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February is a weird month.
Kentarou enjoys the complicated weather. It’s neither cold nor hot. He likes the windy mornings and the surprisingly warm afternoons. The rain is something he hasn’t quite formed an opinion on yet.
February 24th. It’s his mother’s birthday today.
It is also National Chewing Gum Day, a weird fact he discovered when he was 9 and on the search for a special gift for his mom. He had decided on a simple wreath of daisies. He went outside to gather a few daisies from their yard. Well- not their yard. It was his neighbor’s yard, ichika san, he was an old man who had a weird obsession with flowers. Maybe he got that due to his name, he thought.
Ichika means ‘a thousand flowers’
You see, grandpa ichika didn’t like others messing with his flowers. He caught kentarou once -it did not go well- and he promised to never touch his flowers again. But there was something about flowers that fascinated kentarou. He just couldn’t help finding them beautiful.
So he kept going regardless.
One night, grandpa ichika caught him again. This time he was silently sitting on the grass and observing the orchids.
‘You know, if you like them so much you can grow them yourself’
Kentarou was startled, he hadn't seen him coming.
Their relationship got better after that. Grandpa Ichika allowed him to help him every time he was taking care of the flowers. He taught him how to make wreaths of daisies. He helped him make one for his mom as well.
He always said ‘Humans are like flowers. if you care for them the way they need, they bloom just right’
Now, age 23 he was trying to find a gift for his mother once again.
Sendai was not a small city.
There were multiple flower shops for him to choose from. He didn’t want anything big. He wasn’t necessarily embarrassed, he just had never actually entered a flower shop before and he didn’t know how to ask for what he wanted.
He realized he was acting childish the same moment he realized hed been standing outside the flowershop for the past 10 minutes.
He made eye contact with the guy that was working inside, his eyes widened and he walked a few steps away from the shop.
Had he literally just embarrassed himself like that?
What the actual fuck kentarou.
The guy probably thought he was some weirdo now.
Sigh
He slowly walked back to the store. He reached the door, the guy looked at him and raised an eyebrow.
Retreat.
Its actually very simple to keep embarrassing yourself, you dont even need much equipment, just a dumb brain. He walked away from the door once again.
Objectively speaking it was not his fault. He looked at himself in the glass and realized he was frowning. He definitely looked weird.
Sigh
It is what it is. He walked towards the door, the bell rang announcing his presence, he walked in.
__
Today was too hot for Yahaba's liking.
It was not that hot really. He was probably 'exagerating again' like Watari always told him. But Shigeru disliked the heat, he did not like sweating nor getting sunburnt. February is a good month all things considered. The weather was neither hot nor cold. But he liked the rain and the cold.
Its just that this particular day had not started well and it didnt seem to be getting better any time soon. Plus the heat..
He woke up late for work, he did not have time for coffee, he had to deal with a picky customer because ‘I need flowers to propose to my girlfriend but i dont want roses and she doesn’t like red’ ‘i dislike purple’ ‘blue is a sad color’- not true by the way- ‘yellow feels too casual’
Draining. To say the least.
Later that day he met another weird customer.
Probably weirder than the last guy. He had strange hair and a deep scowl. Also, he was staring at the door for 10 minutes.
Yahaba found it funny at first but then he actually was starting to worry. Was this guy considering his odds of success if he decided to shoplift? But why a flower shop of all things?
Then he had eye contact with the strange dude, his eyes widened and he walked away.
huh
A few minutes passed and he slowly approached the door again.
Yahaba stared at him, eyebrow raised.
Well, if hes a thief he is pretty bad at it.
This time he looked at him and walked away as slowly as he arrived.
Seriously whoever hired him in the 'stealing' business should reconsider their choice.
After a minute he came back, this time more confident -at least he seemed that way.
He walked in with a frown.
‘Welcome’ yahaba said
He looked around first then at yahaba.
‘Hey’
‘How can i help you mr. thief?’
The guy looked a bit confused, it was kind of funny. ‘Excuse me?’
‘Im just saying, you have been standing out there for so long. I started thinking you might be questioning your morals.’
His cheeks got slightly red, he seemed genuinely confused and embarrassed. Yahaba felt like laughing.
‘Im gonna have to complain to your superiors, 4/10 robbery, your anxiety was showing. You had me in the first half though not gonna lie.’
He shaked his head.
‘okay wait a second, what the fuck are you even talking about ? I am not here to fucking steal nothing, I just want some damn flowers for my-’ He stopped abruptly.
‘Flowers for your..?’
He seemed to get even redder somehow, frown deeper than before.
‘I would like some flowers for my mom’ he said slowly.
oh
Yahaba felt like laughing.
S o much for being a thief
The guy was actually kind of sweet if he thought about it. He was not thinking about it.
‘Alright mr. thief, flowers for your mom then’ he hummed and looked around ‘is it a special occasion or are you just a very sweet son?’
his back was turned so he wasn’t looking at the guy but he assumed he was frowning.
‘Im not a fucking thief, cut it out. It's her birthday.’
Yahaba hummed and decided on yellow pansies. They kind off look like his hair
‘What do you think about pansies?’
The guy took a moment to consider and then he seemed happy with that choice so he agreed.
‘Pansies represent hope and happiness, you know’ yahaba said while making the bouquet.
The guy hummed, silently observing yahaba.
‘Will you buy her anything else then?’ he asked
‘I dont know’
yahaba glanced at him and continued his work. He was working a bit slower than usual, he noticed.
‘Why did you decide to gift her flowers?’
‘I like flowers’
‘Whats your name?’
The guy raised his eyebrow looking annoyed.
‘Why do you ask so many questions?’
‘Why do you answer them?’ he bit back.
‘Tch. Just hurry up’’
He looked around and took a step back so yahaba could walk towards the counter. He paid for the bouquet, the same moment a new customer entered the store. For a moment they stared at each other.
He is handsome, yahaba thought. His hair looked soft. If you looked at it carefully, you'd notice. He wasn't looking carefully.
Before he exited the store he turned around and looked at yahaba again just for a moment.
‘Kyoutani Kentarou’ he said.
Kentarou. Suits him
He was out before yahaba could share his own name. He then turned to the coustomer he almost forgot about.
‘Welcome, how can I help you?'
__
The pansies looked kind of weird but they smelled good.
The yellow mixing with dark brown in the middle reminded kyoutani of his own hair.
Strange
Maybe that guy chose pansies because of that. That was a ridiculous thought though, so he let it go. The thought left his mind, the boy did not.
Kyoutani thought he looked really pretty. Maybe that was partially why he panicked before entering the shop. Maybe. He had light brown hair and pretty bright eyes. His nose was pretty cute too. We're the same height, he thought, if there was a difference it was probably small.
He brought the flowers back to his mother, she seemed really happy. He was glad she was happy, he spent all day at his family house with her. He didn't visit often.
Maybe I should start growing flowers, he thought on his way home.
The next day he found himself in front of the flower shop once again.
He walked in. Hearing the sound of the bell, the boy turned to look towards the door and saw him. He was busy helping a lady, so his attention was not on Kyoutani yet. He seemed smug when he saw him though.
Hm
While he was waiting, he observed the boy. He looked very pretty, he was wearing a dark green sweater.
Green suits him
He had to learn his name.
The lady left and his turn came.
‘Welcome back.’ he said. He smiled at him. ‘Back for more?’
Clearly it wasn't meant to sound like anything more than it was, but turns out kyoutani's cheeks thought otherwise.
Heat rose in his fase and he frowned. ‘I would like some seeds’
The guy looked at him and started laughing. The realization hit Kyoutani a bit late and the embarrassment followed.
The guy put a hand on his mouth to muffle his laughter.
‘Im sorry I didn't mean to laugh.. what kind of seeds do you want?’
if it was possible for his face to turn any redder he was certain it would. If it hadn't already.
‘Flower seeds.. freaking flower seeds ugh’ he put a hand on his face and continued ‘I just uh.. actually do you have any flowers to recommend that I could grow at home?’
The guy looked at him for a moment and then he seemed to be considering his answer.
He looked around a bit, he walked past kyoutani and towards a small table. He returned with four small packages.
‘Alright so first of all, if you want to grow flowers you should know that you'll need a balcony or at least a place where the sun can see them, even a little’
‘Yeah i know, im not that dumb’
the guy raised his eyebrow ‘Oh so you are dumb?’
kyoutani couldn't stand him. Who was this guy even?
‘You are so annoying’
‘You don't have to be so sweet, Kentarou’
oh right ‘whats your name?’
The guy smiled at him again. He had a pretty smile and the gap in his front teeth was surprisingly adorable.
‘Im Yahaba Shigeru’
Shigeru.
Thats a nice name, kyoutani thought, it suits him.
H e hummed and yahaba continued. ‘So, the first flower seed I'd recommend would be sweet peas. They are very fragrant and easy to handle, they need a lot of sun some support like a stick or something and plenty of water. Mice love sweet peas though so you should cover them up just in case.’
Kyoutani hummed and focused on yahabas words. He showed him the second small package then. ‘Next there are Aquilegias. They are easy to grow from seeds and once they are established they return year after year. They need sun or semi-shade, the soil should be moist but well-drained and fertile.’
Kyoutani was already out of focus. Too much info to process. He pulled the next package.
Oh man, I just want some flowers.
‘Marigolds. They grow fast, they need sun and fertile, well-drained soil. They are a great choice for young gardeners like you’
Kyoutani gave him a pointed look and yahaba just laughed. ‘Lastly, Fuchsias. They require semi shade, moist but well-drained fertile soil. Fuchsias grow fruits that are edible but not always tasty. So yeah, be aware of that.’
Kyoutani was lost at this point. ‘Okay, now if you decided on which one you like more then you can choose.’
He didn’t want anything complicated to begin with. He had never done this before and he didn’t want his flowers dying on him. ‘Uh I’ll take the marigold seeds’
‘Wow I totally did not expect that’ he joked ‘be more predictable next time’
Despite his resistance he couldn’t contain his grin. ‘Shut up’ he said
They walked towards the counter, he paid for the seeds and for some reason he wanted to stay a bit longer.
‘If you are actually capable of growing the flowers then you should come back and get some more.. or whatever’ yahaba said and scratched the back of his head.
It took a moment for him to find a good enough response but he didn’t have a chance to reply. A new customer walked in. Yahaba smiled at him and then focused on his new customer.
He was trying his best to plant the seeds and keep the soil moistured. He also had a hard time finding a right place in his small balcony to keep the wide flower container. He did eventually. He wanted to go back and buy more seeds but he felt like it was too soon and he didn’t feel like seeing yahabas smug face.
He would go back eventually.
__
Yahaba was amused when he heard that Kyoutani wanted to grow flowers. Out of all things. He didn’t seem like the type of person who’d grow flowers. He was interested to see how this would end up.
He didn’t expect Kyoutani to come back to the shop any time soon but he couldn’t lie, he wished he would.
After five days kyoutani decided to show up again. Yahaba was surprised. Flowers don’t grow in five days, so why would he come back? He was happy to see him, though he wouldn’t accept it.
It was his birthday today. He was at the shop with Watari who decided to surprise him with birthday cake. They ate the cake while catching up. That’s when Kyoutani walked in. He seemed the same as usual- usual being the two times yahaba had seen him.
He was frowning. Yahaba was starting to really like his frown.
Watari and Yahaba both turned towards kyoutani when he walked in. He saw them and kept looking at yahaba and then back at Watari.
‘Hey’ he said. He was now staring at Watari. That until he noticed the cake on the counter. ‘Special occasion?’ He asked.
‘Welcome back’ yahaba felt weird telling him that it was his birthday, so for a moment he just kept quiet.
Watari on the other hand, didn’t enjoy keeping quiet very much.
‘Uh it’s his birthday today!’ He turned a little so he could take a good look at kyoutani. ‘Strange yellow hair’ he hummed ‘you must be Kyoutani then! I have heard a lot about you’
Yahaba never felt the need to make new friends more than he did now. Stupid Watari and his big mouth. So what if he mentioned Kyoutani once ? he knew it wasn’t just once but no one else had to know.
‘Watari literally shut up.’ he placed the cake somewhere else and then he grabbed Watari, he gave him a hug ‘thank you for the cake, you are stupid. Now go home and stop making my life hard’
Watari hugged him back and laughed. ‘Right right.. stay safe Shigeru I love you, happy birthday again’ then he turned to kyoutani. ‘It was nice meeting you’
__
Kyoutani didn’t expect to feel the way he did once he walked in the shop. He already felt anxious enough showing up after merely five days. He didn’t want to give Yahaba the impression that he was a creep or anything. He just wanted to see him again.
But when he walked in he didn’t just see Yahaba. He also saw a guy with him. They seemed close. He felt weird in the stomach. Then the guy also knew his name somehow? What was that about?
‘….happy birthday again’ the guy named Watari had said. And then ‘it was nice meeting you’ Kyoutani just looked at him and gave a simple nod.
‘So its your birthday then,’ he walked a bit closer ‘uhm.. happy birthday’ H e didnt have a gift for him unfortunately and buying a flower from his shop and then handing it over as a gift would just be lame.
‘ah yes. It is actually. Nevermind that, please don't pay much attention to Watari's words, he is just an idiot’ he smiled at him but it looked a bit off. Kyoutani felt a bit nervous so, not wanting to continue talking about this, he simply nodded in agreement.
He was looking at yahaba trying to find the right words to say but he just didn't know how to approach the matter. Was it weird to ask a guy out on a date when you have only met three times? It definitely was. Also Kyoutani didn't even know if Yahaba liked boys. What if he made him feel uncomfortable ? He just wanted to keep talking to him. He seemed like an interesting person and although he got on his nerves, he also enjoyed their banter.
‘uhm so.. I close the shop at 9pm.’ Yahaba said.
Kyoutani was thinking so hard he barely heard what the other had said.
‘Oh uh alright..?’ Was he expecting him to say something? Oh. Was he trying to imply that kyoutani was not welcome anymore?
Yahaba sighed and grinned. 'You are not helping me here kentarou..’ he said.
Kyoutani understood what he was trying to say, a bit late but still. Either yahaba could read his mind or the universe loved him a tiny bit too much.
He cleared his throat ‘I uh.. Would you like to go on a date with me?.. Since it is your birthday and all we could.. do whatever you like’ he knew that he would do whatever Yahaba liked even if it wasn't his birthday.
Yahaba was looking at him with a smile on his face. He opened his mouth to say something but another customer walked in so he took care of that first. Kyoutani was waiting patiently. He could wait for him forever he thought.
After a while Yahaba was done and he came up to where Kyoutani had made himself comfortable. ‘I would really like to go on a date with you’ he smiled.
‘oh uh cool.. great uh I could wait here until you are done? its already 8.’
‘Sure thing! you could uh.. help me with some flowers.. maybe?’ Yahaba said and scratched the back of his neck. He did that a lot, Kyoutani noticed.
‘Yeah that sounds good’
An hour passed by much quicker than kyoutani thought it would. They talked about this and that, Yahaba helped some more customers that came by and he taught Kyoutani a few things about the soil and how to treat the flowers. He was also surprised to learn a few things about yahaba in the process. He is the same age as kyoutani- he figured that out when he first saw him. Yahaba never had a pet, unlike Kyoutani who had several growing up. His favorite color was green and he really really liked ice cream. He has never broken a single bone in his body, again unlike Kyoutani. He hates the heat and prefers the cold. His favorite movie is Mr. and Mrs. Smith -why does this make sense ?
He also learned that yahaba was a menace. He would not stop teasing Kyoutani and he always pushed his limits. Yahaba seemed to have discovered his buttons without him realizing. But Yahaba was also sweet. He was sweet when he smiled at Kyoutani, he was sweet when he leaned down to give a little boy a flower he was staring at, for free and he was sweet when he genuinely seemed to care about what Kyoutani had to say about himself.
It was now 9pm. They closed the shop and decided to walk towards the center of the city since it was pretty close from there. They reached their destination in about 10 minutes. The city was as mesmerizing as ever. Kyoutani loved the shining lights and the tall buildings. Everything felt huge and he was just so small, it was easy to blend in and feel comfortable. There were so many people that he didn't have to feel self conscious, no one would notice him.
Except Yahaba, of course who would not stop sneaking glances at him. ‘What are you looking at?’
‘huh? what, I'm not looking’
‘yeah right..’
‘it's nothing i swear, just..’
‘just what?’
‘just you know.. your hair looks really soft’ Yahaba was blushing now and he suddenly decided that the city lights were more interesting to look at than Kyoutani was.
‘Well it's not as soft as it seems but it's not bad’ he paused. ‘I suppose you could touch it.. if you want.’ Yahaba turned his head to look at him and for a minute he just stared, he seemed to be considering the offer.
Then he slowly reached out and felt kyoutanis hair. ‘Oh well’ he said, eyes wide.
Kyoutani laughed, ‘oh well? ‘that all you have to say?’
Yahaba pulled his hand back. He smiled, ‘what do you want me to say? It’s not as soft as it looks but it’s not bad’ he proceeded to mimic Kyoutani and failed miserably. He did not sound like that. At all.
‘Well damn’ he gaped at him ‘at least you’re honest’
Yahaba just kept laughing until he saw an ice cream shop and decided he wanted to get some. Kyoutani liked ice cream but he could live without it. It was Yahaba's birthday though so he would not say no to him.
Yahaba got bubblegum -somehow that also made sense. Kyoutani got chocolate.
They spotted a bench right outside the ice cream store under some cherry blossom trees. They decided to sit there since yahaba wouldn’t stop complaining about his legs aching. He let out a long sigh when he sat down and then patted the seat next to him for Kyoutani to sit.
Yahaba suggested they play a game while they eat their ice cream. They had to observe people and make assumptions based on their looks and behavior. It turned out to be a very funny game.
‘I bet he can’t wait to go home and take a shit. Look at him walking so fast tsk tsk tsk’ yahaba had whispered and then he started to laugh.
‘You realize I’m eating chocolate ice cream right ?’
‘You realize I don’t care and you should just keep eating before it melts, right ?’
‘You are impossible’ he said and then smiled.
‘You like me though’ he teased and then he started laughing when kyoutani rolled his eyes instead of answering. But that was answer enough.
After finishing their ice cream they decided to head back home. It was getting late and yahaba felt tired from work.
‘I hope you had fun on your birthday’ he said.
‘So the date was for my birthday and not because you were so in love with me that you absolutely had to take me on one? Unbelievable’ he joked.
‘I felt sorry for you and I didn’t want to leave you all alone in that small flower shop. I’m sorry to disappoint, really. It will keep me up at night’
Yahaba sighed dramatically ‘it should keep you up at night, that’s true’
They looked at each other for a moment and then they bursted out laughing. Kyoutani calmed down first and he couldn’t stop staring at Yahabas eyes. They shined so bright. At that moment it seemed like his eyes were brighter than all the city lights that were surrounding them. He forgot to look away.
‘Now what are you looking at?’ Yahaba said while whipping his eyes.
‘Nothing just… you know’
‘I don’t actually’
This boy was truly unbelievable. ‘I just think you have beautiful eyes, Shigeru’
Yahaba stopped laughing then and he looked at him. It seemed like he was trying to understand whether Kyoutani was serious or just messing with him. After a moment he grinned. ‘Thank you’ he said. Kyoutani kept walking, although he felt like he should do something. Fortunately for him yahaba seemed to know.
‘I think that’s the point where you kiss me, you know’
Kyoutani looked at him, his cheeks were red. It was cold but it wasn’t that cold so he couldn’t blame it there. He was shy then. Anticipating, maybe.
Kyoutani stopped walking and touched his hand to stop yahaba as well. He turned him around and took a minute to just look at him. He is beautiful he thought. His eyes, his nose, his fluffy hair and his stupid cute front teeth gap. He was the most beautiful person Kyoutani has ever met.
He didn’t know who leaned in first. Their noses bumped for a second- so much for trying to keep this romantic. They laughed it off. The next second his lips were touching Yahabas. It was a chaste kiss. Nothing too risky. Neither of them felt the need to deepen it. It was perfect just the way it was.
‘So do I get a second date maybe ?’ Kyoutani asked after pulling slightly away.
‘I don’t know, I’d say 6.5/10 date. Not worth complaining to your superiors about it but it wasn’t bad’
kyoutani laughed. ‘6.5? I feel offended Shigeru’ he sighed ‘at least it wasn’t a 4 like the robbery. I swear I’ll do better next time’
‘Next time you try to steal or next time you take me on a date?’
Kyoutani smiled, ‘Yahaba Shigeru, you are a menace’
Yahaba hugged him and laughed ‘Kyoutani Kentarou, I believe you owe me a second date’