Chapter Text
It was early spring when Minori met Klaus. She had just moved into Oak Tree Town to become a farmer when she had come across the solid town member. He was known as somewhat of an aromatic scientist throughout the town, renowned for his perfumes and their impressive effects. It was an interesting line of work, to say the least, and in him Minori found an unlikely but interesting business associate.
He was an older bachelor with a finer moral code than most, leading a simple life in the lesser known town. Klaus lived on his own in a large house filled with various instruments to create scents and awe-inspiring aromas. Shelves and scientific equipment lined the walls of the bottom floor and on the second floor, books and notes he had written on his studies. He didn't ever sell his works, however, he was much more interested in finding the next big impact a scent he made could make. To calm or invigorate, to allow the wearer to bring about joy in themselves and those around them- it was the effect he had interest in. It didn't hurt to have them smell wonderful, either.
At first, there was no further interaction between the two. There was only a daily 'hello' in passing and a short conversation at town festivities, which was fine by the two of them. Minori had her farming business and Klaus his work, but as word of Minori's high quality produce began to spread through the town and to the lands outside of it, Klaus had taken a slight bit of more interest.
Soon, the two had struck a deal with one another. Minori would offer a portion of her finest floral produce and in return Klaus would create perfumes to increase the quality of her honey. He had long since developed a few aromas that didn't harm bees but allowed them to produce finer quality honey. It was a rare product made from bees, but as a well kept secret by Klaus, hardly anyone knew about it.
Minori accepted Klaus' proposal of business and quickly the two were frequent business partners. There wasn't a season that went by that the two didn't trade in some form. From conversing about business to daily town gossip, Minori and Klaus were around each other a lot more often.
In fact, on this fine Autumn afternoon, Minori had come to visit Klaus with a new bundle of high quality flowers.
“Klaus? You in here?” Minori called as she stepped through his front door. It was rare for him to answer a guest at the door face to face- rather more a faint calling of 'come in!' from the back room- so Minori had taken the habit of walking in herself. Besides, with as much business as she made with Klaus, the two were fairly friendly with one another.
When there was no answer, Minori glanced around. Klaus wasn't in the front room, absorbed in work as he usually was. Not all that strange, he was a busy man who paced when thinking.
“No matter,” Minori sighed thoughtfully, trudging up the stairs, “He's bound to be here somewhere.”
Her knapsack secured on her back, Minori was careful not to ruin any of the flowers packed inside. These were delicate products, even the slightest pinch could ruin a whole flower. She knew as much from being a farmer, but the delicacy and true science of it was only something she had picked up from her business with Klaus.
She was glad this deal was made between her and Klaus. Ever since, she was able to produce better quality products from her bees. Not only were they happier, they were healthier. She was able to pollinate crops for a better produce, secure the freshness a little longer- there were multiple things that having this deal had improved.
Plus, the extra money didn't hurt either. Selling rare products every so often gave Minori the extra boost in her finances that she needed to upgrade her business. With more funds to work with, she was able to afford more so farming took less time. She was even able to help her elderly neighbor, Eda, with her farm.
Minori didn't mind helping Eda. After all, the old woman was the one who trained the young girl in the fine art of farming and caring for animals and such. Helping her was the least Minori could do.
They even often had tea and spoke about the various happenings in town. Over time, the two had grown closer. It was nice, having a friend like that. She could tell Eda anything and ask for advice, something she hadn't been able to do with anyone else for as long as she could remember. Minori felt blessed to have such a wonderful woman in her life. She was almost like the grandmother she had always wanted.
“Klaaaaus?” Minori called as she reached the top of the stairs, wandering down the hall to Klaus' study.
Sure enough, there Klaus was, absorbed in a book and mumbling. The tall bachelor was curled in a chair, hunched over a book. A pencil was in his hand, scribbling words onto a notebook as he read. Minori could catch certain words here and there but otherwise Klaus was only ever mumbling gibberish to anyone but himself.
Klaus was excellent at multitasking when it came to his work. Minori had more than once stumbled in on him in this exact same predicament. His golden eyes focused on the words, so absorbed in the work that he had temporarily stripped reality's hold on him. It was admirable, really. To see someone be so focused and passionate about one's work made her wish she could get lost in the same manor. Even if she didn't have the brains for it, she guessed it would feel nice to lose oneself almost completely.
Now was not the time to sit and admire a mad mans talents, though. With a small smile, Minori called out once more to Klaus, approaching him slowly.
“Klaus.” she called again, waving a hand near his head. When he didn't look up, Minori sighed and poked his cheek gently, puffing her own in minor annoyance.
Klaus immediately snapped his head up to meet Minori's gaze. His golden iris' disappeared behind his eyelids twice in two short blinks, his mind adjusting to the change in consciousness.
“Minori...” he murmured, setting aside his book and notebook gently. “My apologies, I was working a little intently. Have you been waiting long?” he asked and Minori shook her head as he stood.
Klaus was quite tall- a foot or so taller than Minori herself- but he never spoke word of it. It was interesting, seeing how he was the tallest in town. Minori had noted that there were some times when Mistel, a fellow bachelor and friend of Klaus' in the town, he mentioned being jealous of Klaus' height. Even Raeger, a childhood friend of Klaus' who ran a restaurant in Oak Tree Town, mentioned wishing he had been born with such a height.
“No, I just arrived. Anything good you've got going there?” Minori asked and peered behind Klaus at the book and paper. She couldn't understand his notes but the book ought to have a thing or two she knew.
“Just theories.” Klaus shrugged and glanced at the book as well. He picked it up gently, careful not to rustle the pages or old, leather binding. “It's a book on crossbreeding different types of plants for better results in aroma. I had thought such a thing to be possible as well and set on some research.”
“Oh. Does this mean you want me to cross breed some flowers for you?” Minori asked and her brows furrowed in confusion. Sure, she could do such, but if they didn't turn out well it could be a big disadvantage for her. She'd be loosing a lot of potential profit for one mistake.
Klaus shook his head briefly and set the book back down with a thoughtful look. “I would never ask such of you, Minori. It would be too risky against your business. No, no, it was something I was looking into for my own experiments. A small garden I could watch over and change accordingly.”
Minori laughed, “Don't tell me you're looking for a way out of our business deal now, Klaus.” she joked, elbowing him playfully.
“No, never.” Klaus shook his head with a small smile and glanced toward a tall window, where a few pots sat on the windowsill, brimming with deceased and wilted flora. “I was only curious to see if I could potentially test it and get positive results before bringing the matter up. However,” he chuckled and motioned toward the pots. “the experiment was fruitless, it seems.”
Minori giggled further as she glanced at the pots, a small part of her feeling sorry for the plants. “Oh...Well, I'm just glad those don't look like the new shipment of flowers I've brought you today.”
“Ah, yes!” Klaus nodded. “Shall I expect nothing but the best from this new crop of your floral produce?” he smiled gently and watched as Minori knelt down and carefully took out the flowers from her knapsack.
Being careful not to crumple any of the flowers, Minori presented the beautiful white roses to Klaus, her smile infectious as she glanced down at her hard work. It had been a long time coming to produce this high quality of white roses but it was so worth it to see them now. Knowing that they would soon become part of wonderful experiments made it even better.
Klaus inspected the roses with great precision and admiration. “These are indeed your finest work yet, Minori. I am grateful you are sharing these with me.”
“Oh please,” Minori chuckled proudly. “This was a lot of work but its worth it to see what you make of them. They're only as great as I can get them. In your hands, however, I'm sure you can truly bring out their potential.”
“You flatter me.” Klaus smiled and carried the flowers carefully in his arms, “Please, let us sit and have a drink while I tuck these away for later use. I'm close to a new fragrance for you and your bees, as well. These should add to the overall quality of such, I'm sure. You will be quite pleased.”
Minori followed him happily, glad that Klaus was pleased. No one else- besides Eda, perhaps- quite understood the pride that came with producing a product dripping with great potential. To see your hard work turned into something greater than you could have made it was elating.
“I had to hide these from Giorgio.” Minori chuckled, “They were planted on my farm in the back so he wouldn't see them.”
“Ah, yes. Less he challenge your hard work and compare his products with yours.” Klaus chuckled and shook his head. “I am not against that man, he does good work and produces fine crops, but I sense an unwillingness to understand my own business.”
“Is that why you never asked him to trade with you?” Minori asked and glanced up toward Klaus' face. His hair was mildly disheveled from his earlier absorption in his work. The stray strands sticking out defiantly made Minori want to fix it but she refrained.
“I could never ask him to sacrifice the beauty of his flowers. He only sees their outer potential, not what they could be turned into to make them equally as beautiful as their outer appearance. It was a loosing battle and I prefer to not sully the minor friendship I have built with the man.” Klaus shrugged and set to putting the flowers in their proper place.
Minori sat as she waited for Klaus, admiring the living room she had been in so many times before. It was a nice little room with a couch and coffee table for meeting with clients or chit chatting when Klaus had guests over. It was kept tidier than the rest of the house, with very little hints of his work in the room at all. There were a few pictures to add to the comforting environment but nothing that screamed that Klaus only had time for work. Which wasn't that far off, considering it was rare Minori ever saw Klaus not working.
“Sorry to keep you waiting.” Klaus apologized and set a tray of tea and snacks down on the coffee table. “How has your day been?”
“Busy.” Minori shrugged and nodded her thanks as Klaus passed her a cup of the herbal liquid. “I've been running from farm plot to farm plot most of the morning but I made some time to come and drop off the white roses for you. They bloomed earlier than expected, so I made sure to take advantage of that.”
“Ah, I see. I was worried that I was a few days behind. I was sure that I wasn't to expect those until later this week. Thank you for bringing them earlier.” he smiled and poured himself a cup of tea. He stirred in a bit of milk with it slowly and took a deep breath, relaxing into the couch opposite Minori.
“And your day?” Minori asked politely and sipped her own tea carefully.
“Fine. I don't recall when I started the earlier research but seeing the time now, I had been there a long while. Hmph..”
“Didn't want to waste the day reading and writing all day?” Minori chuckled as she picked up a small biscuit and nibbled on it thoughtfully. “I can understand that. There are some days I spend too much time with one thing and before I know it, I'm far behind schedule.”
“I hadn't planned on it, no. I was hoping to do a bit of that and then set my attentions on a new perfume.” Klaus smiled ruefully and released a sigh into his tea. “All is well that ends well, I suppose.”
“Oh? Whats this one for?”
“Funny you ask, I actually was crafting it for you, Miss Busy Bee.” Klaus smiled playfully and set his teacup down. “Here, let me fetch it for you.”
When Klaus returned, he held in his hands a small bottle filled with a cloudy white liquid. Minori studied it with interest as he held it up for her to see.
“This, is a new fragrance I was working on in my spare time. I've added a dash of extra chamomile to it, see how you like it.” he smiled and handed it off to Minori.
She applied it to her wrists gingerly, sniffing the fragrance with a pleasant sigh. “Ah, it's very soothing. Would you mind if I keep this? It could help on particularly stressful days.”
“Please do. I don't mind it at all. I am glad it will be put to proper use.” Klaus smiled softly, his eyes glistening with pride.
“Thank you for the tea and snacks, Klaus, but I should be going.” Minori smiled happily and tucked the bottle into her knapsack as she spoke. “We'll have to catch up some more another time.”
“Indeed we will.” Klaus nodded, “Would you like me to escort you to your home? It is quite late.”
“Nah, I'll be fine. Thank you though.” Minori smiled. “I'll catch you later. Maybe next time you can drop by the farm and see your fragrances at work with the bees.” she suggested kindly.
“Perhaps. I think I would enjoy seeing it in action.” Klaus agreed. “Until then.”
With that, Minori had left his presence and set herself back down the town street. If she hurried home, she could still catch the weather reports. Winter was on the rise and she wanted to make sure to batten down the hatches before the first snowfall.
It was strange, in a way. It had been a long time since she had first arrived here in Oak Tree Town but then again, it wasn't long at all. Maybe it just felt long because of the days physically demanding work? Yeah, that was probably it.
Besides, now she had a nice new perfume to help her relax after those long days, thanks to Klaus.