Chapter Text
george enjoyed his job - and, no, it wasn’t just because he hardly had to do anything.
he loved the scent that welcomed him as soon as he stepped inside the tiny shop, and he loved hearing the chime of the bell that rang overhead as he entered. he loved how peaceful it was, and how the old record player hummed in the background. he loved the colors that surrounded him - even if he couldn’t really identify them all - and he loved the flowers that seemed to brighten up any mood he so happened to be in.
the shop was run by one of his close friends, niki, who after many years of running it all by herself, eventually brought him in to help her with the things she often didn’t have the time for; general upkeep, watering, trimming, or even just waiting at the cash register.
niki loved this little flower shop with all of her heart, but the only problem was, she was still in school. this kept her far too busy for either of their likings, so when she asked george to hop on board and help run the store with her, he was more than happy to.
george always thought niki was a bit psychic: she always knew which costumers wanted which flowers, just by simply looking at them. a man could walk in with a troubled look on his face, and she could arrange the most beautiful bouquet of flowers for him to give to his lover, or a little girl could come in with a sunshine smile and niki would give her a radiant sunflower to match.
niki often left george in charge of the store after knowing he was more than capable of handling it, sometimes not stopping in for days at a time, which so happened to be the case today.
the bell rang throughout the store, signaling that a new costumer had just arrived. george stood up form where he was crouched underneath the counter - well, he would have if the counter hadn’t hit his head first. a wave of embarrassment came over him, and he cursed under his breath.
”are you okay?” an unfamiliar voice questioned, words laced with concern. george heard footsteps come closer, and felt a hand rest hesitantly on his shoulder.
”’m fine,” he muttered, eyes shut tight as he rubbed the spot where his head had made contact with the counter, wincing slightly. “i’m sorry, is there anything i can help you with today, sir?”
he chuckled, “i think i’m alright for now. thank you, though.”
”okay, just let me know if—“
george cut himself off mid-sentence, eyes subconsciously widening as he took in the sight of the man standing in front of him.
he was tall. george nearly had to crane his neck to meet his eyes, which were (to george, anyways) a golden brown-ish color. truthfully, they were quite captivating, and he had rather pretty eyelashes to compliment them. he had slightly tanned skin with freckles painting the bridge of his nose, and his lips were curved up into a small smirk that seemed to camp on his face.
he was really quite attractive.
george blinked, forcing himself out of his trance, and cleared his throat before speaking quietly, not totally willing to trust his voice at the moment. “just let me know if you need anything.”
the blond shot him a warm smile before disappearing into the opposite side of the store, leaving george to curse himself for being so nervous. he wasn’t usually like this around anyone. he shouldn’t have been nervous about that; it was nothing.
but if it was nothing, why were his hands so clammy and why were his cheeks flaming?
he tried to busy himself with tasks at the register, however that proved to be quite useless when he found his attention being subconsciously drawn back to the stranger who was sauntering around the store. he watched the way his brows would furrow in concentration, the way he constantly chewed on his bottom lip, and the way his nose scrunched up slightly when he was breathing in the scents of the flowers he was examining. george cursed himself for staring over and over until the other boy caught his gaze, giving him a slight smirk before walking over.
he placed the single flower that george didn’t remember seeing him pick up onto the counter, and he told the blond the amount due from memory. he took out his wallet and gave him much more than what was asked for originally.
”uh,” george stared in confusion, “do you want change?”
the man shook his head, taking the small flower between his index and middle finger. he started twirling it. without meeting the brunet’s eyes, he spoke.
”d’you know what this flower means?”
george shook his head, finding himself unable to look away. “it’s just a rose, right? don’t those usually represent love?”
the other shrugged, leaning against the counter.
”yes, sort of. see—“ he paused, eyes narrowing on the small name tag pinned to george’s shirt. he smiled, “see, george, this is a thornless rose. very rare, unless you take the thorns off yourself, of course. i’m surprised to see them here, to be honest. i’ll give you the short version; red roses typically mean love, blue roses symbolize being unattainable, white roses normally represent eternal love and loyalty. you get the idea.”
george nodded carefully. “i understand that, yes, but what does this one mean?”
”this one represents love at first sight, george.”
the blond stopped looking at the flower and met george’s eyes instead, catching him slightly off guard. neither of them looked away; an unspoken challenge had been made, daring each other to break their eye contact.
in the end, george looked away first, feeling slightly overwhelmed under his gaze. this caused the man to chuckle quietly and stand up straighter.
“i should probably get going now.”
george hummed in acknowledgement.
whoever he had gotten this flower for was indeed very lucky.
"have a good day, sir. i wish you luck."
the blond smiled, then his expression formed into one that looked almost embarrassed.
"i almost forgot." he said sheepishly. he held out the small rose to george, whose face was etched with confusion.
"oh, did you want it wrapped, or--"
"no, george. this one is for you."
george's eyes went wide, and he suddenly felt the need to look anywhere except the other man. he couldn't seem to understand why this stranger wanted to give him such a gift.
"um, what?" george chuckled, confused.
the blond shook his head, his lips quirking up into a smile. "are you questioning my methods?"
"methods?" the brunet queried. the stranger nodded. "not questioning them, no. i suppose i'm just hinting at the fact that they're quite dumb."
"i take it you don't believe in love at first sight, then?"
"no, i'm afraid i don't," george reached for the small rose and brought it to his nose to smell, "but, thank you for the flower, sir."
the blond smiled, but it wasn't directly at him this time. instead, his gaze was fixated on the hand that cradled the flower as if it were the most precious thing on earth. he smiled in satisfaction.
"you can believe what you wish," he spoke with hesitance, and threw in a glace at the door. "now, i really do have to be on my way. have a lovely afternoon, george."
"you too, sir."
before disappearing, he peered over his shoulder and back at the brunet.
"my name is dream, by the way, not 'sir.' unless, you have a fixation for those types of things. then you can all me sir all you want."
and with that, dream left the store without another word being said, leaving a sputtering george in his wake.