Chapter Text
Google Maps knew some of the most niche places, really. Oh, you need a very specific kind of food? Here’s a location five minutes from you! You’re looking for a pot of a particular kind of flower and have never explored the area around your apartment complex outside of work? Great! There’s a flower shop two blocks down! Of course, that exact question is what led you to the looming brick shop in front of you. It was a rather quaint place, sure, but it was on one of the busiest streets in town, meaning you only received stares for standing in front of the flower shop and getting in the way. According to your phone, the place was called Daylight-Goodnight Blooms . You figured it was called that because of its night time delivery service, which apparently isn’t a common thing for stores, especially flower shops.
Tucking your phone into your pants pocket, you glanced at the sign on the front of the store before pushing open the glass door.
A bell attached to the front door chimed, letting everyone in the store know of your presence. You tried and failed not to jump at the sudden noise, despite already knowing that it was coming. The place was much more decorated on the inside than it appeared from outside, with pots of flowers lining the walls, and hanging by the windows, all of which practically glowed as it was bathed with sunlight from the shop’s large windows. You weren’t exactly well versed when it came to flowers, but the color coded flowers lining the shelf to your right caught your eye, their bright purples and blues appealing to your tastes. There was a fairly soft looking green rug that covered a majority of the center floor, though you couldn’t be sure if the hardwood floor would’ve looked better with or without it.
Realizing you had just been standing in front of the door this whole time staring like you were about to rob the place, you quickly looked up towards the counter. There was only one person in the store with you. If you could call the… entity staring at you from the counter a person. Nothing could have prepared you for the sheer irony of a giant, yellow flower running a flower shop. Could you still even call it a flower? It looked like it had big, golden petals on its head, but flowers couldn’t walk, and they certainly didn’t have hands like the fellow in front of you. It was clearly waiting for you to make the first move, playing with what you assumed to be a handful of red and pink flowers. You took a deep breath through your nose, quietly questioning your sanity as you stepped forward.
Grabbing your wallet out of your jacket pocket, you fumbled it as you walked up to the glass case in front of the counter. You just barely managed to get your cash out without dropping the whole thing.
“Hey there! Were you looking to order something? Or are you here for pick up?” The giant flower in front of you had set down what it was messing with, giving you its full attention.
You could get a closer look at the thing now, and everything about it was… warm. Of course it was warm in a friendly way, but every color that painted the thing was a warm or vibrant mix of yellow and orange. Its eyes were two different kinds of gold, one much redder than the other. Maybe it was something like a sunflower? You tried not to stare too much, you didn’t want to look like a weirdo after all. Reminding yourself of your own existence on the same plane as this thing, you spoke up.
“Oh! Uh…I came to make an order if that’s alright.” You quickly glanced down at what you had messily written on your hand half an hour ago. Gardenias, right. “Do you guys have any gardenias in stock? Red ones specifically.” Almost forgetting what color your mother’s favorite flower was, you mentally face palmed yourself. How could you forget your mother’s favorite flower? Your memory had been so much worse than usual as of late. Was it the stress? Maybe it’s-
You went from mentally face palming yourself to mentally smacking yourself to break that train of thought. A flower shop isn’t the place for anxiety. You were pretty sure it was meant to do like… the direct opposite. Flower shops are supposed to be relaxing, right?
“Of course, of course! Did you want them in a pot? People don’t usually just get one kind of flower in bouquets.” The sunflower man? Entity? You felt more comfortable with ‘man’. The sunflower man moved away from the counter towards the door behind him, giving you a better view of his clothing, which consisted of a pale yellow sweater and dark red overalls, both of which complemented his complexion.
“Ah- Yeah! Please, they’re for my mother.” You stumbled over your words. Hopefully he didn’t care for your staring. It wasn’t every day you saw a giant talking sunflower. He gave a soft smile at the mention of your mother.
“I’m sure she’ll love them! They’re wonderful things.” Seemingly stopping himself in his tracks, the sunflower man hastily dug into his overall pockets before fishing out a small notepad before grabbing a pen you hadn’t noticed off of the counter. “It might take me a minute, so can I get your name? Just in case somebody else comes in so I don’t get it mixed up.”
He spoke rather quickly, slightly waving his hands while trying to explain himself. Sure, shops normally didn’t ask for your name, but you hadn’t really visited any flower shops before. It was probably a normal thing, you told yourself. Hopefully your anxious demeanor hadn’t made him nervous too.
“That’s fine, that's fine!” You waved it off, giving a smile in order to hopefully ease his anxiousness. Giving him your name, his smile faded into a confused look. His eyes darted to the side as the hand that held his pen moved to cover his mouth, as if he were thinking very carefully on something. After a second or so of silence in the shop, his eyes widened as he snapped his fingers and quietly mumbled to himself, the grin he had before quickly returning to his face.
“You know, there was actually a bouquet order in your name made a day or two ago! It was meant to be delivered tonight, but since you’re here you can go ahead and get it!” His rather intense gaze moved towards you again, making you internally squirm. Eye contact with strangers always made you feel that way. Just another thing you needed to get over. However, the uncomfortable feeling in your chest was quickly washed away once you processed what he said.
“An order… in my name? Like for me?” You glanced down after your question, trying to remember if you had ever been here before.
“Yep! Give me a second, I should have it somewhere.” He gave a thumbs up before hurrying off into the room behind the counter. You could see that it was dim in there, but still light enough that you could see. Surprisingly, only a curtain separated the room from the rest of the shop.
Wondering about what order could’ve had your name attached to it in the past, you only came up with blanks. Maybe you just didn’t remember coming here before? Had you already ordered the gardenias for your mother before? It was a bouquet order though, right? Why would you order a bouquet? Slowly starting to chew on the nail of your index finger, you mind ran at a mile a minute. Maybe it was for your boyfriend? EX-boyfriend , You chastised yourself. Even so, there’s no way on Earth that you would have gotten something for him, which left you with no clues.
Your incessant thoughts were cut off with a cheerful exclamation from behind the curtain, before the sunflower man swung it open again. He practically skipped back to the counter, hands and bouquet hidden behind his back. It almost made you chuckle, how dramatic he was about the whole thing. Though you stifled it quickly, your anxiety still poked around in the back of your mind. Maybe it was a practical joke? Some sort of first-time customer thing?
He held the flowers out towards you, an excited, toothy grin on his face. The flowers were a mix of reds, oranges, yellows, and purples. Definitely something someone like this dude would pick. Another internal smack to the face.
“I hope it’s to your liking!” He set the flowers down on the counter so you could reach them, “They’ve already been paid for, so you can take them once I get your order of gardenias ready.” Turning around, he started walking towards the back room again before you finally spoke up.
“Wait! Uh…-” You held your hand out slightly, pushing the bouquet back towards his side of the counter. The sunflower turned towards you once again, a smile still on his face but confusion still shining through. “These aren’t mine. Are you sure you didn’t get them mixed up? I didn’t order anything like this, I haven’t even been to this shop before.” You tried to hide your slight upset, giving a nervous laugh.
The lovely bouquet tugged at your heartstrings slightly, knowing that he would’ve probably gotten you something like this after a fight. Looking down slightly, you avoided the sunflower’s gaze.
“Really? I don’t normally get these things confused! Let me check the tag.” You could hear the disbelief in his voice, tensing slightly. Hopefully you didn’t upset him. The sound of a footstep or two could be heard before there was a small amount of rustling.
“Y/N L/N, is that your name?” It felt odd to have your full name said by a stranger, but that was certainly your name . You nodded towards him, raising your head to speak. “I like the sound of it!” Looking up towards him again, you were met with a soft smile. Despite how anxiety-inducing this whole thing was, he really fit the personality you’d expect from a sunflower.
“Ah- well thank you,” You tried to return his smile, before speaking again. “But maybe you could save them for someone else? Or refund whoever ordered them? These really aren’t mine.” Running your fingers through your hair, you were met with silence from the sunflower. Glancing back up at him, his smile had shrunken into one of nervousness. He probably wasn’t used to customers outright rejecting orders. Hopefully he didn’t take it personally.
“...Are you really sure you don’t want them, friend?” He glanced off to the side, one hand still set on top of the bouquet. You peered at the bouquet one more time, guilt eating away at you for upsetting the shopkeeper, even if you didn’t know him. A lot of time and care had clearly been put into making the bouquet, there was even a small purple ribbon tying it at the base. But you needed to remain firm. Either this was some sort of attempt at reconciliation from the dick that you wasted the last three years of your life with, or it was a friendly first-timer thing that the sunflower in front of you was rather insistent on you taking. “The person who asked me to put them together seemed like they really wanted you to get them.” He added.
Now that confirmed it for you.
A mix of sadness and resentment only added to the guilt you were already feeling, nearly bringing tears to your eyes, though you tried not to let the shopkeeper see that.
“Very sure.” You took a deep breath and looked up towards the sunflower. “Sorry, the dude who probably asked you to make those was a real…” Taking another second to pause, you picked your words carefully. “He was a real creep.”
Though your hand was in your hoodie pocket at this point, you still picked at your fingernail with your thumb. A bad habit of yours. The sunflower looked at you one more time before looking towards the bouquet with a small frown, eyebrows furrowed, though it didn’t stay for long. He spun in the opposite direction, bouquet in hand, before heading towards the back room. Holding the purple curtain open with one hand, he glanced back towards you.
“Give me one second and I’ll get those red Gardenias for you friend! Be back in a jiffy!” He smiled despite the tension in the air, and you gave him a small smile in return. You knew that had to have hurt him, since bouquets are almost always made by hand in these types of shops. Fumbling with the wallet you had in your hand once again, you checked to see exactly how much cash you had. You’d leave him a tip for the inconvenience, yeah. A big one. He seemed to be a genuinely nice guy, anyway, so he probably deserved it regardless.
Taking the moment alone to observe your surroundings once again, you glanced towards the glass case beside you that you hadn’t paid any mind until now. It held a few small pots of small light purple and pink flowers. You couldn’t tell what they were exactly, but they looked fairly similar to the flowers you’d see growing in short clumps in the fields next to your parent’s house. Little kid you never had a reason to pick them, so you often ignored them with the exception of the many times you’d step on them and immediately feel guilty for hurting them. You were always so empathetic towards the smallest things growing up. Maybe that was a bad thing.
Clutching at your non-dominant arm, your mind flicked to what had just happened. Did he really try to deliver a bouquet of flowers to your apartment? Your eyes widened at that realization. He still knew where you lived. You’d taken back the key you gave him all that time ago, but he still knew where you lived for Christ’s sake.
With your heart starting to beat faster in your chest, your grip on your arm only got tighter. Swearing internally, you were sure you needed to talk to your landlord about altering the contents of your lease. Maybe she’d let you move into a different apartment in the building. That way she wouldn’t lose any money. Though she might not let you . Then what? Would you just wait in your apartment until you could save up enough to move out? In this economy?
All you can do is pray he doesn’t break in.
The purple curtain opened and footsteps approached, jolting you out of your spiral. You quickly moved your gaze to meet the sunflower, to which he furrowed his eyebrows slightly again. God, did you mess something up?
“Are you alright there? You look slightly pale, friend!” He gave a small smile, though you could still see the small amount of concern in his stare. Oh. Of course he wasn’t upset with you.
Forcing your body to relax once again, you gave him a smile in return, doing your best to mask your fears.
“Oh yeah, yeah, sorry! Zoned out for a minute there.” You waved it off, watching as he placed the pot of flowers on the counter along with a small slip of paper. He gave you a quick nod, looking noticeably relieved once he turned to type the transaction into the register sitting beside him on his side of the wooden counter.
“Perfectly alright!” Turning back towards you, his smile grew once again. It really seemed like he was always smiling. “Did you want to pay with cash or card, friend?”
Glancing up at the price on the register, you took out the amount of needed cash, making sure to use a larger bill to apply the tip. Surprisingly, you didn’t drop the cash despite the shaking of your hands.
“You can keep the change, think of it like a tip I guess. You’re really nice.” A shy smile grew on your face as you tried to meet his eyes once more. You figured he might get upset if you tried to openly apologize, so this was the safer option. His mouth opened slightly, but no noise came out as his seemingly never ending smile faded.
“Now I won’t be having that!” He held up a finger, dramatic flair returning to his movements. Quickly taking the bill you laid on the counter, he took the correct amount of change and laid it in your hand before you could pull away. The sunflower chuckled before pushing the red gardenia pot and paper towards you while you were still in shock. “I hope your mother enjoys them, really.”
Unsure of what else you could say, you glanced up at him, a victorious grin still spread across his face. Slowly tucking the change in your pocket, you picked up the pot and paper off of the counter. You could see now that the paper had instructions for caring for the gardenias on it, something you weren’t sure if your mother would need. Guilt only gnawed at you again at the sweet gesture, turning around to walk out of the store in silence. As you reached the door, the sunflower spoke again.
“Have a good day friend!” He gave an excited wave as you left, which you meekly returned. A classic customer service facade.
You turned to walk the two blocks back to your apartment, mind still searching for a way to alleviate the guilt in your chest after seeing that upset frown.
.
.
.
The walk back to your apartment could not have gone by quicker. The visit to your mom’s house hadn’t lasted nearly as long as you hoped, though you could understand how busy she was. Moving was always quite the endeavor, and you could only imagine the stress of having to move everything out of an entire house while making sure nothing got messed up. She always stressed over the littlest things, and you didn’t want to upset her even further, so you reluctantly left.
She did ponder on how you were doing now that you were back to living alone, however, leading to your thoughts consuming you once again. Because of course they did. At least she enjoyed the flowers, letting out a squeal of delight after seeing them.
Normally you can barely drag yourself out of your apartment to head to work in the mornings, yet this time you could barely convince yourself to go in. You’d locked it, sure, but what if that wasn’t enough? You could see your unit from the front of the building, and there weren’t any broken windows that you could see. No open door, either. Maybe it was safe? It had only been a day or two since you kicked him out, so maybe he was still moping at his parent’s house?
With a deep exhale of breath you didn’t realize you were holding, you started up the stairs that led to your apartment on the second floor. You stopped in front of your door, listening for any noise. Sure, you were paranoid, but you were dealing with a mentally ill piece of trash here, to be fair. Who were you defending yourself to? Nobody knows.
Hearing nothing, you dug the key chain that held your apartment key out of your pocket. You slid out the key before putting it in the lock, listening for the click that came with the door unlocking. Once you heard it, you put your keys back in your pocket before swinging open the door. Darkness greeted you, just as you left it. Home sweet home.
Feeling for the light switch, you flicked it on before wincing at the sudden intrusion of light. You shoved the door closed behind you with your foot, locking it once again. Setting the keys on the kitchen counter by the door, you breathed a sigh of relief at your empty apartment. It seemed ironic now, making you have to stifle a laugh.
Glancing to the small window to your right, the sun was already starting to set. Geez, had you taken that long? You slipped off your sneakers and set them by the door, shuffling further inside towards the small kitchen. Bending down to open the fridge, you went over your options. You really needed to get groceries soon, huh? Fatigue started to creep into your frame, resulting in you settling with ramen for the night. With an egg of course, you have to stay nutritious.
You set water to boil in two separate pots on the stove before going to grab your laptop. If you were going to cook, you’d at least watch a murder documentary or something while doing so. Once the water came to a boil for both pots, you placed the unbroken ramen and flavoring into one while placing a single egg in the other. After a moment of consideration, you put two more eggs in the pot to boil. Might as well have them for breakfast tomorrow.
After waiting for the eggs to finish and occasionally stirring your ramen while staring at a documentary about the chase of a cat killer, you put everything together in a steaming bowl. With spices of course. It was a bit better than what you usually made when feeding yourself, so you were easily satisfied.
Once the egg noodles (get it?) were eaten, you began the terrible task of washing your dishes before washing off in the shower. You got dressed in a pair of sweats and a tank top before collapsing in bed, staring at the dark ceiling in your room that felt much too big for one person. Scrolling through your phone certainly wasn’t going to help you sleep, so you went ahead and set your alarms before setting it aside to charge.
Your eyes closed to let sleep take you, but you couldn’t help but feel a tug on your heart strings once more. Of course you would choose to feel guilty about rejecting the shopkeeper's flowers now of all times.
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A knock rang out in the silent apartment.