Work Text:
Sakura sighed again, for the fourth time today as she tended to the orchids that didn’t really need to be tended to. She needed something to distract her thoughts, but the mechanical motions of her hands only gave her brains the time to think. To remember. That girl.
She was always smiling, and every time her eyes closed from a smile so wide, it looked like she was shining. Her hair would bounce along with her whenever she got excited over something, and her pastel clothes hung loose and free, just like her personality. Sakura had spoken to her a few times, enough to catch her name – Elise. Unfortunately, those sessions had always been cut short, for Sakura had started stammering even more than was usual for her, and her coworker Oboro had to come and rescue her burning red face from further embarrassment.
Sakura sighed again at the memory. She truly wished for another chance to talk with the bubbly girl, but could never muster up the courage. She just had to hope her crush could somehow sense the love she was sending her way in silent hopes of it being returned.
”Sakura! Could you give me a hand here?” A coworker and Sakura’s acquaintance, Hinata called. He wasn’t a bad person per se, but he had a knack for messing things up when left unsupervised. Sakura sighed yet again, abandoning her day dreaming for the day, and told him she was coming.
”Good. Because I got a customer here that says she wants some rhododendrons, but I can’t tell which ones are-” the rest of Hinata’s sentence didn’t register in Sakura’s brains, as her eyes landed on the customer Hinata had talked about – Elise, the one Sakura wanted to see the most yet the one she wanted to avoid the most. She felt her face immediately redden, and was sure her eyes could convey the butterflies she felt.
”...Sakura? Hey, Sakura, you alright there?” Hinata waved a hand in front of Sakura, who had frozen on the spot. Sakura coughed as if to hide the moment, and smiled shyly.
”R-rhod-rhododen-dr-drons? I, I’m sure that uhm...” Sakura stuttered, avoiding Elise’s gaze. Gods, her adorable round face and curious lilac eyes were just too much! ”We have some over... over he-here...” she motioned with her arm awkwardly, feeling overly conscious over her every move.
”Oh, thanks Sakura!” Elise thanked loudly and practically skipped over in the direction she had been showed. Sakura muttered a quiet ”you’re welcome...”, quickly walked behind few tall bushes and crouched down, her hands shielding her now tomato-red face.
”Aaaaaahhhhh why couldn’t you say anything more? Why did you have to start stuttering? She must think of me as a weirdo now!” Sakura berated herself in frustrated whispers.
”I don’t think you’re weird”, a voice proclaimed.
”Huh?” Sakura took her hands away from her face to see who was talking to her.
”I mean, you are kinda weird, crouching here and all, but that’s not a bad kind of weird!” Elise smiled that shining smile. At her. That wonderful smile, directed at her. She must’ve been the luckiest girl in the world.
”I, I, I’m… I’m sorry?” By this point, Sakura’s brains had short circuited and could only offer up a generic answer.
”Why would you be sorry? You’re funny, Sakura”, Elise giggled, and offered a hand for the still crouching girl. Sakura took it, and gained another pound of butterflies.
”And you’re cute”, she said, missing the chance to filter it out before opening her mouth.
”O-oh no, I mean, uhm, I mean that uhm...” Sakura fumbled for words. ’Agh, Elise must think I’m weird again!’
Instead, Elise smiled and before Sakura realised it, she was being hugged.
”Aww, you’re a cutie too, Sakura!” she giggled happily. Sakura felt like fainting. She hadn’t imagined being this close to her crush so soon!
”Uhm… thanks”, she smiled softly.
Elise released her hug, and looked at Sakura straight in the eyes. ”Hey, I know! It’d be nice if we could hang out, don’t you think? Since we’re both cute”, Elise giggled at her light hearted joke, getting Sakura to partially join her.
”Can I have your phone number?” Elise was already digging through her pockets to find her phone.
”S-sure!” Sakura squeaked.
The two exchanged numbers easily, and Elise promised to give Sakura a call later. Sakura could only nod, and wave good bye as she left the store, apparently to go find her siblings.
Sakura held her phone against her chest and smiled. She really must’ve been the luckiest girl in the world.
BONUS:
Hinata: She wasn’t even interested in the rhododendrons. Why was she here?
Oboro: Oh, just girl things~