Chapter Text
If asked, Michael would say he was pretty educated about random and obscure topics. He was able and willing to go on all day about discontinued soft drinks and vintage tech. However, flowers were always confusing to him. He didn't know and didn't need to know what all those plants were supposed to mean. He just hadn't ever bothered to learn. So, when Christine said she was coming to visit, Michael was stuck.
Christine was one of those girls who liked the pretty things in life. Michael knew that she would appreciate a nice bouquet as a gift. However, he was reluctant to buy them. Which is why he called Rich.
"Dude, stop overthinking things. Just go to one of those shops and buy something pretty, I'm sure she would appreciate it." Michael could faintly hear Jake in the background agreeing.
Michael groaned, "Rich, I don't think you understand the seriousness of the situation. What if I buy the wrong flowers and I accidentally say I'm in love with her or even worse?"
"But you're gay," Rich said.
"It would still be embarrassing!" Michael yelled.
"Seriously. Chill. You'll be fine, just buy something pretty. Maybe buy something yellow. Yellow's friendly, isn't it?"
"I guess so. Thanks, Rich," Michael said.
"Anytime, Headphones," Rich said, hanging up with a click.
That conversation led to Michael standing in the middle of a cozy little flower shop, feeling completely and utterly lost. He had been staring at the same two types of flowers for ten minutes. It didn't help that he could hear the cute owner chatting away with the sweet old lady who was getting her flower arrangement.
After fifteen minutes of staring blankly, he heard a soft voice right behind him.
"Do you need help with something?" Michael turned around.
That voice was the reason he was so distracted in the first place. The voice belonged to the owner, who had a name tag that had 'Jeremy' handwritten in swirly letters. He froze for a second and just stared. Michael was close enough that he could see that Jeremy had freckles. Adorable.
"Uh, yeah. Can you help me figure out what flowers to get? I'm a little lost."
Jeremy smiled kindly. Michael's stomach did flips. "Sure!" Jeremy said, leading him to the middle of the shop, "Who are you buying a bouquet for?"
"My friend is coming to town and I thought it would be nice to buy her flowers. I'm now realizing that this might be a mistake."
Jeremy laughed, "Trust me, you'll be fine. Now, if you want something bright and cheery, I would recommend sunflowers. If that's not really the way you wanna go then-"
"No," Michael interrupted, "sunflowers sound perfect. You're really good at this, aren't you?"
Jeremy blushed, causing Michael to have a silent freak-out. He felt like he was going to spontaneously combust as he watched Jeremy get to work on the sunflower bouquet.
"Yeah, that's my job."
"What?"
"You said I was good at choosing flowers. It's my job," Jeremy said awkwardly.
"Oh, okay, well…" Michael gestured aimlessly, trying to find a way of talking to him without looking stupid. He was failing miserably.
"Alright," Jeremy said, finishing up, "Would you like a tag on these?"
"What?" Michael asked, not absorbing anything.
Jeremy smiled patiently, "Would you like me to add a little card thingy to your bouquet?"
"Oh! No thank you, I'm gonna go buy her a card."
Jeremy's smile wavered microscopically, but Michael noticed the change. "Are you sure you want something so yellow for her? Maybe you could get her roses," Jeremy suggested.
That was a type of flower that Michael actually knew the meaning behind. That explains the change.
Michael smiled back at Jeremy. "Nah. The sunflowers look great."
After Michael had paid and left with a wave, he frantically pulled out his phone. He called Rich again.
"Hey, man. What's up?" Rich said.
"I got the flowers."
"Was it as bad as you thought?"
"No, but-"
"See, I told you. I buy flowers for Jake all the time and I just google the meanings on my phone."
"Oh," Michael said, "that would've been a lot easier."
"Well, what did you do?"
Michael smiled, "I got the cute guy behind the register to help me."
"Did you flirt with him?"
"No, but I really like this guy. Like, he's adorable and so sweet and cute and funny and-"
"So what you're saying here," Rich interrupted, "is that you need a plan to ask him out."