Work Text:
The air smelled pleasantly sweet within the walls of the little flower shop on the corner. Spring was in the air, bringing lots of sunshine for the budding and blossoming wares to turn their faces up. They drank up the rays of sunlight, eagerly taking it in so they could grow even more brilliant within the coming days. It was a small little shop, one with an overabundance of flowers that seemed to spill all over the tables and hanging baskets. Customers always complimented the quality of the blossoms grown here, but there was one small strange detail about this particular store—
All of its flowers were blue.
Some were naturally a bluish color and others were grown in such a way that they became blue. The shop owner could tell you all of the details about how to ensure the flowers bloomed blue, and he also knew the best tricks and tips for how to help them truly shine in different flowerbeds. When asked one day why all of his flowers were blue, he just shrugged and gave the customer a soft smile that resembled something of a smirk. The answer was a secret that many of the customers and passers-by mumbled about to themselves.
He’d opened the shop a little early this morning, feeling a bit more positive than usual. Something felt particularly auspicious about today. He put on his apron on, gave his hair a quick comb through, and smiled at himself in the mirror. With a flourish of his hand, he produced his to-do list before opening and set about his morning chores. He hoped that a certain someone would stop by today.
His chores were finished in a flash. It was just one of those days where when you set your mind to a task, it flew by without weighing down to heavily on you. He hurried over to the front door and pulled out his key. He slipped it into the locks, ensuring that the doors could be opened without struggle. Reaching up, he flipped around the open sign. He stepped back and nodded. Now, to water the plants.
As he sprayed water gently on a patch of forget-me-nots, a regular customer with flaxen hair and glittering green eyes came up to him, smiling. For a moment, he remained crouched down, gazing up at him with his lips slightly parted and wide eyes. His cheeks were tinged with a light blush. He brushed his bangs out of his eyes, mentally trying to force himself to hold a conversation like normal. He cleared his throat and stood up to his feet, finally smiling.
“So?” he asked. “What did you think of the salvia, Eugeo?”
The flaxen-haired man gave him a warm smile and nodded his head.
“They’re lovely!” he said. “I put them right where you suggested. You were right, Kirito. They really make the front yard look great. Thank you.”
With a confident smirk, Kirito nodded his head, his black hair bobbing as he did so. He had a good mental image of how Eugeo’s yard looked, based on the numerous pictures he’d been shown of his new home. It was slowly gaining more flowers in the front yard as he made purchases from Kirito’s store.
“For someone who’s been into flowers for as long as I’ve known him, you still seem to be searching for tips,” he said, placing his free hand on his hip. “I’d almost venture to say that you really like coming here to see me.”
Eugeo’s eyes widened. His cheeks turned a little pink with embarrassment. He turned his head and hid his face in his sleeve while Kirito chuckled to himself gleefully, enjoying teasing him. His mouth opened and closed as he thought of what to say in response to such a bold statement. Kirito waited patiently.
“Well…you’re my friend,” Eugeo said slowly. “Of course, I like coming to see you.”
Internally, Kirito felt a bit frustrated. He’d have to be a little more forward, he supposed, if he wanted to get any results from such teasing. For now, he didn’t have the courage to be so up front about his flirting. Instead, he’d go for the indirect approach again. He held up one finger and grinned.
“Wait right here!” he exclaimed. “I’ve got a present for you!”
Eugeo blinked.
“Wait, what? Kirito!” he said.
It was too late. Kirito was already hurrying into the back room. He’d set something aside for Eugeo the other day while he was working. The work bench in the back was covered with tools and miscellaneous seeds he’d been sorting. He scanned the bench, trying to locate the packet he’d set apart from the others. He’d written Eugeo’s name on it. The mess made things difficult to locate, but after a bit of shuffling things around, his hand bumped into a small bag marked with his friend’s name on it in sloppy handwriting.
“Aha!” he said.
He snatched up the bag and then glanced at himself in a mirror. He smoothed out his work apron, as if it made a lick of a difference to Eugeo how he was dressed in a flower shop. Taking a deep breath, he wiggled a bit to loosen up his tension. He stepped back out into the open and walked over to Eugeo, holding out the bag with both hands. Eugeo’s eyebrows lifted in curiosity. He reached out and took the gift with a slight bow.
“Thank you,” he said. “What are these?”
A huge smile nearly split Kirito’s face in two.
“You said roses were your favorite, right?” he said.
Eugeo nodded.
“But the trouble is that I really like blue flowers,” he said, sighing. “So, they don’t really match my yard.”
He sounded almost apologetic.
“Those are blue,” Kirito said, pointing to the bag in Eugeo’s hands. “It took me a bit of painstaking crossbreeding, but I finally managed to get a variant that turned up blue naturally. I do hope you’ll like them…”
Eugeo’s eyes shimmered with surprise. His mouth fell open into a perfect little ‘o.’ Pink colored his cheeks. Kirito didn’t know if he could stare into those beautiful eyes and keep his cool. His heart pounded against his ribcage, threatening to try and escape it. Something about how Eugeo stood there with that innocent expression on his face and with the blue flowers surrounding him like a nimbus made his pulse speed like a bullet train. Subconsciously, he pressed his hand to his heart. When Eugeo didn’t say anything, he cleared his throat.
“Would…would you like to see them in bloom?” he asked.
Finally, the mesmerizing stare ended as Eugeo’s eyelids fluttered closed. The look of surprise was replaced by a smile so warm that Kirito’s heart involuntarily stopped for a breath. He was grateful his hand was still pressed to his chest. He patted it a little, trying to restart his heart. Eugeo nodded, his flaxen hair glinting in the sunlight spilling through the windowpanes.
“I’d love to!” he said.
He nervously flashed Eugeo a grin and waved for him to follow him. The blue rose experiment had been going on in the back of the shop, accessible by the customers, but enough out of the way that they wouldn’t be glaringly obvious if something went wrong. He glanced back behind himself to make sure Eugeo was following him. When he saw for sure that he was, he turned back around and pressed both of his hands to his heart. It was racing again.
It was now or never. When he offered Eugeo a blue rose, he’d have to confess to him. This was the perfect moment. He’d been afraid moments before, but if he timed this right, it would be perfect. As he walked through the flowers he’d spent so much time growing, he felt the heat rise in his face.
It’s always been for you, Eugeo, he thought.
All of it. He’d created this shop just for Eugeo, knowing that he’d always loved flowers. He’d picked blue flowers, knowing Eugeo’s favorite color and that he preferred to plant blue and purple flowers. None of this was obvious enough, he supposed. His livelihood revolved around trying to catch Eugeo’s eye, and yet he still hadn’t outright asked the question burning in his chest.
He stopped in front of the flowerbed. He’d set aside a bouquet of the blue roses this morning. He stooped down to pick it up, then stole another glance over his shoulder. Eugeo tilted his head curiously. Kirito took a deep breath, and then he turned around, making sure to hold the bouquet behind his back. His body shook with nerves.
“Eugeo, I…” he said.
Embarrassed, he stared down at the ground for a moment. Why was this so difficult? He wanted to see that warm, welcoming smile on Eugeo’s face again—that same face he’d made moments before at the thought of seeing the blue blossoms on his favorite flower. He drew in a deep breath and lifted his head back up. Eugeo smiled at him, patiently waiting.
“You mean the world to me,” Kirito said slowly. “And I know it’s taken me a long time to get here, both literally, with these roses, and emotionally, but I think you should know.”
He pulled the bouquet in front of himself and then thrust it out to Eugeo.
“I love you,” he said.
He felt as if his face might explode from the amount of heat flushing it, but when he looked over at Eugeo, the green-eyed boy looked to be just as flustered. He had one hand pressed over his mouth and the other to his heart. His eyes glistened with fresh tears. Kirito wasn’t sure what this reaction meant. He wanted to turn away and hide, but he’d resolved to do this here and now. He had to wait for Eugeo’s response.
His eyes snapped closed. The moment felt like so much pressure. But all of that pressure released when he felt Eugeo’s hand brush against his to accept the bouquet. He opened his eyes up again just in time to see Eugeo shyly pull the bouquet up to his face. He took a deep breath, taking in the aroma of the roses, and smiled innocently, staring down to the right. Kirito swallowed. Eugeo let go with one hand and reached out to him. Kirito slowly took it. Eugeo’s palm was warm.
“You went through all of this trouble…just for me?” Eugeo asked.
Kirito numbly nodded.
“Just for me?” he repeated.
Smiling, Kirito nodded again.
“Because…because I love you, Eugeo,” he said. “I’d do anything for you. I want…I want to be a part of your flower garden.”
All of the tension immediately burst when Eugeo started laughing. His voice sounded like an angel, but Kirito couldn’t help but feel his flower-themed pun was taking things a bit too far. He covered his face with his free hand, asking himself why he’d even deemed that an appropriate joke to make in this circumstance. Eugeo squeezed his other hand and tugged him closer.
“Where do you even come up with these jokes, Kirito?” he asked, trying to calm down his laughing.
Kirito just shook his head, giving into laughter himself.
“You always know how to put a smile on my face,” Eugeo said.
He lifted his face out of his hands and sheepishly grinned across from him. His heart was still racing just from the uncertainty of it all. Eugeo pulled him a little closer. He thought his heart might leap into his mouth at any given second. Humming, Eugeo leaned forward and planted a kiss on Kirito’s cheek.
“Thank you,” he said. “For the flowers.”
Kirito felt his heart sink a little. Was he only grateful for the flowers?
“And this…is for the rest of what you said,” Eugeo said.
His face flushed a brilliant red as he said that. Kirito wondered what was so embarrassing. Eugeo cupped his face and pulled him closer, slipping his lips into Kirito’s this time, instead of just giving him a peck on the cheek. At first, he felt like his chest was exploding, but after a few breaths, his heart felt light.
Why was Kirito’s shop blue? The answer wasn’t really that much of a mystery, after all.