Chapter Text
It was another sunny day in the town of Crofter.
It was a small town; most people knew each other and it was rather quaint. Crofter housed many different shops and was well known for its artists and craftsmanship, most things were handmade and sold as unique items.
One store in particular was a flower store, the only flower shop in a 100-mile radius. It was named Sanders & Sons, a medium sized store with the freshest and most beautiful flowers this side of the country.
The owners were Logan Sanders and Patton Sanders, a married couple whom had moved to Crofter 20 years ago and started their small business.
Logan was a stoic character, though he was very kind, he was also very ‘to the point’ when it came to social interactions. He always wore formal attire, wanting to appear smart in front of customers, and his husband wasn’t complaining. He also had rather bad eyesight, always wearing black rimmed slim glasses on the bridge of his nose, and he also always wore a necktie, even on hot days.
His husband, Patton, was quite the opposite. Patton was a bubbly and very social being, always happy to help and do any kind of labour if it helps others, but do not let his charming personality fool you. Patton is also rather responsible, very domestic and scary when angry, a perfect husband for Logan, but also a perfect father to his and Logan’s adopted sons, Virgil and Deceit.
A year after Logan and Patton had gotten married they signed up for an adoption, they were picked almost instantly by a woman just out of state that was not ready for motherhood. She thought she was only having the one child, but to Patton and Logan’s surprise, she had given birth to twins. This was the first time Patton had seen Logan have a mental break down.
The twins were 20 years old now, Virgil, the younger twin, was a pale, skinny and sickly young man. He had many diagnosed mental conditions such as anxiety, depression and insomnia. Though they are not too severe and are manageable, these tend to cause Virgil to have permanent bags under his eyes; in which he tries to conceal with makeup and eyeliner. Typically his attire consists of black jeans, hoodies and large headphones, his favourite colour being purple was evident with his purple hair and clothing accents, prominently keeping his usual ‘emo’ look. However his kind personality and masterful flower arranging skills brought in a lot of customers, whom he can deal with, nevertheless, if an angry or negative customer comes in Virgil CANNOT handle it…
Deceit is the older twin, most just call him De, he was the opposite of his brother; loud, mischievous, pranker, short tempered and stubborn. Even so, he loves his brother and has always been there to protect him, even if he playfully teases him all the time. De wore mostly black as well, except his favourite colour was yellow, so people would always see him with an accent of yellow in his fashion choice. De was a bit of a slacker, he never got on well in school and always ended up working at his parent’s store, which he loved, and though he was a cheeky little bastard, he was good with ALL types of customers. He let Virgil do what he did best; flower arranging, while De took care of most customers and deliveries; as De was the only twin with a drivers licence.
The Sanders were a family to envy; they got along… most of the time
The twins worked in the shop over the weekends, to let their parents have time to themselves, and during the week the twins would be studying at university; or more accurately, Virgil would be studying and De would be ditching class and hanging out with his mates, while also helping out more at the store.
Today was a Saturday morning; Virgil was already opening the store while their parents were away on a short get-away. He flipped the open/close sign to ‘open’ before beginning his morning chores of watering and caring for the flowers.
Customers never usually showed up until after 10 am, so Virgil had an hour to feed the flowers and make sure the till worked efficiently. He’d also printed out the overnight orders and began his regular task of arranging flower bouquets to the specific orders; all while listening to music on his headphones, with his hood up.
De was always late and slightly hung over on a Saturday morning, dragging his feet in at 10:30am.
“Morning Jack” he yawned, referring to Virgil as ‘Jack Skeleton’, tapping his younger brother on the shoulder as he passed him to go to the small kitchen, starting up the kettle. Virgil tensed up a bit, having not heard the other entering or approaching but settled just as quickly. He pulled down his hood and put his headphones around his neck “Dad is gunna kill you one of these days… you’re not even old enough to drink yet…” Virgil groaned.
De looked over his shoulder with a clear expression of ‘I don’t give a fuck’ causing Virgil to role his eyes “You know… One of these days… I’ll call you out on it”
De was just about to pick up the kettle when he gasped and turned towards Virgil “You wouldn’t dare!” to this Virgil just smirked, clipping off the bottom of a rose as his eyes stuck to his hung-over brother, “You don’t think I would?” Virgil asked, trying his best to tease back.
“Nope” De replied, pouring his hot water into his coffee mug, mixing it with instant coffee. He then walked over with it and sat at the large round table, next to his brother “my sweet little brother would never betray me~” De smirked back but with more gusto.
Virgil had to admit, he’d never ‘out’ his brother… De had done so much for him over his life, there is nothing he’d do to betray him… so with a heavy sigh he looked back to the flower in his hand “Cheap shot…” he sighed “Too much effort anyway… just… try and freshen up before the customers come, you reek of booze…” he sighed, snipping another rose stem.
De rolled his eyes before pinching his brother’s cheek quickly “you worry too much V”
“And you don’t worry enough…” Virgil quickly retorted.
The hung-over sibling raised his eyebrows in surprise “Wow, someone is quick today? Did you sleep a full 6 hours or something?” he spoke half teasingly before drinking his black coffee. Virgil chuckled a little “Actually I slept quite well, no nightmares either, although…” his face suddenly dropped, making concern spread across Deceit’s face.
“Although?”
“I had a small… attack… this morning…” he mumbled, almost a whisper. De frowned a bit and placed a hand of Virgil’s shoulder lightly “What was it that triggered it?” he asked softly, Virgil put down the rose and sighed heavily before shaking his head, “It was nothing… something stupid…”
“V… You know that it’s never stupid… now tell me” he pushed, Deceit was the only one that was allowed to push Virgil into talking without him having an attack or running away.
“I-I… I fell…”
De frowned a little more “You fell? Where?”
“D-Down the stairs… B-“ before Virgil could continue Deceit looked the other up and down “Are you okay?!” he panicked a little, causing Virgil to put his hands up in defence and gave the other sheepish smile, “D-De, I’m fine, I promise, it was just the last three steps, but… I had a small attack from mainly the shock really, but I’m physically fine, I promise”
Deceit looked at his brother sceptically “Ok… If you’re sure…” he sighed heavily, finishing his coffee “Well… get back to work, I know how that calms you down, I’ll be at the register if you need anything okay?” Virgil simply nodded in response before putting his headphone and hood back on.
Deceit was usually teasing and being playfully mean to his brother most mornings, but because of his hang-over and his brothers news of the small attack he’d decided to leave it alone for now. He walked over to the register counter and took a look through old orders and began sorting out the finances for todays profit margin estimate.
The day was slow and quiet; they’d only had three customers by mid afternoon.
“De!” Virgil called out, standing from his chair, Deceit finished with their third customer before walking around the side of the store, his eyes widening at all the beautiful bouquets “Wow, you never fail to impress little brother”
“We’re the same age…” Virgil narrowed his eyes but only got a shrug in response. With a heavy sigh and pinching the bridge of his nose Virgil gestured to his pieces of art “The deliveries are ready to go, I’ll watch the register while you deliver them okay?” Virgil explained, though it was just regulation at this point.
“Yup! Got it! Oh…! V?”
“Hmmm?”
“You gunna give me a goodbye kiss like when we were kids?” Deceit smirked, leaning forward with his hand on his hips, puckering his lips playfully. Virgil just scoffed and pushed De’s face away “Fuck off” he shook his head before walking over to the register, checking the till had enough cash, as his brother did tend to steal occasionally… Before surfing through his social media on the computer.
Deceit chuckled before going out the back, opening the door and began carefully putting the bouquets in his car, thankfully he was sober now, but he’d still be extra careful. Within 10 minutes Virgil was left alone in the store, he didn’t mind it, especially when it was empty like today, he’d just scroll on tumblr or listen to his music, or both. However, right when he was just finishing a song, the store bell rang.
Virgil lifted his head, removing his headphones and stood up straight, greeting the new customer “Welcome to Sanders and Sons” except, when he lifted his eyes to the new comer, they widened.
In front of him was a tall young man, about the same age as Virgil, his skin was flawless and his hair was thick, waved and a sandy blonde. His eyes were a striking green, which contrasted perfectly with his red button-up shirt; the sleeves rolled up and the top two buttons undone casually. He wore light blue jeans and red converses, his clothing fitted perfectly for his toned physique.
But his smile… This strangers smile melted Virgil’s heart, while also having it race a million miles a minute… Virgil could feel his cheeks burning and thanked the stars he’d worn foundation today! The stranger walked up to the register and looked Virgil up and down from behind the counter, before giving that heart-wrenching smile.
“Hi there, my name’s Roman, I’m here to buy a bouquet for my mother, any suggestions?”