Work Text:
In a place, not far off from somewhere else, there was a great kingdom. And in that kingdom, there was the king, Harumichi Aoyagi, known for his efforts as a swordsman and leader, even becoming a general before taking the highest position of power.
And there was also the prince, Toya Aoyagi, who was destined to take the throne and succeed just as his father intends. There was just one problem.
Toya couldn't bear to pick up a sword anymore. All those endless lessons on holding your sword in the right way and those spars ending in him on the ground had wore him down. And worst of all, his father was the one who would teach him. Toya could still remember times where his hands would be aching, and his father would still make him try again one more time.
He wouldn't dare touch a sword. Not anymore.
Right now, he's away from the castle walls and out in the bustling town. He enjoyed walks through the streets, even through the times where people would clear the way for him.
Children, adults, and elders alike would wave his way, and he would politely wave back. Maybe he'd even have a small chat with someone about "how their products selling" and "yes, the weather has been the best it ever has in a while, I agree."
It was always nice to mingle with others. It made Toya happy.
Before long, orange came to warn the blue that the night was coming. Toya should be heading back to the castle now.
He was on his way when he bumped shoulders with somebody.
"Ah-"
They both turned to look at who they bumped into.
Toya was looking at a guy, probably his age, with bright orange hair like the sunset in the sky, the only thing sticking out was a dyed streak of yellow.
"Oh.. apologies." Toya said.
The guy was holding a bundle of flowers in his hands, wrapped up and protected, but was sloppily held now that he was staring at the prince.
"Prince Aoyagi! Please excuse me, I'm on my way inside." He flashed an awkward smile, and turned around quickly.
Toya took the moment to discreetly look inside the place.
Even if the lights were off inside, it looked lively. On the walls there were painted patterns of vines with leaves running through a warm yellow wall. Wooden shelves lined up around, keeping possibly extra supplies and assortments of flowers, with a wooden work desk off to the right.
The guy opened his door and flicked on the lights, taking a vase with some flowers already in it off one of the shelves; setting it down on his table with an assortment of tools before he saw that Toya was still standing outside. He walked back out.
"Don't you have somewhere to be?" He asked.
"Oh, yes, I do." Toya said, but he didn't want to up and leave just yet.
"Then..?"
"May I ask for your name?"
The guy's eyes widened, but then he sighed like he should've seen it coming.
"Yeah, that figures.. My name is Akito Shinonome. I work in this flower arrangement shop."
Shinonome walked back in, leaving the door open slightly.
Toya followed him inside, and went to the work table he saw. Shinonome looked up, realized he was still here next to him, and straightened up in his stool before talking again, cutting the bottom of the flower's stems with a knife at an angle.
"My father actually owns the place, but he left it in my care. It's nothing special."
"Shinonome.. the famous painter?"
"Yes, that's him ..I don't know what made him decide what flower arranging has to do with painting the flowers, but he bought the place and I got into it because it seemed like something worth trying."
Toya noticed that he muttered the more blunt things he said.
The two of them silently stood/sat as Shinonome worked. What would a prince and a flower arranger who've just met talk about?
"..There, all done." Shinonome said, stepping off his stool, moving to the side of the table for a better angle.
The flowers he was carrying before were sunflowers, and white lilies looked to already be in progress. The flowers were set up in such a way that it looked like the sunflowers were the star of the show, with lilies framing them out the sides and wrapped up in a cylindrical dark green vase.
"It looks wonderful, Shinonome."
"Huh? Oh, thanks, I guess. This one actually came out decent."
Shinonome sat back on his stool, looking at his creation.
Looking at the arranged flowers gave Toya a flare in his chest. It started burning in him. The chance for something new.
"....How hard is it to arrange flowers?" Toya suddenly blurted.
"What?"
Toya felt his burning retreat backwards.
"I just think it looks.. fun, and I wish to try."
Shinonome looked at him shockingly, then changed expressions and turned on his stool with his fist on his chin, looking away from him.
Before Toya could get a word in, Shinonome turned back around.
"You need to leave. The prince shouldn't stay out so late because of some flowers."
Toya looked out the window, and saw the night. Did the sun set faster than usual?
He and Shinonome walked outside. It was chilly, but bearable. Toya could get home safe and fine.
He felt a bit let down, but he'll live. He could find something else to do.
He started walking away, looking up at the sky, when Shinonome called out to him.
"Prince Aoyagi, come back again tomorrow afternoon! ..maybe I'll show you something."
The burning feeling returned, but in a nice simmer. It's something new.
"Good night, Shinonome!" Toya called back to him, before continuing to walk to the castle, now in a nice stride. He'll have to deal with his father, most definitely, but the burning feeling in his chest is giving him a rush he hasn't felt in a while.
It's nice.
---
As Akito woke up and saw the light stream through the windows of his room, confusion loomed over him about what happened last night. How did he end up making the prince of the kingdom come over to his shop? He sighed while heading over to a book he owned containing information on various flowers. Roses, Forget-me-nots, Daffodils... He closed the book. Nothing was really calling to him.
He decided to go out and buy something to eat. He can figure it out after his stomach isn't yelling at him.
He walked out to the town square, where the clock read 9:00. 3 hours is a while until afternoon, he has time.
He bought pancakes to eat and aimlessly walked around town.
Considering how the prince seemed really determined to try this out, he probably wouldn't pay much attention to the type of flowers to use. Maybe Akito has this ridiculous (but valid, it's the prince) urge to make a good impression, but he should probably sort out what flowers to use that won't be a bother before it's too late.
---
"Toya."
He heard his name be called as he was about to leave to the town. Morning light streamed through the windows of the large throne room, his father sitting in his eminent seat.
Toya stopped, exhaling as he turned around. There was a mix of frustration and disappointment on his father's face.
"You returned late last night. What were you doing?"
Of course, Toya should've expected this. By the time he came back to the castle, his father was asleep, so he had quietly went into his room. Toya never told his father about his new endeavor with the flower arranger, so it made sense for him to be upset about his late return.
"I was with somebody I had met that evening. Time had passed, and it was night by the time I returned." Toya kept his response quick; He had a sudden impulse to bolt out and meet with Shinonome.
"You meet with someone in the evening without my knowledge of it?" His father stood up from his throne and walked down the steps as he spoke, "Is this the kind of image you want as the future king?"
Toya clenched his fists.
"Maybe we should go back to sword training." His father muttered, disappointed.
"..I have things I wish to do!" Toya shouted, "I don't wish to wield a sword! I want to do something else! Anything else!"
Toya opened his mouth to say more, but his father's booming voice returned the bile he had just spat at him.
"I have been preparing and teaching you for a reason! Why don't you understand what I'm trying to do!"
Silence. Neither of them knew how to respond.
Toya averted his gaze while the familiar pain of regret and frustration washed over him.
"....Prince Aoyagi."
He looked up at the sound of his name to see a servant standing next to his father. "You have an errand to attend to."
When Toya responded, he hesitated. "Yes.. I will get to it. Please tell me the details of it."
He motioned the servant to come with him as he walked out of the throne room while a bitter relief went through his body, like a breeze in the spring.
---
Akito walked back to the town's clock to check the time:
11:00.
He hurried back to the shop to check his stock of flowers.
Akito was worried for no reason. He had a regular stock of flowers and the ones he was low on weren't too urgent at the moment. He scratched the back of his head frustratingly.
He is perfectly fine. He is properly supplied, he has the tools he needs. Akito sighs, annoyed at himself. He's usually all alone, so doing this process in front of someone, hell, "teaching" someone how to do it feels way out of his skill set.
Anxiety is, on instinct, pushed down. Akito would rather start something than sit around worrying about it.
He takes out a cylindrical vase -- they're easy to start and work with -- and stares at his flowers once more. The composition ideas just weren't coming.
He looked around for something to strike him, but usually all of the things he makes get thrown out eventually or given to off to clients.
Then it hit him. He looks around for dark and light blue flowers..
Strict Forget-me-nots, good. He also grabs lobelias to give some variety and sets them down on some cloth before going back to find darker blue flowers.
He finds dark blue lacecap hydrangeas. They're quite tall, but he can cut down the stems.
He grabs tape and tapes down lines on the top of the vase, creating a box in the middle. He pours in some water, and gets to work on how he wants the flowers to be arranged.
---
That errand Toya did took longer than he expected. It was probably noon by now. On his way to the flower shop, he looked at the town clock; 12:15.
When he opened the door into the shop, he saw Shinonome, dozed off, his head down on his crossed arms.
There wasn't a bell or any creaking sound on the door, so he didn't wake up when Toya came in.
He quietly walked closer to the desk Shinonome was asleep at, looking at the flowers in the cylindrical vase.
It was a mix of light blue flowers and dark blue flowers, dark blue on the left and light blue on the right. It was just like his hair.
Shinonome made an arrangement based on the colors of his hair.
He couldn't place how he felt, but he knew it was some kind of happiness.
Toya was about to wake him up, but Shinonome did it on his own.
"....Agh-"
He flinched up in his stool, while Toya stepped back a couple steps.
"I see you made something." Did you think of me while you made this? is what Toya thought but didn't say.
"Yes, I did," Shinonome got up to stretch his sore back. "I couldn't really think of anything else, so I just went with it."
"It looks very nice."
"I guess. I could've done better if I had more time than an hour.."
They fell into an awkward silence.
"...Alright," Shinonome said, clasping his hands as he spoke, "Let's start making something."
"Right," Toya said, "What happens first?"
"First, we move this." Shinonome was holding the arrangement he made. He was walking across the room to a table, but Toya intercepted him and took the arrangement off of his hands.
"I want to help. Where do you want this to go?"
Shinonome looked caught off guard, but gestured to the table on the other side of the room.
After Toya set it down, he turned around to see a new vase on the work desk, along with other tools.
Shinonome was staring at his shelves on the walls, full of different flowers in different colors.
"Prince Aoyagi." He said
Toya walked to his side. "Yes?"
"I said I would show you the process, didn't I? You're helping me out."
Toya was very grateful for this, giving him a smile. "Thank you, Shinonome."
Shinonome looked to be dumbfounded, like an aura radiated from Toya when he thanked him.
"Uh, yeah. Anyways, see whatever flowers stick out to you. Don't think about the meanings of them for this, just pick the ones with nice colors."
"Okay."
Toya and Shinonome pick out some flowers together; reds and whites, and a bit of orange ones as transition flowers (suggested by Shinonome, he truly knows what he's doing).
As Toya watches Shinonome cut off the stems of the flowers to be shorter, he can't help but focus on his face. It's frowning a bit, but not from sadness; He's truly focused.
Toya feels himself smile. Shinonome is admirable.
When he looks up, Toya breaks his gaze.
"Let's put the tape on the vase and get to work."
"Right."
---
As Akito looks at what they made, he realized it looked like a sunset. The white flowers descended into red with orange in the middle.
When he looked at the prince, he was staring at it intensely.
"So, how did you feel about this?"
Aoyagi blinked, and then looked at him. "Huh?"
"Doing this whole process," Akito elaborated. He flexed his fingers, feeling the soreness when he curled them inward. "You might want to get up, by the way. We have been sitting for a while."
Aoyagi did as he said, and stretched too.
"Thank you, Shinonome. I've appreciated this time we spent together." Aoyagi smiled at him.
"Me too." Akito couldn't help but also smile at what was happening. He worked side by side with the prince. He felt lucky, of course, but intrigued by him as well.
With proper motivation, Aoyagi could do whatever he wanted.
Akito wanted to see it happen with this.
Aoyagi seemed to realize something he had forgotten, and his smile disappeared.
"I have to go back to the castle now." He said, his head lowered a bit as he walked to the door.
Just as the prince was about to leave, Akito took a chance.
"Would you like to come here more often? I realized that doing this alone isn't very enjoyable."
The prince was silent for a moment, but his answer was unwavering.
"Yes."
"Great. I'll see you soon then?"
The prince turned around and held out his hand.
"Yes. I will look forward to it." He sounded at ease, wildly different to how he was just seconds ago.
Akito took his hand and shook it, solidifying the sentiment.
After Aoyagi left, Akito rested his head on the door, exhausted. It was still blue outside, but he felt like he could sleep the rest of the day away.