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The sky was beginning to darken, orange rays of light shining into the little shop through the big glass windows by the door. At the small counter, surrounded by flowers of all shapes and colors, sat Y/N, slouched over with their head leaning on their hand, eyes half lidded and a small frown tugging at their lips. Same as every night.
It was a routine they had gotten into, they'd open the shop around mid morning, and go about their work. Watering, repotting, trimming, talking with customers, but things would always slow down around an hour before close. All the chores would be done, and fewer and fewer people would stop by, maybe one customer every couple of weeks coming in after 7:30, leaving Y/N to sit at the counter and wait for time to tick by.
There was really no logical reason to keep the store open as long as they did, they'd even considered closing at 7:00 instead, but that was before. Before they'd met him.
It had been almost a year ago now, on a night like every other, the sun setting on the empty store as Y/N sat at the counter, head in hand, staring off into the back corner of the shop. It was fifteen minutes till closing, and as they sat, eyes lost in the shadows dancing in the corner, the bell above the door chimed.
Y/N jolted to attention, head and gaze snapping up to the entrance, ready to help whoever had stepped in.
That was when they saw him. He was older than them, maybe early forties, with ashy blonde hair and the bluest eyes they'd ever seen. His clothes were dark with splotchy stains that were too dark to make out in the poorly lit room, a small smirk growing on his face the longer they stared at him.
"People actually buy this stuff?" He asked, chuckling to himself as he plucked a flower from a bouquet Y/N had put together that morning.
"I wouldn't have a shop here if they didn't." They replied, brows furrowing as he twirled the flower between his fingers.
"Ha! No, I suppose you wouldn't." His lips turned up into a smile that never quite reached his eyes, still fidgeting with the stem he'd grabbed.
"Was there something I could help you with?" They asked, maybe a little more harshly than was necessary. "Anything you're looking for? We close soon."
He looked around the small shop, eyes narrowed, passing over all of the displays of flowers and plants with his mouth pressed into a line, before ultimately deciding, "No, definitely not."
"Um, ok? Well if you need anything, don't hesitate to ask."
"I might just take you up on that," a smirk had started to pull at the corners of lips once again. "But…" he continued, drawing out the word as he began waltzing back to the door, flower in hand. "Not tonight."
As he stepped out the door, for all of a second, Y/N could have sworn his eyes flashed a bright reddish gold, the last flight of the setting sun reflecting in his crystal eyes before he vanished into the night leaving Y/N alone with their brows knit together as the scene replayed in their head.
Days passed before they saw the man again. Going through the motions of their nightly routine once again, helping the last few customers, finishing up the chores for the day, sitting and waiting, they were caught off guard a second time by the door chime.
"How's my favorite space cadet?" Came his teasing voice from across the counter.
"Oh, it's you." Their eyebrows raised slightly, they had convinced themself that the strange man coming to the shop had been a one time thing; that they'd never see him again, and yet here he was.
"Well, duh" he said, rolling his eyes so hard Y/N was surprised they were still in his head at all. "Of course it's me. No one else comes in here after 6:30."
"And how would you know? This is only your second time even coming here." They snapped right back.
"Now, now, no need to be rude", he was smirking again, mischief dancing in his eyes as he watched Y/N's face scrunch up the more annoyed they became. "I've walked past here before, and you, my friend, just stare off into space the last hour you're open. Why do you stay open so late?" His smirk had spread into a wide grin as he spoke, Y/N's expression morphing from mild annoyance, into borderline horror, eyes widening and mouth parting as he basically admitted he'd watched them.
"I-"
"Spit it out"
"You were watching me?" They asked, trying and failing to subtly step further back behind the counter.
"I wouldn't call it watching," he answered, leaning over the counter, his mouth turning down into a faux-thoughtful expression. "I was curious about you, so I stopped by. Not my fault you were too zoned out to notice."
"If you were curious why didn't you just come inside?" They'd backed into the wall, putting as much space between themself and the man as possible. That space being about three feet, but three comforting feet none the less.
"I'm in here now aren't I? And you can stop backing away, I'm not going to hurt you" he snarked back, once again rolling his eyes. "Anyways, what's your name Space Cadet?"
Y/N's shoulders fell from their tense state at his assurance he wouldn't hurt them, chuckling a little to themself before replying, "What, you didn't figure that out while you were stalking me?"
"I told you I wasn't stalking you", the smirk was back. "You can call me Nick."
"Y/N"
And so began Y/N's new routine. Much the same as their old one, but with one small change, someone to pass the time with. About every other day Nick would come in a little after 7:00 to bug the living daylights out of Y/N. Sometimes he'd ask questions about them–
~~
"So what do you do for fun when you're not holed up in here?" He asked, sitting behind the counter next to Y/N while they finished putting together a bouquet for the shop.
"Well, I like to go to park and-"
"That's nice, have you ever heard of Ladyheart? Their lead singer just died recently."
~~
Most of the time he'd talk about people in his life, or more accurately, he'd complain about people in his life–
~~
"They're just so obnoxious." He was pacing the floor in front of the counter while Y/N held up their head, watching him with a small smile. " Always running around dressed like lumberjacks and talking about family, messing up all of my plans. And don't even get me started on their little pet. He always calls me an 'assbutt', what does that even-!" He stopped, hearing a small chuckle from the counter.
"You're laughing at me."
"I would never!" They replied, though the grin on their face and the subtle shake of their shoulders told another story.
~~
He was funny, and Y/N had begun to look forward to his visits, waiting patiently after the last customer would leave for the night for their… friend…? Acquaintance…? They weren't entirely sure, but they had grown to enjoy his company in the dimly lit little shop.
The only issue was his temper.
One night, Y/N had made the mistake of asking about his family. They hadn't known it was a sore spot. If they had, they wouldn't have ever brought it up in the first place–
~~
"So what about the rest of your family?" They asked, lounged against the wall behind the counter while he walked the floor, fiddling with whatever flower or display he passed. "You've mentioned brothers, what about your parents? You said you had a dad right?"
He froze, hand stopping in its tracks on a small display by the door, "Oh I've got a dad alright. He's a deadbeat who locked me away when he didn't have a use for me anymore." His voice was even, you'd almost say he was calm if it wasn't for the way his body tightened and his jaw clenched, as if he'd lash out at any second.
"And when he decided he needed me again, he manipulated me," his hand moved slowly up the display as he continued. "He told me he put me in that cage because he loved me too much. He apologized, and I forgave him. But once again he abandoned me the second I was no longer needed!" He yelled, punctuating his sentence by throwing the display his hand was on to the ground.
His eyes flashed the same reddish gold from their first visit, and for a split second they felt a shiver go down their spine.
~~
Two weeks passed before he came back to the shop.
Y/N never brought up his father again.
It took a while before they were completely comfortable around him again. His next visit they'd sat in silence, both on their stools behind the counter, neither knowing exactly what to say, until he'd finally broken the tension–
~~
Y/N was leaned over the counter, head down against the wood, Nick sitting next to them, back against the wall with his arms crossed and brows slightly furrowed. He'd shown up an hour before and neither of them had spoken past a small greeting.
The sun had long since set, and as they waited for one of them to speak, the clock ticked past eight.
With a sigh, Y/N shook their head and stood up, ready to go lock up for the night. But as they went to slide past Nick, and go to the door, he stopped them.
"Y/N?" He started. He wasn't looking at them, but rather staring very intently through them to the other side of the shop, with his eyes set and his mouth pulled into a thin line.
"Are you afraid of me?"
They didn't respond right away, rather they looked down at the hand holding onto their sleeve. The hand that belonged to someone they'd come to care for over the last few months. Someone who, while he was rude, and jerkish, and definitely had some family issues to work out, they'd begun to love.
"No, definitely not." They decided, looking back up to his face, into those blue eyes now shining with a mix of mischief and relief upon hearing their response.
The hand grasping their sleeve moved, sliding up their arm to their rest at the top of their neck, cupping their jaw. "You should be." He said, standing and inching his body impossibly closer in the cramped space. His head leaning down to theirs, mouth now hovering no more than a couple inches above their own. "I'm not good."
"I didn't say that you were." Their eyes no longer looked into his as they spoke, but rather at his lips so close to theirs. One small move and they could close the gap.
Glancing back up into his eyes, there was a spark of reddish gold before he surged forward and crashed his lips onto theirs.
The kiss wasn't gentle, he wasn't a gentle person, but the second their lips touched Y/N knew they couldn't go back. Every small motion felt like fireworks had gone off, Y/N's lips moving with his as their hand slid upwards into his ashy hair, needing him closer.
When he finally pulled away, allowing Y/N to breathe, they couldn't help but follow him back; lips trailing just behind his only stopping when he placed a finger upon them, freezing them in their tracks.
When they opened their eyes, the smirk they'd come to know was wide on his face, and an emotion Y/N couldn't quite grasp was mixing with the mischief still present in his eyes. Seconds passed as if they were hours before he finally broke the silence again.
"Did I ever tell you I used to have a puppy?"
~~
That was over a month ago now.
He hadn't come in since.
They didn't know why he hadn't returned. Maybe he'd still been upset about Y/N asking about his father, maybe he didn't feel the same way and the kiss had been a mistake in his eyes. They didn't know, but they reached their own conclusion after three weeks with no word from him.
He was a jerk, and it was just finally time it came back to bite Y/N too.
The more they thought as they went back into their old routine of helping, finishing chores, and waiting, they realized just how little they actually knew about him. He'd never given them a number, never said the full names of the people he spoke about, never even given them his own last name. He'd left them no way to find him, and at this point Y/N wasn't even sure if Nick was his real name.
He was just some asshole who played with their emotions, and then left.
They'd be lying to themself, though, if they said they never wanted to see him again.
Every night since they still waited, sat behind the counter until they closed at 8:00, some little part of them holding out hope that maybe, just maybe he'd come back by if they kept the doors open.
But he hadn't, and the small sliver of hope they had left was beginning to fizzle out.
As the clock struck eight and Y/N locked the doors and began their walk to the bus home, they made a decision.
Tomorrow they'll close at seven.