Work Text:
"next delivery is ready, get going ranboo!" a short blonde woman called out to her son. the son in question promptly groaned, but carefully picked up the packaged flower arrangement and took it out front to secure into his bike's little cart on the back of the seat. he checked the address and quickly attempted to hide the deep blush on his face when he realized that the destination for these flowers was niki's bakery, directly next door to the tattoo shop where his favorite boy worked. with a new burst of energy, he pushed his airpods in and set off about a mile down the road.
"light us up until we pop
i wanna burn right til we're not
let's keep each other safe from the world
i'll be your optimistic black hole
full of love i can't control
let's keep each other safe from the world"
he pedaled backwards to slow down as he pulled onto the sidewalk and into the bike rack directly in front of the town's tattoo parlor. as he was unloading niki's order to bring it next door, the parlor door burst open and ranboo was greeted with a very short but very strong ball of energy. "tubbo!" he yelled excitedly.
"boo! who are these for? finally brought me some flowers at work?" ranboo rolled his eyes and nodded towards niki's bakery.
"niki ordered them. but maybe one day i will bring you flowers. that day is not today, however. don't you usually have clients booked by noon?"
"yeah, but this guy's pretty nice so he let me go for a minute." tubbo explained. ranboo gave him a very skeptical look and pointed him back inside.
"i'll come in to chat later, yeah?"
"ok, boo. i guess i'll go do my job or whatever." the shorter boy groaned, dramatically flinging the door open and walking back to his booth to finish that poor guy's tattoo.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
ranboo, in fact, did not go back to the parlor to chat that day. so when tubbo got off work at 8pm, he decided to walk down to the flower shop and see what was going on. it was already very dark outside, so the only things guiding him down the road were headlights in passing cars and the streetlamps every 20 or so feet. once he was finally stood in front of the shop with bright lights inside and a very clear closed sign, he turned and walked to the back of the shop to go in the staff entrance. on his way to the door, he thought about how different ranboo was to everybody else. he would never enter a rusty doorway in a thin dumpster alley of a small town to see anybody else. they've known each other since they were in 2nd grade, and yet ranboo was so different to anyone else he knew. gently, tubbo turned the doorknob and stepped into the backroom of ranboo's family flowershop. the radio was playing some basic pop song in the background and the boy who seemed to occupy tubbo's mind every minute of the day was arranging a bouquet with intense concentration.
ranboo jumped a bit in surprise when tubbo entered the very clearly marked "employees only" area, but he quickly smiled as soon as tubbo did. he thinks tubbo's smile is the best one in the whole world; or the only one in his world. "well, look what the cat dragged in."
tubbo just smirked. "you do tend to drag me in, don't you, boo?"
"was that a catboy joke?"
"yes it was, meow meo-" tubbo was hit square in the face with a rose. "those things have thorns you know!" he yelled.
ranboo just started laughing, shortly followed by tubbo, until they were both laughing their asses off on the floor of that tiny back room. eventually they rolled onto their stomachs, staring at each other face to face. tubbo propped his chin up in his hands and kicked his legs behind him. "so what happened to coming for a chat after work, hm?"
"oh, well, i got distracted and i was gonna go visit your house instead but i, um. i guess you found me first, huh?"
"guess so." tubbo pauses for a moment. "you should come out to the shop and get something done. i do tattoos and piercings. and maybe there will be a discount if there's something in it for me."
ranboo smirks. "oh really, and what would this deal entail?"
"i'll do whatever you want for free if you....." tubbo trailed off.
"what tubbo?" he replied all whiny, dragging the name out.
"if you'll ask me on a date, i'll do anything you want at the shop."
ranboo quickly scrambled to his feet and picked up the bouquet he had been working on. "so, this bouquet is filled with peonies and roses mainly, and of course roses mean love and everything, you know that. but peonies mean bashfulness and beauty and i think you're the most beautiful boy this town has ever seen, especially when you have that little blush on your nose," he rushed out before he could back away from the opportunity. "tubbo, how formal do you need this date to be? because i think i could whip something together right now if you want."
tubbo's face lit up and he came to stand in front of ranboo. "just as long as we end up dating, yeah?" he replied.
the radio changed to a softer song with a melodic guitar tune. ranboo smiled, it's the one he was listening to earlier that day.
"my hourglass is in your hands
you've got my time, you are my plans
let's keep each other safe from the world
you've got me writing sappy songs
i used to laugh at on my own
let's keep each other safe from the world"
they were a funny looking couple. one being 6'6, clad in lilac sweaters and white jeans with little diamond studs in his ears, hand clasped with a 5'4 boy in all black with ink stained hands and a few tattoos down his arms. when they walked down the street together they always swung their hands together, and every now and then you'd see the short boy standing on the back frame of his lover's bicycle as he delivered flower arrangements for his mom. they would share kisses in wildflower fields and ranboo would always try to teach him to make daisy chains, even though tubbo could never do it on his own. tubbo would let ranboo sit in his booth while he worked, watching him be passionate about his art and loving every second of it. they would play with each other's fingers as they kept each other safe from the world, pushing away everybody else in the world with gentle kisses and firm squeezes. and their love was like an optimistic black hole, they put everything into it and got everything out of it.
"happy birthday, merry christmas
to the one i call my mister
i'm leaving you love notes in the kitchen
that say it all
i know you said to mind my business
but cupid sent me on a misson
that's got me sitting
wishing, waiting for your call
let's be lucky people you and me."