Chapter Text
For once, the bees were not the root of the problem.
No, no, in fact, the bees were rarely the root of the problem.
Maybe it’s because it’s Wrap-Up Wednesday, and Wrap-Up Wednesdays seem to have the effect of turning everything into an utter shitstorm. There’s something about a discount sale that does that to people. Like a few weeks ago, when a customer came in asking to get his personal venus flytraps wrapped as a gift. Or last week, when Eiji was asked if they owned “paint safe for flowers” (it turned out the guy wanted to DIY his own Piranha Plant) which, to Eiji’s surprise, is an actual thing. And recently, the bee problem arose.
So, to be fair, Eiji shouldn't expect Wednesdays to be normal because normal isn’t possible when Yut-Lung is his boss and self-proclaimed employee of the month. But at least with Yut-Lung, he gets free pizza, though this might have something to do with him wanting to see the tall, delivery boy.
Eiji has only been working at The Dragon’s Garden for a few months now. It’s a charming, petite shop hidden away within a plaza, not too far from his university. Its alluring outdoor displays have a way of captivating customers no matter how buried afar it is from the more prominent stores. Nevertheless, he wouldn't have known of its existence had it not been for that dreadful photography project he was paired with Yut-Lung to do. It was a rocky first meeting, to say the least. Although they managed to get the project done and receive a high grade, the process was chaos. Yut-Lung always seems to reel in chaos.
Hence, the current moment.
“For the last time, I did not order calendulas!” Yut-Lung snaps at the phone. “Besides, who in their right mind orders a dozen boxes!”
Eiji can hear inaudible chatter from the other end of the call as he unpacks another box of, ironically enough, calendulas. He goes to close it, but Yut-Lung whips his head towards him at the wrong moment, catching the sight of another batch of orange petals.
He's fuming at this point
“Listen, no one is stepping near my shop because there is a horde of bees outside,” he says, trying to keep his composure. “My coworker and I are basically being held hostage in here.”
Eiji stifles a laugh. The bees aren’t that big of a problem. It’s not like they haven’t dealt with this similar issue before, but Yut-Lung has a knack for blowing things out of proportion.
That was another positive of working for Yut-Lung: the daily theatrics that came with every day.
Yut-Lung sends him a glare which fails to intimidate. Eiji just sits behind the remaining packages with a blank stare and box cutter in hand. Luckily enough, the next package is not calendulas. They’re red hibiscus flowers⸺Yut-Lung’s favorite.
He pulls out a bundle to show him, but he’s already back to cursing out the unfortunate soul on the opposite side of the phone. Eiji can only hope they knew he tried to stop him.
“Well, fuck you too!” He shouts, stomping his foot. “I’ll get a new wholesaler!” His grip on the phone tightens, knuckles turning pale. “In fact, I’ll grow my own flowers!”
Yut-Lung hangs up and slams his phone against the counter. For a moment, there’s silence. The type of silence that makes one nervous about the impending. Eiji should say something, but before he summons up anything to add, Yut-Lung breaks the dead air first.
“Eiji.”
His tone is honeyed. It’s the voice he uses when he wants Eiji to do something for him.
He lets out a sigh, “Yes, Yue?”
“I need you to remove the calendulas from the outdoor display,” he says. “I mean, I would, but I’m not sure if I’m allergic to bees and someone has to man the cash register.”
Eiji squints at him, “But what if I am allergic to bees?”
“Don’t worry,” he says, picking up his phone. There’s a new crack running down one of its sides from its strike against the surface. “I have 911 on speed dial.”
“You are such a liar.”
“I do!”
“You do not.”
“You’ll be fine,” he assures. “I’ll order us a pizza. How does that sound?”
Eiji pouts, “You will not always be able to win me over with pizza.”
“But will it work today?”
He pauses, and sighs. It’s midday, there is a swarm of bees buzzing outside, and all he’s had today was a granola bar. He is going to accept that pizza.
“Just for today.”
Yut-Lung smirks, “You always come around.”
He sends him a glare and picks up the floral snips on the counter. Eiji knows very well he’ll always end up coming around. Because it’s Wrap-Up Wednesday and he’s convinced the bees have already commenced the process of building their home in the hollow of the red oak tree nearby.
It's always, always Wrap-Up Wednesdays.
The calendulas slump inside a silver bucket with one or two lingering bees humming around them. Eiji gently shoos them away, the last few bumbling off to be with their remaining friends. For it being midday on a Wrap-Up Wednesday with the bee predicament being the only off-base matter of the day, today seemed to be progressing oddly well.
Too well.
Eiji pays it no mind. Ruminating would certainly jinx it.
He carries the bucket inside, seeing Yut-Lung scrolling through his phone from behind the counter. He only looks up with a flinch when Eiji sets the bucket before him.
“Are the bees all gone?” He asks, prodding between the petals to ensure none are hiding within them. He stands a few inches away as if any will jump out at him at any moment.
“Mostly.”
After doing a thorough search and finding nothing, Yut-Lung claps his hands together. “Wonderful. Now we can order pizza.”
Eiji watches Yut-Lung start dialing the number. Although the pizza shop is a three-minute walk from them, Yut-Lung always chooses to call. It probably has something to do with Yut-Lung finding fun in teasing the delivery boy, but Eiji is hungry and Yut-Lung’s game plan of annoying said delivery boy always makes it more laborious to enjoy lunch with him.
He raises a brow, “Wouldn’t it be easier if we went to pick it up?”
Yut-Lung pauses, putting down his phone. He stays silent for a moment, seeming to give Eiji a few seconds to retract his statement, but when he doesn’t, he continues.
“Eiji,” he gives him a sardonic look. “Did you really just ask me that question?”
Before he can respond, Yut-Lung cuts him off with a shake of his head. “Eiji, look at my hair. How long do you think this took to do?”
He hesitates to answer. This can be a trick question.
“Thirty...minutes?”
Yut-Lung scowls. “An hour.”
Eiji is confused. He surveys every side of Yut-Lung’s hair, but no matter what direction he darts his eyes on, it looks identical to how he normally styles it. Maybe the red cord was on the opposite side? Still, Eiji finds it impossible that a ponytail really takes an hour to do.
He doesn’t get to point this out before Yut-Lung is placing in his order for a veggie pizza.
It doesn’t take more than twenty minutes for an annoyed delivery boy, with a hot pizza in hand, to arrive.
“You know we’re literally down the street, right?”
Yut-Lung smirks, eyes peering straight into his. “What’s the fun in that, Sing?” He takes the pizza from his hands and sets it on the counter. “Plus, you know how busy the shop gets on Wednesdays.”
Sing looks back and forth then side to side, meeting Eiji’s eyes. Eiji waves at him and Sing politely smiles in return.
“There’s no one here!” He quips.
Yut-Lung scoffs, “You’re so rude, Sing!” He points at Eiji, who’s already making his way to open the pizza box. “Eiji is here!”
Eiji rolls his eyes. He picks up a slice with a satisfying cheese pull. He takes a bite and continues to watch their “exchange,” a.k.a their odd attempt at flirting with one another. Neither of the two knew they're trying to woo one another, but Eiji knows, and Yut-Lung is so close to figuring it out too. As much as he likes to hype himself up for possessing the utmost cognizance and aptitude, Yut-Lung is remarkably oblivious. So much so it gives Eiji a headache when he has to deal with him on a daily basis.
“Your pizza isn’t really worth walking over to pick up anyway,” Yut-Lung bluntly states. “It’s revolting.”
“Then why order it!”
“I need to feed Eiji otherwise he’ll never grow.”
“Hey,” Eiji intercedes. “I am two inches taller than you!”
“It’s working, see?” Yut-Lung defends. “I mean, it obviously worked for you.”
The backhanded compliment towards Sing leads the two to narrow their eyes at Yut-Lung for a moment.
Sing only sighs, “Whatever. Can you pay me already? I have to visit Shorter at the hospital after this.”
Yut-Lung tilts his head, “Not that I’m surprised, but why is Shorter in the hospital?”
The atmosphere briefly becomes solemn. It’s faint, but it’s there, and it's almost uncomfortable. Because it’s Shorter who’s in the hospital and although it’s a chronic occurrence for him to end up there due to, what Yut-Lung dubs as his “Dumbass Disease,” this is different.
This is the silence that makes Eiji fear the impending.
“He woke up suffocating on some flower petals,” he explains. “Alex found him. He got surgery to remove them last night,” Sing pauses. “It’s just weird since it’s Shorter, you know? He's always been a flirt. I didn’t think he'd actually get hung up on someone this time.”
Eiji waits for Yut-Lung’s response, but when nothing comes, he glances over to see he’s tense.
He almost looks scared.
Eiji clears his throat. They direct their attention to him as he finishes chewing on the last piece of his crust. “How about you bring him some flowers? That might make him happy.”
Sing’s face brightens, “Yeah, that’s⸺that’s a good idea, Eiji.”
He strolls to one of the displays sitting vibrantly by the window of the shop. They’re chrysanthemums of assorted colors. Yut-Lung made sure to arrange them in an area people can see, declaring them the focal point of the Dragon’s Garden. Chrysanthemums are flowers customers tend to gravitate to the most. They were always having to order an extra supply.
Sing tries to sound out the name which only makes Yut-Lung roll his eyes and pronounce it out for him. He ignores him and points to the bundle of violet that lies between the other hues, “These look nice. I’ll take those.”
“Sure!” Eiji beams. “Yue will ring you up.”
Yut-Lung smirks, “Well, of course. I am the best at wrapping.”
The last few hours of the day consist of Eiji decorating pots for their outdoor display while Yut-Lung picks off the petals from one of the calendulas. Eiji looks up from his work every so often when he hears Yut-Lung muttering under his breath. The Pooh Bear he’s trying to paint starts looking wonky, owing to Yut-Lung’s distracting grousing.
He tries to let it pass, but Yut-Lung makes it apparent that he wants a penny for his thoughts.
It’s never just a penny though. It’s a penny and a plethora of diamonds because Yut-Lung would rather dance around his feelings than explicitly discuss them. But again, Eiji always caves in.
He sighs, “What is wrong, Yue?”
Yut-Lung has an elbow resting on the surface, resting his chin against his palm. He looks on as if in a trance at the bald flower in his opposite hand, twisting the stem between his fingers.
“How painful do you think Hanahaki is?”
He blinks. Despite how common the disease is, it still made people’s blood run cold. Falling in love, something so ordinary is starting to feel like playing with fire. Feelings being unrequited is also so ordinary, but it became one of those ordinary parts of one’s life that the majority associated with fear. Like thunder, or spiders.
Except this was different.
This can kill you.
Eiji sets his brush in a jar and hums. His eyes brighten, “Maybe the reverse version of drinking scorching coffee?”
He snorts, “That must be horrible. Especially if it’s as bitter as coffee.”
“Coffee is not so bad.”
“I prefer tea.”
Yut-Lung lets out an exasperated groan, crushing what remains of the flower in his hand. “It’s so stupid to get hung up on feelings. I would never.”
Eiji stops the urge to roll his eyes. What a liar. The constant pizza orders are proof.
“What about Sing?”
Yut-Lung raises a brow, “What about Sing?”
“I thought you liked him?” Knows.
He is taken aback, sputtering and scoffing. “What? I don’t like Sing!”
Eiji snickers, shaking his head. “Whatever you say.”
“I don’t!”
Their bickering gets cut short when they hear the chime of the bell over the door. It’s a face they’ve never seen, or can’t remember seeing, before. Most of their customers are regulars who live around the block or cute, elderly couples buying flowers for one another, and it's usually around holidays when non-familiar faces would come in.
Then again, it is Wrap-Up Wednesday. A discount day. So, basically a holiday.
“Welcome to the Dragon’s Garden,” Yut-Lung greets with his kind facade. He is a true thespian. “How can I help you today?”
When the customer approaches Yut-Lung, there are two things Eiji notices: his head of blonde hair and sharp, jade eyes. He’s beautiful, almost leaving Eiji mesmerized. Their eyes meet for a brief second, but Eiji sheepishly goes back for the paintbrush in the jar and resumes painting the half-finished, brown pot in front of him.
He feels his face go red and he has a curious urge to glimpse back up again to see where Yut-Lung is guiding him.
No, Eiji! Focus on finishing Pooh Bear.
“I was wondering if you have anything that resembles Pikmin,” he asks.
Forget painting Pooh Bear, that simple question catches Eiji’s attention entirely.
Yut-Lung tilts his head, “Pikmin?”
The man nods, pulling out his phone to show, what Eiji believes, to be a picture of what Pikmin are to Yut-Lung.
And that’s definitely what said customer shows him based on Yut-Lung’s slowly dissolving affable smile.
“That’s...that’s a video game,” Yut-Lung deadpans. “They aren’t real.”
“I know,” the man clarifies. “Which is why I’m asking if you have anything that resembles it.”
Yut-Lung presses his lips together and binds himself to compel the corners of his mouth to tug upwards. The smile is miff and fictitious, but Yut-Lung understands the act he has to put up for Wrap-Up Wednesdays so he can survive the day without impulsively clawing his hair out.
He glances back over the customer’s phone, maintaining his air of professionalism. “They kind of look like water hyssops,” he infers. “But unfortunately, we don’t carry those in our shop.”
The customer frowns, ”You don’t? Isn’t this a flower shop?”
Yut-Lung crosses his arms. His fortitude is wavering, Eiji can tell.
“My apologies for the inconvenience,” he says, acidly. “I’m sure we can find another arrangement that is similar. Maybe white daisies?”
Yut-Lung leads him to a different section of the store where the daisies perch. They're settled in brown, clay vases adorned with black Nori birds Eiji painted on. Yut-Lung would always huff and call them tacky; nonetheless, they're a favorite amongst their customers to Yut-Lung’s displeasure.
The customer hums, brows furrowing as he stares down at the flowers. He then lets out an exaggerated sigh and pinches his nose, “I guess these will do.”
Yut-Lung is irked, near fuming. His pretense of cordiality, nevertheless, stands its ground. “Great. Would you like them in a vase or as a bouquet?”
“A vase is fine, preferably a plain one,” he says. The customer continues to roam around the shop, hands in his jacket pockets, as Yut-Lung cuts the stems of some daisies and sets them in one of the clay vases.
Eiji observes the customer trying to poke at the venus flytraps they keep as an “exhibit of odd plants” at the corner of the shop. He represses a laugh when he sees the customer quickly pull his finger away before it closes, distinctly unaware it won't hurt.
When Yut-Lung is finished, he clears his throat causing the customer to revert his attention back to him.
“Will that be all?”
He ponders for a moment. “No, actually, can I get a bouquet of flowers?” He asks. His green eyes then go wide as if a light bulb flashed at the top of his head. “Specifically meaning ‘dumbass.’”
The corner of Yut-Lung's lip twitches, “Excuse me?”
“Flowers that mean dumbass.” He raises a brow, “Do you also not carry those here?”
Yut-Lung swells with indignation, “I don’t think any flower shop carries flowers that mean dumbass.”
The customer smirks, “I’m pretty sure the one across the street does, but I guess that’s why they keep your place hidden away from all the other stores.”
Yut-Lung balls his hands up at his sides. If Eiji can pinpoint from a scale of 0 to 100 how close Yut-Lung is to shutting down Wrap-Up Wednesdays for good to free them from the curse it brought upon them, he would say ninety. Maybe a little higher than ninety.
“It was actually a choice,” he retorts, matter-of-factly. “A wise choice if I’ve been able to keep away from the likes of you until now.”
Eiji should really intervene. He really needs this job, and Yut-Lung seems ready to raise his fists at any moment, threatening that.
“Wow, this is great customer service,” he says, mordantly. “Especially for an innocent customer just trying to find some ‘dumbass’ flowers.”
Eiji appreciates Yut-Lung’s attempt at trying to keep his patience, he really does, but he’s nearly a second away from their potential unemployment.
“For the last time, we do not have flowers meaning dumbass.”
“Yue?”
Both pairs of eyes turn to meet his. The green pair, however, make Eiji’s cheeks tint red. He doesn’t comprehend why.
“How about I help our customer while you get ready to close up?” Good enough excuse. The store is supposed to close in ten minutes anyway.
Yut-Lung blinks followed by a relieved sigh. “Yes, good point, Eiji.”
“Yeah,” the customer smirks. “Good point, Eiji. ” The customer looks directly at him when he says his name. It isn’t said in a patronizing tone. More light teasing than anything. Needless to say, it makes it challenging for Eiji to hide how red his cheeks have become.
Yut-Lung scoffs, “You’re such a piece of⸺“
“Ah!” Eiji cuts him off, quickly diverting the customer’s attention to the opposite direction of Yut-Lung. “Let me show you some options we have.”
Eiji glares back at Yut-Lung who is pretend-smashing the customer’s vase in his hands. He shakes his head at him, but all Yut-Lung does is stick his tongue out and retreat back behind the counter.
He should thank him. Eiji is the only being keeping the shop from getting shut down. Yut-Lung’s shop to be exact.
Eiji twists his attention back to his very attractive customer who is now amusing himself with the small antiques they have sitting on a rotating shelf.
Eiji smiles, “Maybe I will ask Yue to ship in Pikmin figures. I think they are very cute.”
He looks over at him, confused, but returns the smile. “Yeah...I think my friend would like one.”
There’s something wistful about his tone. Whoever his friend is, Eiji hopes he’s okay.
“Are these flowers not for this friend?” He asks, puzzled.
The customer chuckles, “No. They’re for my dad.” He shakes his head with a smile. “He tripped over something at work today and broke his leg. I thought I might as well get him something while I’m here.”
Eiji chuckles along with him, “I see. Well, we do not have any flowers with that specific meaning, but we do have some with a similar connotation. Like red geraniums? They mean stupidity.”
He picks up a vase containing a bundle of them and hands them over to the man for him to sniff. The customer does so, and based off his scrunched up nose, he doesn’t seem too impressed. “They kind of smell like roses. They’re like the imposter version of roses.”
Eiji giggles which, this time, causes the man’s cheeks to color. “I guess they kind of are. The meaning suits them well.”
The customer nods, averting his gaze from Eiji’s smile. “I’ll be taking the imposter roses then.”
“A bouquet of imposter roses it is!”
He takes a few from the vase and walks back to the counter. Eiji blankets them in a sheet of wrapping paper and ties them together with a red ribbon. He can sense Yut-Lung’s eyes examining them, mainly their customer, from behind. He also glimpses up from the register at the right moment to catch the customer glowering back at Yut-Lung. Eiji shakes his head and resists the urge to laugh.
When the cash register finally spits out the receipt, Eiji slides the items over to him, causing the customer to break away from the intense staring contest he's having with Yut-Lung.
“Thank you for shopping with us today, um...”
“Ash,” he finishes for him, a bit eagerly.
Eiji smiles, “Thank you for shopping with us, Ash.”
“No, thank you,” he says as he picks up his items. Ash then glances over again towards Yut-Lung, “You were much better help than your friend over there.”
Yut-Lung stands up from his seat and grits his teeth, “Sorry, I’m allergic to entitled assholes.”
Ash only laughs, “You know, maybe I’ll show up again tomorrow just to spite you.”
Before Yut-Lung gets to say anything else, Ash looks back at Eiji with a smirk. “I’ll see you again soon, Eiji.”
As he walks out, Eiji is left with rosy cheeks and an angry Yut-Lung trying to break the pot Eiji was working on earlier with his bare hands.
“Eiji, whatever you do, always stay away from assholes like him.”
Yes...yes, he’s sure he’ll listen to Yut-Lung’s advice.