For… me?”
“Yup.” Chika nods. “You seem a little troubled yesterday so…” Chika scratches her cheek self-consciously, “...I guess I just wanted to cheer you up...or something.”
“May I…” Riko pauses in slight hesitation as she looks at Chika, “May I open it now?”
“Of course.”
Chika waits in anticipation, noticing how Riko seems to turn a little red in the face as she opens the gift. There is a short gasp that escapes from the taller girl’s lips at the sight of a sakura flower hairpin. The design is simple yet gorgeous- intrinsic patterned sakura petals decorate the tip of the metal hairpin.
“This is…” Riko swallows. “...beautiful.” Riko finds herself choking up unexpectedly. It’s something that fits her well, as it strikes a chord within her, sharing the same namesake.
“Thank you, Chika,” Riko whispers, bringing the hairpin closer towards her heart.
There’s a new sense of warmth and joy that arises within Chika’s heart. Seeing that Riko seems to like it makes her a little giddy inside.
“Shall I pin it up for you?” Chika hears herself asks on impulse. She knows the hairpin will look good on the redhead and she is excited to know what it is going to look like.
“S-Sure,” Riko murmurs back, a shy blush growing on her cheeks.
Chika smiles and carefully, she takes the pin out from the box. With her free hand, she gently brushes some of the red locks of hair to the side. Her finger lingers on Riko’s forehead a tad longer than necessary, the skin is soft and she relishes the feeling. With shaky fingers, Chika carefully pins it up.
Chika takes a step back and her breath hitches slightly at how good it looks. The sakura pink compliments her hair really well, even more so with the pastel blue blouse she’s wearing. She has to remind herself to breathe as the next few words escape from her mouth before she’s able to stop herself.
“You look beautiful.”
She’s immediately rewarded by a furious blush from Riko and the orange-haired girl’s heart continues to race a little quicker, as she stood there, struck by the redhead.
It doesn’t occur to Chika that she may have fallen for the girl who reminds her of cherry blossoms.