Work Text:
Tine hums in satisfaction as he admires his work.
He just made 50 sets of matching corsages and boutonnieres adorned with red and white roses for dance partners that a local high school ordered from his shop for the upcoming prom.
He carefully covers and separates it in a box that is set out for pick up after lunch.
Tine leaves the storage room to look over the flowers lined up in its pots and other pre-made bouquets if it's directly under the morning sunlight that seeps through his shop's glass walls. He smiles softly when he sees specks of dust dancing under the visible daylight. Being the lone owner of a flower shop is hard but his passion for floristry and genuine love for flowers keeps him going. Whenever someone comes to his shop, he likes to hear the harmonious requests of his customers especially if it conveys the language of flowers. Hence, he always put his best smile to whoever seeks his help.
The bell above the door chimes louder than he’s used to. He turns his body to face the customer or sorta intruder? He isn’t really sure.
A man slams 3,000 Thai bahts on the counter, he runs his fingers through his hair. There seems to be a permanent furrow in his brows and he looks at Tine intensely.
“How do I passive-aggressively say fuck you in flower?”
Ha? That’s what he wanted to say when he picked up what the customer in front of him said.
The man notices the lack of an answer. “Fuck you, in whatever flower language is that.” The man says to him, he looks really pissed off in this such a relaxing morning but his way of sublimating his anger is very unique to Tine.
Tine clears his throat. This is the perfect time to pour his knowledge on cursing through flower symbolism. “Ah, well I can suggest you several flowers I could think of.” He counts with his fingers, recalling them one by one. “There’s foxglove for insincerity, meadowsweet for uselessness, geraniums for stupidity, yellow carnations to convey your feeling of disappointment, and orange lilies for hatred.” He plasters a charming smile to the customer in who’s slowly nodding his head, perhaps he’s thinking what is the closest flower that could mean a ‘Fuck you’ to someone.
Tine studies the features of the man carefully, he’s fair-skinned, has a pair of lips curved in a graceful way, a nice tuft of hair that he bets will feel soft if he can touch it and he looks really desirable in his white dress shirt that compliments his lean body. He’s definitely cute, Tine will admit that, but he’s full of hatred right now. Tine shakes his head to stop himself in ogling his customer.
“What about a bouquet with orange lilies, foxglove, and I forgot what it’s called, the one that means uselessness.” Tine nods as he enters the order in the cash register.
“What color of the wrap do you want for the bouquet?”
“Whatever fits your taste, I’m okay with it.” His customer says in a commanding tone. Tine turns his back to hide his scowl from the arrogant man.
He inhales. “Okay Sir, please wait for a few minutes while I prepare your order.” His customer shrugs, slowly tapping his hand on the counter.
Tine goes back to the storage to prepare the following flowers, he recuts a few stems and settles it in a calculating manner, he decides to wrap it with orange since he’s not fond of the color. Red geraniums, orange lilies on the side, and a few meadowsweets as filler flowers. He grabs the whole bouquet, examining his work for any holes that could damage the longevity of the flowers prematurely.
“Can’t you be a little faster?” He hears his customer shouts outside that makes him roll his eyes in irritation.
He’s handsome but he’s an asshole.
Tine goes back to the counter, carefully setting the bouquet down on top of it. He takes out the change to give it to the frowning man in front of him but he waves his hand dismissively.
“You know, this is the first time that I’ve received such an odd request.”
“Yeah, a coworker of mine took all the credit for my work, and now I’m here because my boss made me his errand boy to surprise that credit grabber with this congratulatory gesture.” He clenches his jaw as he tells his irritating situation to Tine.
“That’s a bummer, I’m sorry that you have to go through all of this. For what it’s worth, I think you’re too kind to let this pass, he’ll get what he deserves someday.” He winks, trying to lighten the mood.
Tine feels rewarded when the man’s lips twitch as he chuckles a little while trying to suppress his laughter.
He wants to ask if he said something funny, but he’s rendered speechless at how insanely attractive this man is.
Returning the smile, Tine grins, while blushing. “Oh before I forget, what name should I write on the tag of the bouquet?”
“Just write ‘Congratulations, P’Mil! ”
With his finishing touch, he arranges the flowers in place and straightens any creases on its cover.
“Here you go! Thank you for choosing my services, I hope you'll be back soon with another odd order.” He says in a cheerful voice, handing the bouquet to the man.
His customer carelessly holds the bouquet as if he doesn’t really care if he gives it all messy and withered. “This is such a beautifully arranged bouquet, I wouldn’t have guessed this practically means I hate you and sorta fuck you.”
The man squints his eyes to read his name tag. “Thank you, Mr. Tine.”
“I think we’re around at the same age so ‘Tine’ is fine for me.” Tine tries to confidently say while trying to stop his cheeks from reddening.
“My name is Sarawat, nice to meet you, Tine, have a great day!” The man, no, Sarawat checks his wristwatch as he opens the door with his other hand. He waves to Tine just before he leaves, eyes crinkling in the smile.
He entered his flower shop with a sullen expression and left with an endearing smile.
The bell on his door chimes softly when it closes, in contrast to its loud sound earlier. Instead of relief, he rather feels melancholic, now that he’s alone in his shop. He meant it when he said that he hopes to see Sarawat again.
🌻🌻🌻
“Sarawat, are you okay with this?” His co-worker asks him, pointing out what’s happening right now, with their boss congratulating Mil in front of everyone. Some of his friends in his department know who really is deserving to receive that plaque of recognition with the matching bouquet of flowers. However, no one dared to tell about it to their gullible slash stubborn boss. Sarawat is kinda fine with that but he can’t help but feel disappointed from time to time.
He smirks, shrugging his shoulder as he watches the scene in front of him with uninterested eyes.
His co-worker pokes his side. “Now that’s an amazing bouquet. Where did you get that? P’Mil can’t stop taking pictures with it.” Sarawat only huffs in reply.
“Are you really sure, you don’t like P’Mil?”
“Nothing changes.” He snorts. “Oh If only you know.” He chuckles slowly.
“Know what?” Sarawat only shakes his head.
Despite his subtle revenge, he thinks he should celebrate. However, his mind keeps going off track with the image of the adorable florist down the road.
🌻🌻🌻
Softly humming with the tune of an unknown love song he just heard on the radio, he skims over a magazine that features different flower arrangements to get some ideas. He takes a peek every once in a while on the blossoming flowers basking under the reflective sunlight. This is what he does on slow days like today. It’s a routine that he’ll never get tired of. Together with the flowers, he feels at home.
Suddenly his doorbell jingles, signaling him for a potential customer that makes him raise his head.
“H-hi!” Tine scrambles in his spot, forgetting what he’s doing earlier,
the magazine in his hands almost slip.
Sarawat chuckles on Tine’s internal panic, a peek of blush in the florist’s cheek is gradually getting visible.
This customer that appears before him is not the man he met yesterday, the lines that seem permanent on his furrowed brows disappear, his scowl is now replaced with a soft smile that makes Tine’s steady beating heart go faster than usual.
When their eyes meet, they both smile in silence, the only sound can be heard is the whirring of his aircon and honks of the cars outside his flower shop.
“You’re back.” Tine mutters, breaking eye contact to prevent himself from melting away.
Sarawat hopes Tine wouldn’t say anything about him visiting the shop after a hard and long day of the certain florists that wouldn’t stop running in his mind. God, I hope he’s not tired.
“Do you need anything? Odd flowers? Or something that says other hateful stuff?” He teases Sarawat.
“Oh no-not that.” Sarawat scratches the back of his head. He may have acted harshly yesterday but he’s not totally like that.
“I’m thinking of getting a bouquet for someone.” He mumbles. “I swear you have magical hands, the one you made yesterday is artfully arranged, plus no one noticed what it meant.”
Tine nods, whispering a soft thanks to Sarawat’s compliment but his heart sinks at the idea of him already admiring someone.
“Do you have... something in mind?” He asks while masking his downhearted tone.
“He reminds of the sunshine, whenever he smiles. The same way it gives me life, like the way it gives life to the flowers. Do you do anything with that symbolism?”
That's a really sweet gesture. The one who will receive it should be grateful for he’s going to pour his heart out on this bouquet and is going to receive it from a captivating man like Sarawat.
“The closest one is sunflowers but it can also be done with yellow tulips.” His smiles don’t reach his eyes anymore.
“I’ll go with the sunflowers since it blooms widely.” Sarawat flails his hands, showing to Tine how it blooms using his fingers.
Tine laughs. “Yes Sir, that’s how it looks when it’s fully bloomed.”
“Because I feel the warmth blooming inside me whenever I see him.” Sarawat smiles dreamily.
Tine clears his throat to stop himself from being entranced with Sarawat who’s currently babbling about the one he admires. His heart already beats for someone, not you, he reminds himself.
“Okay, Sir. I’ll be sure to make it fast since it’s about lunchtime.” Sarawat nods in acknowledgment but his eyes didn’t fail to notice the dejected expression of Tine.
Tine looks down on the bunch of sunflowers in his hands, he loves these cheerful flowers but he thinks they will remain as a painful reminder of how lonely and single he is from now on.
He wraps it in a craft paper that makes it look like a vintage newspaper. It’s on him, it should’ve had an extra charge but he decides not to tell Sarawat, he deserves to have and give away a bouquet like this, since Tine can see how he genuinely adores that unknown guy.
After he doubles check his work, he releases a defeated sigh. Mentally saying goodbye to Sarawat, he cannot believe how attached he is to the man in front of the counter even if he just met him yesterday. Although Tine loves his routine, maybe what happened yesterday brought colors in his mundane life, just like a beautiful variegated tulip that holds several meanings in its array of colors.
Just like how the sunflowers are to Sarawat.
“Well, I have to thank him for that encounter.” Tine says to himself.
Taking the bouquet outside, he presents it to Sarawat. His other hand is waving while he dramatically shows off his work.
It’s Sarawat’s turn to be speechless. He is in awe how amazing Tine turned a few bundles of flowers into an eye-catching bouquet.
“Is there anything wrong with my work?” Tine asks curiously.
“No. I think it really suits...him.” His eyes flutter away from the bouquet to Tine’s direction. “Thank you for this.”
A blush spreads from his cheeks towards his ears when Sarawat says it so sincerely.
Tine looks at him like deer caught in the headlights, he is in between the feeling of his heart crushing and racing loudly, all because of this customer in front of him.
Sarawat offers one last smile, he takes out 3,000 Thai bahts and places it on the counter. “Keep the change.” He winks before leaving, he gets out of the door and walks away.
Tine holds his breath and lets it out when he no longer sees Sarawat’s shadow when he turns around the block. Tiny pangs of pain are felt within the crevices of his heart. He needs some comforting right now, he decides.
By means of comforting, it’s the warm cup of hot chocolate and blueberry cheesecake a few steps away from his shop. He takes out his apron and checks himself out in the mirror only to regret it because he faced Sarawat the whole time with dirt smudged on his cheeks. Muttering a few curses, he washes his face.
He turns around the sign from open to close, a wave of melancholy creeps up to him as he locks his shop. He hopes his flowers wouldn’t be upset with their florist’s gloomy self today.
Grumbling under his breath, he stomps his way to the coffee shop. However, his moment is cut off when someone clears their throat beside him.
Tine almost screams when he sees Sarawat’s face appear in front of him. He holds his chest, panting loudly. “What are you doing here?” He asks, not in his usual welcoming voice.
“I’m waiting for you.” Sarawat pouts.
“Me? Why? Did I do some-” He didn’t get a chance to ask some more when a bouquet of vibrant yellow sunflowers is shoved in his face.
“It’s for me?” He asks in disbelief but his cheeks beg to differ when he blushes as pink as the carnation he gave earlier to a boy who’s planning to ask a girl he likes to prom.
He wants to slap himself, to get him out of this dream, or to punish himself for being sad over Sarawat’s crush just because he is his crush. His pining to this charming customer is worth it.
“I don’t know how to ask you, so I did with the language of flowers.” Sarawat shyly says, he looks nervous, hands a bit trembling. Tine just wants to pinch his cheeks and coo at him.
Tine sighs in relief, reaching to accept the bouquet from Sarawat’s hands. He jumps a little when he feels a spark when his fingers accidentally touched Sarawat’s in a featherlight manner.
Funny thing, it seems like Sarawat felt it when he jolted too.
“Let me ask you, do you like hot chocolates and cheesecakes?”
Sarawats tilts his head in confusion but hums in agreement with Tine. “In that cafe? Of course, I do!”
“Well then let’s go.”
Tine grabs Sarawat’s hands and intertwines their fingers. He wants to scream internally, he’s so proud that he has acted this boldly, he is no longer a lonely florist down the road.
They both look down on their hands, gently touching in their hold, and raises their heads at the same time. Tine is the first one to smile in between their warm gaze, his lips curved upward that makes his eyes crinkle. Sarawat never felt more alive now that the radiant sun has come down to shine on him deep within his heart and soul. Butterflies swarm the pit of his stomach, dancing gracefully and in happiness because of the florist in front of him. And slowly, like a flower that blossoms in the spring, he returns the smile, the press of his lips glows towards Tine.
This is just the beginning of their blooming love.