Chapter Text
“does… does your sister know?”
——————
for a long time y/n had feelings for this man.
for a long time she had admired him; his kindness, his devotion, his calmness.
for a long time she had watched him from the sidelines, her lips forming a smile whenever he’d simply wave at her from afar.
she had kept her feelings for him a secret, she had locked them away and often tried to forget about them by always making herself busy - but even small things reminded her of him; a random person’s perfume as she was shopping (the same cologne he wore), deciding what to have for dinner (he told me about this recipe he found online) and other silly things one could think of.
y/n didn’t simply have feelings for Yuri, oh no, she was in love with him.
why not confess, one may wonder?
let’s just say that this Yuri Briar guy was quite a sis con - sometimes she’d find his behaviour amusing, but other times a feeling she would describe as being ‘disgusting’ gnawed at her heart.
‘ah, hello—‘
lost in her train of thoughts, the young lady was brought back to reality when she heard the door bell chime, signaling someone had entered the flower shop. no longer a surprise to her was the man that had entered the shop - amusingly, he was a regular.
‘—a dozen roses today again?’
she half-laughed as the man in front of her was soaking wet, obviously making an enemy of the weather outside.
‘you know me already.’
Yuri gave a smile, his words like honey to her ears - they made her heart thump so loud, she was afraid he might hear her.
‘visiting them again? this makes it what? the 3rd time this week?’
‘my dearest sister-‘ his face lit up ‘-and her Kind Husband-‘ his face turned grim ‘-have invited me over for dinner, again, to my surprise as well.’
she quirked a brow to his words; odd. even Yuri was quite baffled as to why he had been invited over so often.
‘what if they are secretly planning something?’ she joked, but her intention of making him laugh had failed however.
‘something is off…’
he started, his gaze wandering somewhere far away. now this was something new; she never saw Yuri lost in his thoughts. usually he’d talk a lot, tell her about his day, tell her about his job (unknown to her were the hidden lies - he didn’t want to lie to her, but his job gave him no choice), but now was different.
his brows knit together, the expression on his face one that she had never seen before.
‘hey y/n—‘
she loved the way he said her name.
‘—Yor has been gaining some weight.’
‘now that’s not a nice thing to say about your sister.’
‘no no-! i mean… when we talk over the phone, she often mentions that she’s feeling sick,’
oh.
‘and how she is wanting to eat all these random foods,’
oh!
‘and how she is sleepier that usual-‘
‘oh! congratulations Yuri!’
‘w-what do you mean?’
‘your sister’s pregnant, right?’
‘right.’
‘so you’ll be an uncle.’
‘right.’
…….
‘NO!!! NOT RIGHT, Y/N!!! Yor cannot have Lottie’s child!’
‘why not? he is her husband.’
‘NO! yes! I MEAN!!’
‘i get it that this is quite a shock to you-‘
a big one in fact; it was hard holding back her laughter as she saw the man having a literal mental breakdown.
‘-but you should be happy for your sister.’
‘i know, i know.’
slender fingers combed through dark locks, his body leaning against the door before he’d slump down. the newly acquired information was quite hard to digest, but nonetheless, he’d decide he wanted his sister’s happiness above else—
—and not only hers.
Yuri watched the girl in front of him cut the stems of the roses shorter. her fingers were nimble, daintily working around each flower.
it had been a few years since he met y/n. he was a regular at the flower shop, the owner already knowing his order by heart whenever he’d enter that door. he’d talk to her about his sister only - but that changed the day he came across the girl the shop owner was training to take her place.
‘i’m old, but this lady here will do the job just fine.’ the owner had told Yuri, eyes watching her as she moved around the shop, trying to learn each and every flower. too.
‘…what’s her name?’
‘hm?’ interesting, not mentioning your sister yet? ‘her name is y/n’
‘y/n…’
it was the first time he had found someone who was not his sister to be beautiful. it was the first time he was keen on learning more about another girl. it was the first time he had asked for someone’s name.
‘y/n!’ he called out, and the girl with said name turned to face him, a smile dancing on her face.
‘yes-! um—‘
‘Yuri, my name is Yuri.’
‘Yuri!’
‘i heard you will be the next florist here, so you have to learn my order.’
‘Yuri here is a regular of ours, y/n. you will have to get used to him constantly blabbering about his sister.’
‘that’s—‘ he didn’t finish his sentence as her soft laugh filled the room.
‘i am looking forward to that.’
and here they were. besides seeing his sister and her family, this part of the day he was really looking forward to. he’d get off work and his thoughts would fly to, suspringly, her.
ever since he met her, his obsession with his sister has seemed to have calmed down, much to Loid’s pleasant susprise as well. even Yor was confused to say at least, and not the sharpest as well - let the figuring out to Loid. it wasn’t hard for him and Yor to follow Yuri one day, only for the both of them to be hit with the biggest surprise yet — Yuri entering the flower shop, and spending even a total of 1 hour and 27 minutes on the clock in said shop chatting up the florist.
to the world, it was quite obvious that the young man had feelings for the girl - it was so obvious, you’d have to be blind not to notice — which y/n didn’t.
truth told, it was Yuri that was hiding his feelings, but he had reasons. 1. what if she doesn’t feel the same? and 2. should they start dating, how is he supposed to tell her about his job?
those were questions that always stayed in his mind, a constant reminder that a love life for a person like him would be an impossible mission. people want normality, no hidden secrets, open conversations - and with his line of work, he wouldn’t be able to put out everything in the open, it was too risky.
yet — the way she got excited at the news about his sister’s pregnancy, him becoming an uncle (all of which were not confirmed), they made him want to hug her.
so he did.
his arms would wrap around her body, bringing her closer to him. he was happy. he wanted to be happier. he wanted her to be happy.
for a second, he felt her body go stiff, only to immediately relax in his hold. in reality, y/n felt her bones become jelly — this! she was not expecting this!
‘w-wha-?’
‘i’m so happy i’ll be an uncle. sorry, i couldn’t contain my joy.’ false, not entirely, but Yuri knew how to make use of the situation (note to apologise to Yor for using her for this moment).
his motive made her giggle. imagine his surprise as her arms returned the gesture and wrapped around his frame. e/c meets crimson, his face a mixture of emotions, but his gaze softens as he sees her smile.
‘i’m happy for you Yuri!’
he is happy too.
‘you’ll be a great uncle!’
he really hopes so.
‘i’ll get your flowers done real quick so you can get to them sooner!’
he really didn’t want to let go of her yet.
‘y/n… wait…’
he felt a knot form in his throat as she met him with a surprised look on her face. she had tilted her head, and anyone could see the confusion on her face - underneath that confusion lay the hope of a girl who was in love with the man who had oh so suddenly wrapped her in a hug.
‘d——‘
‘d?’
‘give me a moment, i’m trying, okay?’
even more confusion, but she could hear her heartbeat in her ears. loud and clear.
‘do you want to come with me?’
‘w-what?’
‘at my sister’s house?’
‘why?’
‘i am trying to make a move here, spare me.’
they were both blushing (they could start a blushing competition of some sorts), Yuri stealing glances at her while she was frozen still.
was this an invitation?
‘w— what will your sister and her family think? i mean, i am just the florist who makes your bouquets.’
‘they will think that i have come over with my p-partner, probably.’
partner.
‘partner as in…’
‘…date i guess.’
now they were avoiding any sort of eye contact. brains were frying, short-circuiting. emotions were high.
‘Yuri, are y—‘
‘yes, i am asking you out as like, a DATE date.’
this was going to be different from the Saturday coffee ‘outings’ they had, from the cinema nights, from the group ‘outings’ they had. this time it was just the two of them. at his family’s house. this time, Yuri invited her with him alone, not friends hanging around, just the two of them.
her reaction and response - let’s just say that if Yuri had feelings for this girl, now he confirmed that his heart was a fool for her.
‘okay.’ her lower lip trembled, tears prickling at the corners of her eyes.
‘WAIT- why are you crying!?’ he was confused.
‘i just— never thought i’ll ever live this day!’
huh?
‘you have no idea how nervous i am, stupid!’
huh? wait, stupid?
HUH? he made her nervous?! does that mean—
‘y-you, you like me?’
‘i did good hiding it, until now!’
huh. so they liked each other? it was that simple all along? did his sister unbeknowingly become his cupid?
‘so, you like me too…’
relief. it was relief that washed over him. all his conflicting thoughts -almost all- gone, just like that. she jumped when his hands found hers, holding her smaller ones in his.
‘hey, y/n…’
‘yes?’
‘can you please make me a bouquet of sunflowers?’
‘sunflowers? sure, i guess.’
her hands left his, and once again he watched as her hands did their magic. the bouquet was perfect; small and simple yet it held so much beauty.
as soon as he got the bouquet, he handed it back to her.
‘do you not like it?’ his lips formed into a smile at her worry, and he shook his head.
‘no, these are for you.’ he remembered the way she fell in love with said flowers, ever since he met her 3 years ago. they way her eyes sparkled, the way she talked about them. so of course he smiled, especially when met with surprise and then pure happiness.
‘t-thank you.’
‘you’re finishing at 6, right?’
‘yes.’
‘i’ll wait for you, and then we can go together.’
‘wait, Yuri!’ he didn’t get to open the door as a hand rested on top of his.
‘i’ll close early, only today. it’s not every day that i get invited to family dinner.. dates?’
‘this is definitely a date.’
she blushed at his confidence, but nodded and left the shop with him.
‘s-since this is a date, can we…’
she couldn’t finish her sentence as he quickly caught her hand in his. she felt like being in a dream, but this was definitely reality.
‘hey y/n, do you want to be my girlfriend?’
she spluttered, her already flushed face turning into a red mess.
‘i don’t think i am an easy person to date-‘ his words made her calm down, her attention fully on him now.
‘- i have many things to tell you, but i would prefer privacy for that.’ he had made up his mind.
his seriousness made her mind settle down. Yuri was serious about this. it was all happening so fast (if 3 years if fast that is), but she had been wanting this.
‘okay.’
‘one thing i can tell you now—‘
he turned towards her, a hint of rose dusting on the apple of his cheeks
‘—is that i am in love with you, y/n.’