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1.
As usual, there was a sudden influx in customers around the middle of February. Primarly, Thomas would have to deal with couples forgetting that Valentine's day was a thing, or the more calculated and organized people who decided that their significant other would prefer fresh flowers instead of a sad looking rose.
Personally, Thomas thought the entire thing was bullshit, but nobody asked for his opinions, so he never shared them.
Regardless of beliefs and values, one thing remained fact; Thomas would be stuck dealing with people he didn't particularly like for less money than it was worth because of several spontaneous, permanently life-altering decisions and a deeply ingrained loathing of his father.
If Thomas was honest - and he rarely was - this entire business was built from the ground up out of stubbornness and spite. However, now he was stuck in the regards that, despite now gaining enough popularity to own two shops, his business was still in its infancy and Thomas was going to have to be careful with his next make-or-break steps forward.
After recently opening his second shop, he was met with equal parts distrust and curiosity from the rest of the shop owners across this street. For the most part, Thomas didn't give a fuck - he had picked this place on purpose due to the lack of competition, so he couldn't care less about what other people thought.
Though, his lack of socialization hadn't indicated strongly enough that he wasn't remotely interested in making friends. Thomas wasn't sure of their names, but he knew they thought they were subtle.
They weren't, and by the third day of the same two people walking in and blatantly watching what he was doing, Thomas was done. Sharply, he asked, "Can I help you?"
The shorter of the two startled, almost crashing into his petunias and Thomas winced. The taller of the two thankfully caught them before they crashed. Thomas supposed that this was one way to make a first impression. He raised an eyebrow, waiting for an actual answer to his question. The shorter one quickly said, "Do you have any - purple flowers?"
"Purple flowers." Thomas repeated slowly.
The shorter man soon lost any of his hesitation and was suddenly set on this line of conversation. He set his jaw, crossing his arms and stated with a little more conviction than necessary, "Yes. Purple flowers."
Thomas was still unimpressed. He glanced at the taller of the two - who looked rather content to allow the other to fumble. "You'll have to be a little more specific."
"Ones that look like... um..." The man trailed off, grimacing, glancing around for some form of inspiration. His eyes lit up and he grabbed a potted plant containing bright purple snapdragons. "This. This is what I was looking for."
Thomas wasn't quite convinced and allowed his disbelief to show. The shorter one maintained eye contact, still holding onto the plant and his companion sighed heavily. "I told you this was a bad idea."
"I'd like to see you do any better." The shorter one hissed, face flushing slightly at being caught out. Though, it seemed as though he was determined to carry out his sad facade of actually wanting flowers, and approached the counter with an air of confidence.
"You're new here." The taller one observed, glancing around his shop. It was arguably quiet since most people had better places to be in the middle of the afternoon. "We thought we might as well unofficially welcome you."
"And I wanted some purple flowers." The shorter one added with a significant glance to the item in question.
"Snapdragons." Thomas corrected
"Bless you."
"Anyway." The taller continued, seemingly sensing that there was about to be an argument. "My name is Hercules - or just Herc - and I run a tailoring business directly across from you."
Thomas paused, glancing through a window to where 'Herc' had just described. He hadn't really given much thought to the shops around him, only noting the names and what they were offering. "Good to know. That costs four dollars, by the way."
"Fine." The shorter man muttered, fishing through his pockets and pulling out a folded ten dollar note. Thomas raised his eyebrow, distantly amused at the fact that he was too stubborn to put the flowers back and lie about why he no longer wanted them. Though, a customer was a customer, no matter how sceptical Thomas was of them.
'Herc' nudged the other man, obviously trying to make him introduce himself, but he remained tight-lipped and cradled the snapdragons protectively to his chest. Thomas regarded him coolly for a few seconds, before deciding that any bit of information - regardless of how small and insignificant it was - could be important.
He gave six dollars back. "My name is Thomas. If you call me Tom, or Tommy, I'll beat the living shit out of you."
This caused the shorter man to grin, before he tried to hide his expression. 'Herc', however, finally seemed to be as disappointed in this entire situation as Thomas was. "His name is Alex. He works in the tattoo parlor next door."
"Tattooist?" Thomas questioned. He glanced at the shorter man, noting no indication of his profession whatsoever, and he had never heard of a tattooist without any tattoos This caused the man to roll his eyes, holding the plant with his left arm and rolling up the sleeve on his right to show his wrist. This promptly revealed a small dragon, coiling over what seemed to be an egg. Further down there seemed to be the beginning of a celtic pattern. Thomas paused. "Right."
"I've got my plant, I'm good to go." 'Alex' muttered, mostly towards 'Herc', and he recieved a short nod in return. "We need to talk to Laf about - stuff."
"Subtle." Thomas dryly noted, which earned a scowl. 'Alex' seemed seconds away from a retort, but when he was given one sharp look from 'Herc' he gritted his teeth, turning sharply on his heel and walking away.
"It was nice meeting you." 'Herc' offered, glancing behind him and giving a slight sigh. Thomas returned the sentiment, albeit slightly bemused. With that, the pair left the shop and Thomas was free to sort out the petunias that had almost fallen down.
After that, he was visited by more people across the street, and in return, he learnt more about the local area and who occupied it. He learnt that 'Herc' was indeed a tailor, and in a rather talkative baker called Lafayette's opinion, the best tailor in the entire state.
John Laurens was a veterinary, and rarely had time off, but was apparently very likely to visit and interrogate him. He was also 'too gay to describe'. Later in the same day, Thomas was introduced to an awkward and vaguely anxious Aaron Burr, who owned a book shop three stores over.
At this point Thomas had resigned himself to constant intrusive examination, and his quiet demeanour was a sharp change of pace. When he offered to buy a small bundle of pale blue asters (and flushed quite strongly when asked about his rumoured interest in a certain veterinary), Thomas was given a book.
"Think of it as a welcome gift." Burr added, turning the flowers he was about to buy in his hands.
"Thanks." He said, surprised. Thomas had never particularly cared for flower language but he wasn't going to turn it away. On a guess, Thomas quickly glanced at the page with the word 'aster' and almost laughed, but remained rather impassive. "I won't be here for long."
Burr smiled. "Everyone says that."
The moment Burr left, Thomas turned the page to fully read the definition. Aster - a symbol of patience, honesty and affection. Often used as a gift to initiate courting, the aster is seen as a statement of truth and a willingness to wait for the receiver to return his or her affections.
Thomas felt as though he had just gained a regular customer.
2.
As expected, Burr would visit regularly, with a broad variety of requests. It seemed to be a bit of a surprise for him when Thomas was asked about very, very obscure and exotic plants and Thomas promptly informed him that hadn't heard the name of it before.
It turned out that his previous strategy of research and finding out where the closest flower shops were had paid off, and he received double the clientele. His other shop was quickly reported to gain following, and though James was most certainly not interested in managing a shop, he was more than capable and willing to work whilst he looked for a more suitable vocation.
For the most part, Thomas wasn't under such close investigation after introducing himself. Lafayette would still visit, but Thomas assumed that it was borne from a genuine like of flowers, and the curiosity to measure Thomas's personality. Occasionally, 'Herc' Mulligan would walk with him. Thomas still hadn't met with the elusive John Laurens, but he didn't particularly care about this.
'Alex' Hamilton, however, had soon decided to become a thorn in his side, seemingly discontent with letting Thomas live in peace. He was still sticking with a feigned curiosity in flowers as an excuse to visit.
At this point, the frequent visits to his flower shop were beginning to grate on his nerves. It was childish, Thomas could admit that, but he would only address Hamilton with thinly veiled insults that were completely ignored or retorted with an even pettier epithet.
However, when Hamilton returned with his snapdragons - wilting, drab, and looking as dead inside as Thomas's soul - Thomas tried to suppress a sigh. Predictably, Hamilton announced, "It's dying."
"I'm not surprised." Thomas replied blandly, because he wasn't. It was in the middle of March, and for some reason, Hamilton expected a plant that flowered in summer to continue doing so during the other seasons.
To Thomas, this was common sense. To Hamilton, however, it appeared to be a matter of life and death. Hamilton looked deeply conflicted and demanded, "Why is it dying?"
"Are you keeping it in a warm temperature?" Thomas asked patiently - or, as patiently as he could be in these circumstances. Hamilton was really fucking testing him.
"It's the end of winter, nothing's warm." Hamilton huffed, as though Thomas was the obtuse one.
"My shop is, and for good reason." Thomas muttered. "Look, Hamilton-"
"Alex." Hamilton quickly corrected.
"Plants aren't immortal." Thomas ignored the correction. Hamilton scowled, narrowing his lips into a thin line. "It'll come back, but in the spring. Just keep on looking after it."
"Fine, whatever." Hamilton muttered. "Can I have another pet plant?"
"You can have a pet rock, I don't trust you with my plants." Thomas answered. Hamilton huffed, raking a tired hand through his hair. He gestured at Thomas, then the plant in a confusing, nonverbal ask to do something Thomas wasn't quite sure of, before disappearing back into the isles.
Seconds later, he emerged with a light green potted tulip with a rather mixed expression. Thomas almost sighed, unimpressed. "Will you kill this one, too?"
"I didn't kill my snapdragons." Hamilton snapped, defensive, and glancing at the rather depressing state of his snapdragons. Whilst Hamilton was correct, the plant did look rather dead. "And no, I won't kill this, either."
"It's a tulip, and it costs five dollars." Thomas informed with a frown. Hamilton shrugged, seemingly content with buying yet another flower that he didn't need. "Why are you buying these? Before you lie, I know you don't care much about flowers."
"I don't know." Hamilton muttered. He glanced between his plants, as though his actions had suddenly caught up with him and he was now very, very bewildered. "I really don't know."
"You can figure it out when you go back to wherever you came from." Thomas said pointedly.
"Half shift. People aren't really interested in paying for a tattoo on a Monday." Hamilton then grinned, previous confusion now forgotten. "You have the joy of putting up with me all day!"
Thomas scowled. "You're joking."
"Nope." Hamilton replied merrily. "All day long, Thomas. We're going to be the best of friends."
The sound Thomas made was one of deep suffering and pain. Unfortunately, Hamilton was far too stubborn and refused to budge, keeping up a stream of incredibly one-sided conversation with Thomas and learning the life stories of every customer that walked through the door.
At some point, he was talking with a regular about the trials and tribulations of tending to snapdragons, but spoke so highly of them that she bought two pairs as well as her usual bouquet of sunflowers.
Thomas was admittedly impressed, but only gave a look of acknowledgment. Hamilton was already unbearable enough, and that was without a further inflated ego.
Though, by the time Thomas had half an hour left, Hamilton was back to his melodramatic complaining. "I'm so bored! Thomas, you're killing me!"
"Good." Thomas didn't look at him, focussing straight ahead.
"Let me do something." Hamilton insisted.
"You can go home." Thomas offered. Hamilton scowled, about to launch into a long-winded rant about how boring everything was and why Thomas was no longer in his will. "If you want, you can arrange bouquets. You can do pretty much anything as long as you shut up and leave me alone."
Hamilton beamed at him, immediately cheering at the thought of arranging flowers. Usually, James would send him suggestions of what would look nice with what, since Thomas was rather hopeless with floral aesthetics.
Thomas wasn't entirely sure what Hamilton was doing, but he seemed ridiculously concentrated, expression sharp and appraising. Whenever Hamilton would glance back and see Thomas watching him, he would frown, trying together what he was doing and Thomas regretted everything.
It meant Thomas closed up several minutes later than usual, since Hamilton was rather content with working and for some reason, Thomas didn't particularly want to disturb him.
He had lost track of time, which was why when James entered - checking up on him, Thomas supposed - he was startled. James, however, hummed in approval, taking in the scenery and the welcoming atmosphere Thomas had tried to perfect. "It's wonderful in here."
At the sound of a voice, Hamilton looked up. "Can I help you?"
"Jesus!" James yelped, startling.
Hamilton grinned, and Thomas merely sighed. "No, just Hamilton."
"Alex." Hamilton added, directing a frown at Thomas which Thomas ignored. James blinked, glancing between them before offering Hamilton a cautious smile. "He loves me really."
"I can tell." James replied, warming to Hamilton quickly at their mutual hobby of making Thomas want to avoid the entirety of humanity for the rest of his natural life. "I'm James, his best friend and partner."
"Partner." Alex repeated, eyebrows raised.
"Business partner." Thomas smoothly cut in. For some reason, it was important to establish that. Both James and Hamilton exchanged a look and Thomas had no idea what that meant. Hamilton seemed rather curious, but there was a lilt to his expression Thomas had never seen before. James, as usual, was examining though he kept his body language as even as possible.
Then, it appeared that James had caught something worthy of note and smiled broadly. "You're the guy that has the tattoos, aren't you?"
"James." Thomas warned, already sensing where this was going.
"Thomas can't shut up about you." James finished.
Hamilton raised an eyebrow, glancing over to Thomas as though expecting him to confirm. "Is that so?"
"Get out and take your stupid flowers with you." Thomas interruped sharply. James shook his head, disappointed at missing out a chance to embarrass Thomas, and Hamilton didn't look as though he was going to budge until he uncovered the truth in this. "Okay, once or twice-"
"A day." James cut in, far too smug.
"-but that isn't important." Thomas finished firmly, fixing James with a fierce glower. James smiled blithely at him, and Hamilton was looking increasingly delighted.
"I'm glad to have made an impression." Hamilton said.
"Oh my god." Thomas hissed. "Hamilton, I will call the cops if you don't fuck off."
Hamilton grinned brightly, still pleased despite the threats. He gathered his plants, offered a goodbye to James (and a rather unkind curse word at Thomas) before leaving. Thomas waited a moment or so before heading over to see what had made him so preoccupied.
Hamilton had sketched each flower, pairing them off to complimentary partner and Thomas was stunned at the detail and obvious thought that had gone into each drawing.
"So, Alex..." James trailed off, letting his words hang suggestively in the air. Thomas turned to give his supposed friend a scowl, but had the second hand embarrassment of having to watch James wiggle his eyebrows.
"Oh, fuck off."
3.
He wasn't entirely sure what had possessed him to open the book Burr had given him with the intent to follow the definitions. As expected, damn near all of them were coded for romance and Thomas would rather uneasily refuse to spare much thought towards that idea.
Eventually, he settled for yellow lilies, for 'gratitude and appreciation'. Despite Thomas's grumbling and glares, Hamilton's presence was actually helpful and some of the combinations he had drawn were very well received by Thomas's clients.
Unfortunately, Thomas was still conflicted by his choice. This resulted in a week or so of hesitation and an eventual (mortifying) confidence in one Aaron Burr.
"I don't know." Burr replied uselessly.
Thomas inwardly groaned. "Aren't you the expert on these things?"
"You own the flower shop." Burr pointed out. Thomas pinched the bridge of his nose, frustrated beyond explanation and for a brief second, Burr seemed to take pity on him. "I think it's a good idea, if it helps. I just don't know how Hamilton would react. Why don't you ask Lafayette?"
"I would genuinely rather die." Thomas informed him. Burr offered an apologetic grimace that didn't particularly help, and left with his blue iris (faith and hope).
Thomas was promptly back to square one and was moments away from burning the building down out of sheer frustration, then claiming the insurance money and eloping to a southern part of France.
Though, stubbornness had thrown him into this business and stubbornness was keeping him there. He was far too prideful to back out now, and a trivial matter like whether or not Hamilton might be offended by flowers would not influence any financial decision.
So, he disregarded his sudden and uncharacteristic anxiety. They were just flowers after all, in exchange for the time Hamilton had spent helping him out. There was also no improper hidden meaning to this - it meant that he was grateful for what Hamilton had done, nothing more or less.
It didn't explain why Thomas was having to deal with a nervous, fluttering feeling in his stomach. Regardless, he pushed it down, focusing on what was going on, and his plans. By the time his lunch break arrived, he was more than ready to forget the entire idea and pretend to be indifferent.
Though, for some reason this felt important. Instead of allowing himself to avoid anything remotely uncomfortable, Thomas grudgingly left his shop, the lilies tucked safely against his chest. This was fucking stupid, but he was doing it anyway.
Despite having occupied his shop for over four months, Thomas had never walked out to explore any other stores lining the road. It meant that he had no idea what to expect of the tattoo parlor, and he had no idea whether or not Hamilton would be working a shift or in the local vicinity.
Thomas allowed himself to make as many excuses and reasons why going inside was an awful idea, but ignored them and entered the building. He wasn't sure what to make of it - as expected, the place wasn't as bright and calming as his own shop was - but it wasn't oppressive and unwelcoming like other shops were known to be.
This didn't stop him from feeling out of place. Most of the clientele consisted of young teenagers just barely over the age of eighteen and people who looked as though they spent their entire lives getting tattoos, judging by the amount they wore.
He gained a few stares, likely due to the flower he held, but Thomas was able to match them with one of his own. After a minute or so, a woman noticed how bemused he looked and approached him.
"Are you lost?" She asked, then eyed the lilies with a small grin. "Or are you looking for Alex?"
Thomas blinked, glancing around him as though looking for a familiar face to rescue him from awkward social interactions. He shifted his weight. "Could you give these to Hamil - Alex?"
"I can do you one better." The woman decided. Thomas sighed - it seemed like he was going to have to endure further embarrassment instead of just leaving the damn plant and hoping for the best. The woman saw his hesitation and her smile softened but she still turned to shout, "Alex, get your ass over here!"
Thomas felt part of his soul curl up into a tiny ball and perish. There was an equally loud answer of, "Peggy, I'm busy."
"Your flower guy's here." The woman - Peggy - shouted back. There was a rather prolonged silence, then a quiet curse and the sound of someone quickly scrambling followed immediately after. Peggy smirked, giving what she likely thought was a supportive tap on the shoulder but was far more ominous than he would prefer. "Good luck."
Thomas wasn't feeling particularly lucky. He didn't panic despite the fact that he was currently forecasting everything that could ever go wrong in this moment.
"Hey, stranger." Hamilton greeted, sounding rather surprised at Thomas's visit. Thomas gave an awkward half-gesture to indicate that Hamilton had been heard. Hamilton mostly seemed amused at his attempts of functioning like a normal human. "What brings you here?"
Thomas had not planned this far ahead. He paused, unsure of what to say, and his silence remained far, far longer than a usual conversation would allow. Hamilton, however, remained quiet, arching an eyebrow and crossing his arms.
It was in this moment that Thomas noticed the sheer amount of ink sprawled against Hamilton's arms, starting similar to a cuff at his wrist and stretching upwards to his elbow.
"Well?" Hamilton prompted, now sounding vaguely concerned. Thomas winced, pushed the potted plant into Hamilton's arms and promptly left, relying on autopilot to get him back to his shop.
When he returned, a small group of three had accumulated by the counter. Thomas immediately forced the horribly embarrassing interaction to the back of his mind, plastering on a friendly facade as he greeted the customers.
Leaving his shop open whilst he nervously gifted some flowers to a very bewildered Hamilton wasn't particularly clever of him and for the rest of the day he considered hiring help for both of his shops.
Though, when Hamilton didn't stop by for his usual hobby of trying to annoy Thomas, he was beginning to get worried. He distracted himself by opting to water the flowers around his shop, then carry out an inventory check.
By the time Hamilton did arrive, Thomas was trying not to curse under his breath about how ridiculously fussy roses were. The opening statement was not promising. "What the fuck, Thomas?"
Hamilton held up the note that Thomas had left with the lilies, looking mildly offended and Thomas tried not to grin. In his own neat handwriting, it read; I mildly dislike you.
"Um, can you read?" Thomas asked. Hamilton thinned his lips, giving no response. The silence that then fell between them was rather heavy, which caused Thomas to (intelligently) say, "You have a lot of tattoos."
"That's sort of a given, considering my occupation." Hamilton mused and Thomas inwardly wondered why he suddenly had no common sense or impulse control whatsoever. "I can explain the meaning behind each one, if you want."
This was how Thomas spent the rest of his day. He didn't know what was so intriguing about the stories Hamilton had which were now depicted with ink. It seemed that Hamilton was very reflective of the past.
At some point, Alex became quiet ("That's a miracle," Thomas had muttered, but didn't put much meaning into his words), which left Thomas talking about his own life and how he had come to start his own business instead of joining the family company.
"Like Peggy." Alex said. "Her sisters run a salon somewhere uptown. I think it was a belated teenage rebellion."
"Are you implying something, Hamilton?" Thomas asked. Alex grinned, shrugging his shoulders and Thomas pretended to be far more offended by this than he actually was.
At the end of the day, when Alex had left and James was waiting for him outside, Thomas decided to put a small laminated sign on the window stating 'help wanted'.
4.
Thomas wasn't used to having to hire people. Possible employees seemed to latch onto his inexperience and falsely correlate it to low standards, and were then given the shock of a lifetime when Thomas told them - with slightly more formal language - to fuck off.
Alex seemed to think that the entire situation was amusing and offered a rather useless, "I'm beginning to feel sorry for you. It's not even funny anymore, it's just sad. You're giving me second hand sadness, Thomas."
After a week or so of trying not to kill Alex and finally end his sarcastic remarks, Thomas was able to enlist the reluctant help of James, and together, they were able to hire three competent people who knew the basics of looking after flowers.
The moment Thomas hired Dolley Payne, all of a sudden, James was suddenly around his shop a lot more and he was so damn transparent that Thomas would feel deeply aggrieved by watching both of them dance around eachother in some weird, exuberant mating call.
When Thomas mentioned this to James it caused James refused to speak to him for a full two hours.
Disregarding the despair Thomas felt at having to watch Dolley and James interact, Dolley was proving to be an exceptional employee, and was able to coax almost everyone who so much as glanced at the store to come in and purchase something.
Thomas was left considering branching out and leaving Dolley in charge of this shop, but the thought of leaving the community, of leaving Alex - despite how much Alex managed to piss him off - caused something unpleasant to constrict in his chest.
Maybe later, then.
The addition of a new employee meant that Thomas was actually able to take breaks, and began visiting other stores across the street. Burr was shocked to see him, actually gasping, hand over chest. Thomas rolled his eyes, because it seemed that Burr believed Thomas to be an anti-social flower goblin.
He had no reason to visit the vet immediately besides Burr's bookshop, but that didn't stop Thomas from innocently mentioning John Laurens in any conversation he had with Burr. Unfortunately, this brought up the fact that he and Alex often talked about the occupants of the street, and Burr was now able to retort with the fact that Thomas was friendly with Alex.
For some reason, if Burr gave an implication that Thomas was trying to date Alex, it would leave him flustered and indignant. Burr just looked at him, unimpressed, and Thomas promptly decided that Burr was no longer his friend.
Visiting Lafayette with his bakery was far, far worse than visiting Burr, because Lafayette didn't imply so much as outright say and more than often caused Thomas to choke on air.
"If it helps, Alex is acting like a teenager with his first crush too. Mon dieu, you're all he can talk about!" Lafayette said, which certainly did not help.
Mulligan, surprisingly, abstained from voicing an opinion about his apparent relationship with Alex. Though, Thomas had the misfortune of gaining a few knowing looks whenever he would (accidentally) direct the conversation towards Alex, and what he had done that particular day to annoy him.
More often than not, though, Thomas would purchase a few things from Lafayette and spend his lunch breaks with Alex, complaining about his unhealthy lifestyle and attempting to persuade him to eat something instead of running on hatred and caffeine alone.
He enjoyed any time away from James - who was supposed to be looking for a job as a writer - being disgustingly romantic. Though, Dolley seemed to think that James acting like an idiot was somehow endearing, so Thomas did his best to leave them be.
At one point, when the shop was empty and Thomas was bored out of his mind, Dolley had procured some willow branches and was beginning to shape them into circles of varying sizes. Then, she retrieved a handful of flowers that weren't going to be sold anytime soon, weaving them against the willow and then nodding to herself, approving of her handiwork.
"How'd you do that?" Thomas asked. Somehow, the willow stayed in place despite nothing tying it down. Dolley glanced away from her flower crown.
"It's easy." She shrugged. Then, with a glance around the distinctively vacant shop, added, "I'll show you."
Thomas was never good with work requiring small, important details. By the time he was successful with creating a willow circle, he had wasted three other branches - one of which was snapped in frustration - and was almost hit in the face twice by a branch recoiling.
Though, when he held his finally complete willow circle, he couldn't deny the sense of pride he felt, even though Dolley had made seven in the time it took him to finish one.
"I practice all the time with the buttercups in my garden." Dolley consoled. "It takes a while to get the hang of it."
Thomas sighed. He brought the flower language book down, which immediately caused Dolley's entire face to light up and she asked, "What does a hydrangea mean?"
"I have... genuinely no idea." Thomas said, but flicked to the page. "Gratitude for being understood; mutual understanding from good communication."
"Perfect." Dolley decided.
"Are you making it for James?" Thomas asked.
"Yes." Dolley confirmed without hesitation. She laced the willow with a handful of hydrangeas. Once she was content that none were going to fall, she made eye contact with Thomas. "And you're planning on making one for Alexander."
"What?" Thomas gave an awkward laugh. "The thought never really occured to me."
It had, and Dolley was completely correct, but the fact that Thomas's intentions were read so easily was more than a little embarrassing. Dolley didn't even contradict him, just lifted an eyebrow to indicate that she wasn't buying it, but would allow him to pretend he was somewhat subtle.
"I think acacia blossoms would be appropriate." She said.
Thomas sighed, flipping to the front of the book and promptly scowled. Dolley met his scowl with a faultless look that reminded him quite distinctively of James. "I am not secretly in love with anyone."
"Yes." Dolley readily agreed. "A secret would imply that there's a hidden aspect to all of this. You're not keeping it a secret."
"Shut up and make your damn flower crown." Thomas huffed. Dolley merely raised her eyebrows to herself, and resumed flicking through the pages. Thomas hesitated fot a moment, then cursed under his breath and grudgingly added acacia blossoms.
Dolley didn't bother trying to hide her grin. Unfortunately, his reluctant relent meant that Dolley was suggesting more things and whilst some were decent (orchids for genuine affection), there were some things that Thomas had to draw a line at.
"Look, I'm all for love at first sight but that didn't happen." Thomas firmly repeated after Dolley suggested - again - a rose. "I don't even like him. He's annoying."
"You don't like him because he annoys you, and that's why you've made him a flower crown that proclaims your undying love." Dolley said.
"Exactly."
"Oh my God." Dolley muttered under her breath, shaking her head. Thomas mentally added her to the growing list of people who were no longer his friend. At the sound of a bell chime, Dolley grinned. "Heads up, Romeo."
"Very funny." Thomas said. He didn't need to glance up to know that it would be Alex, but he did so anyway. He tried (and failed) not to smile at how alarmed Alex looked.
"What's going on?" Alex asked, glancing at the mess of petals and the open book between them.
"Summoning satan." Thomas immediately replied.
"Sounds fun, can I join?" At Thomas's brief confirmation, Alex knelt besides Thomas, eyeing the irises with curiosity. Thomas watched his expression change from this to determination, and he began arranging each flower into their species group.
Thomas decided to help, mostly because Alex wasn't able to tell the difference between a rose and a peony which caused him to wince. Judging by Alex's almost sly grin, this was exactly what he had planned, and swiftly tucked a peony behind his ear.
"I could have hayfever." Thomas muttered, which caused Alex to scoff. "You could've killed me."
"Why would you work in a flower shop if you have hayfever?" Alex challenged and for a second Thomas had to admit that Alex had made a good point.
"A strong inclination towards self destruction." Thomas decided after a second of hesitation.
"Spare me." Alex scoffed. "You've let yourself down with that failure of a reason."
"Alexander, I will shove violets down your throat if you mock me again." Thomas threatened. Alex paused, evidently about to question the sincerity of this, so Thomas reached over and grabbed a handful of the flowers in question.
Alex narrowed his eyes. "Just because you didn't think your argument through-"
"Oh, here we go again with the arguments." Thomas interrupted and was ignored.
"-doesn't mean I have to suffer from your stupidity." Alex finished, then gestured at a vaguely humored Dolley, who looked surprised at being included. Alex added, "Or Dolley, for that matter."
Thomas glanced at Dolley in time for her to mouth the word 'adorable' at him, which was both unnecessary and insulting. Dryly, Thomas said, "Don't bring Dolley into this."
"You brought Dolley into this!" Alex protested, throwing his hands up in indignance. "For all your 'I don't give a damn about everything' bit, you sure as hell have a lot of opinions."
"You're so mean to me, Alexander." Thomas lamented. "I'm beginning to regret making you a flower crown."
Alex's demeanour suddenly shifted and he gave Thomas a sharp look. "You did what?"
Thomas didn't explain further, just held up the item in question, and Alex beamed at him. Thomas glanced away, mostly to get some semblance of control over his sad excuse of a life. Without a word, he placed it on Alex's head, hesitant and all of a sudden unsure how to breathe.
"Holy shit!" Alex grinned. "I'm a fucking badass!"
"That's not the word I'd use to describe you." Thomas shook his head. Cute would be a far more accurate term though would likely earn him a rather harsh series of insults and Thomas would rather avoid that.
"I'm going to message James." Dolley decided with the subtlety of a brick wall, briskly standing up. Alex shifted to accommodate her movements, the action bringing him closer to Thomas, close enough for their arms to brush. Thomas stared out the window, trying to calm the ridiculous pace his heart kept and noted that, despite winter finally being over, the sun was already beginning to set.
"I bet you'll be the best man at their wedding." Alex mused with a slight smile.
"I better be." Thomas said.
A calm silence settled between them. When Thomas glanced over at Alex, the other man was staring pointedly at the flowers arranged in different piles, a thinly stemmed zinnia being idly spinned in his hand. "Why'd you make the flower crown?"
"Boredom." Thomas answered with a shrug, suddenly uncomfortable. Alex paused, tensed, before suddenly forcing himself to relax. Thomas could still feel the tension running across his shoulders.
"Yeah, but why did you make one for me?" Alex pressed. His eyes remained lowered, fixed on the flowers in front of him. Thomas internally flinched, adrenalin suddenly kicking in and he tried to remain as still as possible in attempts to not provoke a withdrawal in Alex.
"You can pick a reason." He stated with a forcibly neutral tone. This caused Alex to send him a sharp glance, expression searching and - hopeful?
Before Thomas had time to examine what that particular look meant, Alex had leaned forward, closing the little distance that had remained between them.
Thomas didn't realise that he had been waiting for this - every lingering look that was dismissed as professional curiosity, every quip and insult to get Alex's intention and sometimes manage to bring a smile - was for this. And it was very close to perfection.
The kiss was brief, barely a brush of lips, and when Alex moved backwards Thomas knew that he was completely doomed. They maintained eye contact for several seconds, Alex slightly dazed and Thomas more than a little shocked.
"Shit, it was supposed to be more romantic than that." Alex muttered, flushing, and Thomas merely raised an eyebrow.
"I mean, we're surrounded by flowers and we just kissed in front of a fucking sunset, I can't really think of anything more romantic."
Alex seemed rather set upon insulting the moment, and he grimaced, twisting the zinnia he still held in his hand. "I should've asked for consent-"
"Which I would've given." Thomas interrupted dryly. "Rather enthusiastically."
"I didn't know that at the time!" Alex protested. Thomas gave him a sceptical look and Alex hastened to amend, "Well, I had an idea, but that isn't permission, Thomas!"
"Are you seriously offended that I'm not offended?" Thomas asked. Alex glared at him, likely wanting Thomas to take this more seriously. Thomas sighed, leaned back slightly. "If you want my consent to kiss me, then you have it."
"You have a stupid accent." Alex suddenly decided. "Really stupid."
"You're an asshole." Thomas replied in the same calm, almost observational tone that Alex had adopted. Alex scowled, acting insulted despite the fact that he was already trying to force down a grin.
"No, you." He replied.
Thomas looked at him blankly for a few seconds before sighing, shaking his head and not even pretending to be disappointed by the sad retort. "Why is a four year old writing your comebacks?"
Alex seemed to have decided that the appropriate response was to repeat what Thomas had said in a mocking tone, failing to mimick his accent and earning a sharp glower. Though, regardless of how childish and uninspired this was, Alex looked so damn proud of himself that for a moment, Thomas glanced away and tried to hide his smile.
It didn't particularly matter if he lost this argument, as he was sure that he would win the next. If not, he could always send more flower bundles with mildly insulting notes.
4 (+1)
"Roses are the ultimate flowers." Alex declared one day, whilst Thomas was trying to clear everything up and make sure that each flower wasn't going to suddenly shrivel away from dehydration. "You can use them as gifts, name a shit tonne of perfume and alcohol after it, and you can kill someone with the thorns."
Thomas tried to ignore the stupidity that Alex was spewing. Unfortunately, Dolley had no prior training with how to deal with an annoying Hamilton, so she asked, "You can?"
Alex paused, likely for dramatic affect. He then offered a cautious, "If you try hard enough."
"What, you know this from personal experience?" Thomas had finally had enough of listening to the sheer idiocy filling his store. "Alex, we both know they're overrated."
"Did you hear the part about the alcohol and perfume?" Alex argued. "People like perfume named after roses!"
Thomas didn't pause. "Perfume is overrated."
Dolley wisely muffled a laugh. Alex scoffed, insulted at the mere thought of someone having a different opinion to him. "Oh, sorry, I didn't realise you were secretly replaced by a hipster."
"Alex, I own a flower shop, I hate people and I have a cat. You're not usually this slow on the uptake." This caused Alex to scowl, crossing his arms. Thomas rolled his eyes, lightening the blow with a slight smile and a shrugged, "Besides, replacements are overrated."
"You know, I agree with Alex." Dolley said.
"Thank you!" Alex exclaimed, gesturing at Dolley, now invigorated due to someone being on his side. "Dolley agrees with me, and Dolley is always right." There was a pause. "Don't tell Peggy I said that."
"Don't you have a date?" Thomas prompted, casting a glance over to where Dolley was stood. She had always been careful in how others perceived her - especially when meeting James.
"Are you sure you'll be alright?" She asked, glancing around the shop.
"I survived years in this shop before hiring you." Thomas pointed out.
"Three months." Alex corrected.
"Shut up." Thomas said. Alex grinned, trying to look innocent, and Thomas didn't believe that expression for one second. He sighed, shifting to face Dolley properly. "You know how James is. Chances are, he's shown up half an hour early because he's a loser."
"You showed up early for our first date." Alex added, still trying to act faultless.
Thomas glared. "So did you."
"Therefore, both of are losers." Dolley concluded aptly, which caused both Alex and Thomas to make sounds of protest. Dolley raised an eyebrow, as though daring Thomas to contradict her.
"Don't rope me in the same category as this nerd." Thomas simply stated. "I'm at least cool. He's just - not as cool as I am."
Alex glowered, less surprised at Thomas's insult than he was at Dolley's. Dolley raised her hands as though she was trying to placate them. "At least you're not as oblivious as John and Aaron."
"Three years." Alex said solemnly, previous indignation forgotten as he took on a tired, world-weary expression. "John is finally beginning to notice that Burr doesn't give flowers to everyone."
"You say that as though it's common sense." Thomas said. "I gave you flowers."
"And I gave you the pleasure of my company." Alex retorted. Thomas paused, trying his best to look as though he doubted the truth behind Alex's words and Alex thinned his lips. "I'm fun. People call me Alexander Fun Hamilton."
"Nobody calls you that." Thomas said. "Nobody."
"I'm leaving now." Dolley interrupted Alex before he could argue back. Thomas gave a thumbs up, indicating that she had been heard. "Try not to set the place on fire."
"Flowers aren't that easy to set on fire." Alex pointed out. Thomas supposed that this was common sense, but he still couldn't help but wonder how Alex was able to say this fact with such conviction. Alex merely raised an eyebrow, likely guessing what Thomas was thinking.
Thomas hoped the snapdragons were safe, but he was far too aware that his boyfriend was a human disaster and would likely forget routines. Though, despite his protests, Thomas didn't particularly mind.