Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Tharkay was leaning on the front counter working on a crossword puzzle when the entry bell rang, so it was easy for him to look up and see what vapid straight man needed to apologize for what romantic blunder today. There were obviously many types of people who frequented a florist, but in his experience the most common and tiresome were men who had forgotten some important date, or not paid the attention they ought to their wife, and sought to make amends by spending too much money on flowers they didn’t care about. If you asked Tharkay, he would describe himself as not cynical in the least. He would also be lying, and feel no shame.

            The man who had walked in might have fallen into that category of senseless men, but those types did not usually make Tharkay’s stomach swoop or his heart go ka-thunk. He straightened, swallowed, and attempted to maintain his composure as he greeted this blonde god in his store.

            “Welcome to Norgay’s Nosegays, what can I help you say florally?” He had come up with that welcome snippet, but never had he said it so sincerely or cheerfully as now. Get it together, Tenzing! He mentally berated himself. The customer had been looking around as if overwhelmed, as he seemed to relax at the offer of assistance.

            “Yes, hello. I need to tell someone ‘Fuck you’. But politely. How can I do that with flowers?” The man said, as if that was a thing that happened in real life.

            Tharkay thought briefly before starting his usual string of questions. “Do you want the message to represent the recipient, to insult them? Or to represent you and your feelings about them? Why specifically do you want to insult them? Personality? Wrongdoing? An ugly face? Rejection?”

            The man blinked a few times before attempting to answer. “I would rather like to communicate my rejection, because he is arrogant and entitled and I honestly don’t know if anyone has ever told him ‘no’ and meant it. I want to tell him that my courtesy is not, in fact, ‘playing hard to get’, and that I would not let him ‘get’ me even if he were the emperor of France.”

            Tharkay knew he should keep his mind on his work, but it was stuck on the knowledge that the most attractive man he had ever seen seemed to be both interested in men, and single. And that he was in a perfect position to verify those things.

            “Well, nobody really thinks about the language of flowers when receiving a bouquet, so this will mostly satisfy you and you alone. Unless he knows you well enough to look up Victorian flower meanings?” The man pursed his lips and nodded the affirmative.

            “In that case, you’re lucky I take an interest in such things. Let’s start with Sunflowers for haughtiness. I think yellow Carnations for ‘disdain and rejection’ would look nice with yellow Chrysanthemums for ‘slighted love’?” He paused for confirmation of the situation before adding the last flower to the bundle in his hand.

            “I’ll toss in a tall red Amaryllis for pride,” he did so and arranged them so the Amaryllis looked suspiciously like a middle finger extending up. Tharkay carried the bouquet to the working section of the counter where he trimmed the stems to the correct lengths and wrapped the whole thing in cellophane, “And tie the ribbon on the right to indicate it represents him and not you. We’ll make sure to put the note clip in the front so it’s oriented correctly.”

            He moved everything to the register to finish the transaction, frantically thinking of how to not let this opportunity end. As he was calculating the custom arrangement’s cost, he was struck with inspiration. “Would you like to take this with you, or have it delivered? If we deliver it we can have you write the note and avoid the fallout?” And get your contact information, and make sure he doesn’t change your mind…

            “Yes, that, definitely. I would prefer to never see his horrible self ever again. In fact,” the man grabbed the proffered card and wrote on it, ‘My answer is no. I am blocking your number. -W. Laurence’

He returned it to Tharkay, who attached it to a plastic clip and asked the man for his contact information. For business purposes. You know, in case there was a question about the delivery? Sure Tenzing, that’s it. Strictly business.

            “Okay, if you write down a time and address, I’ll see it delivered. I don’t normally offer this, but because it sounds funny, would you like me to tell you how it goes? You know, if he throws it dramatically at the wall, or beats his chest and wails in despair?” Say yes say yes let me call you.

            “Yes, thank you! That would be perfect! Actually, uh,” he paused and bit his lip bashfully, “Maybe I could take you to dinner afterward? And you could tell me how you… learned so much about flowers?” The man, W-something, blushed and looked hopeful.

            what. is he. did he just.  Tharkay’s mind made a staticky sound as he attempted to process the gorgeous stranger turning the tables on him. He registered W’s face falling before he managed to come back online. “Yes! Yes. I would like that. Very much. Yes please.” Smooth Tenzing. Smooth.

            “I close the shop whenever I want. So, I can close to deliver these now while he’s at work to get maximum reaction? And if you meet me back here at six, we can walk to dinner somewhere downtown.” Since Tharkay’s shop was also downtown, this provided a perfect launchpad for a romantic walk and numerous restaurants close by. Perfect.

            “That sounds perfect. Yes. Um, perhaps this is out of order, but my name is Will. What’s your name?” FINALLY A NAME And it’s beautiful. It matches his beautiful face. “It’s Tenzing. Like Tenzing Norgay, the-“

            “The mountaineer! I love it! I wondered about the reference, and I had to look up the word nosegays, but that’s perfect! Very clever.” Will beamed from across the counter, and had he not the fortitude he did, Tharkay would have swooned then and there. Instead he merely basked in the praise and handed Will his phone with the New Contact screen open. Will entered his name and number, handed the phone back, and handed Tharkay his credit card without asking his total.

            Tharkay ran his card, having no idea what he had calculated the cost to, but assuming it was something reasonable and not caring if it wasn’t. When Will took his card back, they both ‘accidentally’ allowed their fingers to brush, and both smiled shyly.

            “Well. I should get back to work. At my day job. I’ll see you at six?” Will confirmed, his smile only growing.

            “Yes. Six. The sign will say closed, so just knock on the door and I’ll meet you. I’ll see you then.”

            “Alright then. Bye.” Will said, and finally managed to drag himself away. It was lucky for Tharkay no one had entered in all that time, and that there was nothing stopping him from locking the door and flipping the sign so he could collect himself in peace.

            “My God, you should have seen how excited his staff were when they thought the flowers were from an admirer. All,” Tharkay continued in an overdone falsetto, “’Ooh, are they from Mr. Will? They’re gorgeous! Doctor, come quick!’ If I’d come a bit closer, I think the secretary would have snatched them out of my hands.”

            Laurence blushed. “Oh my. Please tell me you didn’t let them read the note until he was there. I may detest him, but I don’t want to humiliate him in front of everyone he works with.”

            “Oh no. When he heard your name he came running, possibly leaving someone with their mouth clamped open. Very inconsiderate. I may be a little biased, but he seemed like an ass.” Their food arrived then, and an awkward silence fell as they each dressed and adjusted their dishes. Laurence attempted to pick the conversation back up with, “Well, he is.”

            “An ass, that is. For one thing, I found it highly unprofessional of him to pursue a patient, especially after I tried to turn him down delicately and he wouldn’t take the hint.”

            “I think he took this hint. Once he read the note he went from swagger to rage. I really thought he would throw the flowers down and stomp on them like a cartoon character.”

            “I’m almost surprised he didn’t. Did he at least dramatically crumple the paper and storm off in a huff?” Will asked hopefully.

            “He most certainly did. I imagine he told everyone they were from someone else, and in a week or so he’ll spin some story about how you weren’t what he thought and it didn’t work out.”

            “I mean, he seems to think I’m the kind of man who wants to date my dentist, and that I’ll be swayed by him not respecting my judgement, so no. I definitely am not what he thinks.” Laurence sighed. “Now I’ll have to find a new office. It’s a shame, since he’s also an oral surgeon, and he never had to outsource me for anything. But it’s simply not worth it.”

            “Look on the bright side. I’m sure right now he’s desperately googling flower meanings, trying to find some deception, and being quite delusional and pathetic.” This gave the perfect opening for them to discuss Tharkay’s generally useless knowledge of Victorian flower meanings, and they were able to converse easily through the rest of dinner.

            Their conversation was a bit awkward again as they walked back to the shop where they had both parked, but the lovely weather kept it from being truly uncomfortable. They came to Laurence’s car and stood silently for a moment, both trying to figure out what to say.

            Laurence smiled and said, in the most generic way possible, “May I see you again?” to which the answer was obviously, ‘yes. Right now.’ Tharkay thought that might drive him away though.

            “Yes. I’ll. I’ll text you?”

            “Yes please.” Laurence did a weird little head motion to attempt to convey his intention of kissing Tharkay on the cheek, but Tharkay failed to understand it and was left surprised and breathless at that tiny gesture.

            “Good night then.” Tharkay somehow managed to float to his car and drive it home, though on later reflection he would only remember his heart pounding and unlocking his front door.

Chapter Text

Come on Will, it’s just a text. Be cool.

            When can I see you again?  Calm down, you’ve been on one date.

            I had a great time last night  No, that sounds like a hookup.

            How are you?  That sounds stupid.

            Good morning :)  Just hit send. Just do it.

            Will Laurence was not usually the type of man to agonize over a text message. He was also not usually the type of man who asked out a retail person he had only just met, so perhaps these were extenuating circumstances. Although he had been raised to respect the position of anyone who was working and not make overtures to them in that context, Tenzing had seemed rather like they were on the same page, and had shown no hint of power imbalance based discomfort during their date.

            Will was surprised to receive a response to his message so quickly, since there could surely be no need for a florist to be up at six am. But then there was no need for a marine biologist to be up that early either, so maybe he just also enjoyed early mornings? Regardless, the flirty tone their messages took on had him feeling giddy, and he was actually tempted to skip his morning run so as to not interrupt them.

            He didn’t skip it, and vaguely hoped that his attention to his health and physique would impress Tenzing. Will spent the rest of the day in that happy-go-lucky mood, and finally managed to invite Tenzing to the local annual art festival that weekend. He wouldn’t ordinarily propose a morning date, but it would take more than repeated dinner dates to woo such an extraordinary man. And if Will bought him a cinnamon roll the size of his face, it was sure to sweeten him to the idea of being together.

            Tenzing’s agreement somehow made Will even more buoyant the rest of the week, to the point that even his regular baristas asked about it.

            “Well you’re in a good mood today,” Jane said as she arranged her work area in the café. It was normal for her to do her morning administrative work next to him as he drank his coffee and read the paper.

            “What’s that smile? And a blush, too? You’ve met someone, haven’t you?” although Will had told himself he wasn’t going to tell every person he knew about Tenzing, that fell apart in the face of Jane’s needling.

            He set down his paper and took a sip of his drink in an attempt to hide his besotted smile. “His name is Tenzing and he owns the flower shop down the street and he’s clever and beautiful.” Sitting with both hands wrapped around a paper cup and unable to control his face, Laurence was a far cry from the excessively professional man Jane had met two years prior.

            “Good, maybe my baristas will stop trying to get Me to date you. I would say it’s just because you’re a man and I’m a woman, but I’m pretty sure they would do the same thing if you were a woman. They’re just nosy and meddlesome!” This last part she yelled toward the counter, where four out of five people on the floor only stared at her, shrugged in acceptance, and went back to work.

            The fifth was Temeraire, who came jogging over to be even more meddlesome. “I’m nosy. So nosy. What’s happening?” a gasp, “Laurence! Is something happening? Did you get a girlfriend? Or a boyfriend? Tell me everything.”

            “We’ve been on one date. We basically just met, it’s, it’s nothing,” Will tried to brush it off, but to no avail.

            “Well you have to bring him in then. We can tell you if he’s good, and then if he hurts you we’ll… do absolutely nothing?” Temeraire finished in response to Jane’s pointed look.

            “Yes, because you’re all responsible adults who would never stalk John’s ex and vandalize his house. Please just don’t let Iskierka involve fire.”

            “John? Fire?” Will asked, alarmed. “The towel guy. Iskierka is a little bit in love with him, and he got dumped this week, and I definitely don’t know anything about any misdemeanors my crew isn’t planning.” Jane made a shooing motion at Temeraire, who repeated his demand to meet Will’s date and left.

            “They’re all a little in love with you too, and I’m not joking about the vandalism thing. If you don’t bring him in to meet everyone, there’s a chance they’ll preemptively stalk him to warn him or something. I’m sorry I hired such weirdos, but I promise they mean well.”

            “I suppose I feel flattered that they value my well-being so highly. I mean, I don’t tip that well. Maybe I’ll ask him for coffee next week. This weekend we’re going to Art in the Park, so I hope it goes well, but I don’t want to overwhelm him.” Jane got done about half of what she wanted, but about as much as she expected, in between listening to Laurence gush about Tenzing and how witty he was and how great he was and so on and so forth.