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Working at Mushnik’s Florists most definitely isn’t for the weak, not with the influx of customers, and sales, and the crowds! Gosh, the crowds!
Tons of people gather outside of the shop every morning, trying to get interviews with Seymour and Mr. Mushnik or trying to beat the morning rush in purchasing a bouquet, thankfully none paying much attention to you- a mere lowly flower arranger.
No, they’re much more interested in the boss! Or the botanical genius who discovered a new species of plant that was currently taking the centerstage of all the newspapers in town!
And you’re just… you. Maybe not feeling as important is starting to wear you down, distracting you a little at work… but you can’t afford that! Business is looking up, more customers and more money are flowing in! You need to keep up with the floral arrangements! You’re the most integral part of the entire shop!
But on top of not feeling important, you’d gotten concerning news… There was apparently a sudden and unusual disappearance of some dentist uptown.
This in particular scared you, as there was a strange incident yesterday.
Now, at home you don’t typically leave the blinds open due to there not usually being much to see besides the occasional hobo. But a few days ago, you were woken up in the middle of the night by a strange clanging sound and a heavy thud.
Rubbing your eyes drowsily, you sat up in bed, eyebrows furrowed. You slowly dragged the blanket off of yourself, shivering at the cold November air. You blindly bumped around until you were able to slip your slippers on and sluggishly padded over to the window.
At first glance, there was nothing unusual behind the panels. The usual pothole ridden streets, the familiar cracked cobblestone paths and rundown apartments. But then… something caught your eye.
It was faint, a gleam of something metallic reflecting in the moonlight. Your curiosity got the better of you and so you slipped on your fluffiest and warmest sweater to stave off the cold as you went outside to explore.
You carefully peeked out of your front door, looking around as if expecting something to jump out at you if you weren’t on high alert. Stumbling closer to where you heard the noise, you caught a bit of movement in your peripheral vision.
Snapping your head in the direction of the movement, you only slightly relaxed upon seeing a squeaky gate swaying in the growing wind. That’s unfortunate, since that means it’ll start raining soon. You don’t want to get caught in that.
Returning to your search, you start scanning the ground for whatever that metallic gleam was under the moonbeams, your eyes widening slightly when you spot a small dentists mirror on the ground near a staircase a few alleyways down.
You scurried over and shivered as you huddled tighter into your coat, picking up the small thing curiously. It seems your caution hadn’t won over curiosity as you pocket the small tool and glance around before trailing back to your door.
At the first crack of thunder you slammed the door shut behind you, missing the tell-tale sound of an axe chopping something over by the Florist shop and startled footsteps running away.
Well, all’s to say that since that incident, you’ve been on high alert. You know that a dentist from uptown certainly wouldn’t be coming down here just for no reason, and most certainly not leave his tools laying around! Additional stress is added with the pressure of keeping up with demand for flowers each day!
The next morning, you had barely stepped out of your house when a brown car rolled up a few streets down, two detective looking gentlemen stepping out with a notepad and a clipboard respectively. You glanced between them and the flower shop before curiously walking over to the two men.
The two men, who were police sent over to study the strange noise complaint they received last night, were thoroughly surprised when you talked a bit and then gave them the mirror you found. You explained the entire situation, and though you did not call the report, you gladly helped them as you were still a bit shaken.
By the time the two cops had tipped their hats and left you behind, you heard fast approaching footsteps from your left. You blinked in confusion as you turned to see Seymour speedwalking across the street, still buttoning his shirt with a nervous look on his face.
“Y/n? Y/n, what did they say to you?” He asked slightly out of breath, panting as he stared at the retreating cop car.
You, slightly caught off guard by the view of him buttoning his shirt and covered in a thin sheen of sweat, took a moment to respond. The only thing that came out of your mouth was a dumb “Uh- who?”
Seymour sent one last glance in the direction that the car drove away in, before turning his attention back to you. The sight of his beautiful sparkling eyes pinched in confusion and nerves made you frown slightly.
“The police! What did they say?” He urged, a slight tremble visible in his limbs as he took a small step closer to you.
You could feel yourself redden in the cheeks as you turned away, almost able to feel the warmth radiating from his breath with how close he stood. While you simply kept your head low and didn’t dare look at his magnificent gaze.
“Oh, no, nothing!” You stammered, turning your body away from him as you started walking across the street to the flower shop where Seymour had come from.
You were stopped mid-step when Seymour suddenly reached out to grab your wrist. The feel of his rough digits wrapped around your skin made a shiver run down your back. You had never gotten this close to Seymour, preferring to admire from afar… Though, your little workplace crush might be swayed into something more serious if he should continue to be so attractive, even when not trying to be.
“Y/n, talk to me! Tell me what they said!” He pleaded, gently pulling your wrist back towards him as he sent your the most pitiful puppy dog eyes you’ve ever seen. You could only bite your lower lip as you kept your gaze far away from his face.
Spinning around slowly, you lifted your gaze to look up at Seymour again as he kept his hand wrapped around yours.
“The police, they say a missing person case suddenly happened! Some dentist from uptown, and a mirror was left behind in a nearby alleyway!” You say worriedly, a deep frown on your face as you can feel that familiar fear bubbling up back inside of you again.
Seymour’s eyes widened behind his glasses as his grip on your wrist faltered, before he let his hand drift away completely. “The police… they said that?”
Slowly, you nod as you turn back around. You walk across the streets quickly, not bothering to check for any cars as those are a rare and strange spotting down in this dump of downtown. Your heels click against the pavement as Seymour frantically chases behind you in order to keep up.
“Yes, I… I don’t know what to think. Everything’s just been so… stressful! And now there’s a missing person, and suspected foul play! Right here, in our home!” You ramble, your voice starting to pick up in panic as you finally make it to the front door of the shop.
Your hand floats aimlessly mid-air as you don’t reach for the doorknob yet, something stopping you. A strange feeling of emptiness and dread filling your chest as everything starts crashing over you at once.
“I- I can’t… I can’t do this!” You say as you let your arm drop completely, rushing past Seymour to sit down on the edge of the sidewalk before you collapse.
It’s bad enough dealing with a panic attack by yourself, let alone having your crush watch as you start to sob. Curled tightly into a ball, uncaring about your dress becoming dirty on the mud you’re sure you’re sitting on.
The sound of footsteps squelching against the still damp and dirty pavement from last night’s rain fill your ears as you can feel Seymour’s presence looming over you.
“Don’t cry, Y/n! You don’t know what happened, maybe… maybe that dentist is still out there, thriving!” He comforts as he sits besides you on the sidewalk, an awkward distance away.
He debates whether to rest a hand on your back, unsure if you would appreciate or even want his comfort and support as you cry into your hands.
“I’m sorry,” You sniffle, chuckling slightly even as your makeup starts to get ruined. “I’ve been a little under the weather lately.”
“No, don’t be sorry, Y/n! He was a cree- I mean… I’m sure that everything’s going to get better? What’s wrong, you can talk to me…?” Seymour says softly, his eyebrows furrowing slightly as his eyes melt at the sight of you under so much distress.
“It’s nothing! Nothing I can’t handle…” You say dismissively as you wipe your wet cheeks, only smearing your mascara further.
Frowning, Seymour reached into his pocket and pulled out a white handkerchief, slowly moving it towards you as if unsure of his own actions. His cheeks flush a rosy red as his expression softens impossibly further, giving you his small signature nervous smile.
“It’s alright to feel sad, you’re a very nice person Y/n, and I’ve always known that…” Seymour says softly, scooting ever so slightly closer to you. “Here, take this. Raise your head, wipe off your mascara. You don’t need any of that.”
You sniffle softly as you nod almost imperceptibly, taking the handkerchief and using it to dry your eyes, wiping off your ruined makeup along with it.
You look back up at Seymour with a grateful look, noting the way his eyes widen slightly, the flush creeping up his neck as his breath catches in his throat at your faces being mere inches away from each other.
“Thank you… Seymour.” You whisper softly, seeing the way Seymour shudders at the sound of his name leaving your lips so tenderly.
Your eyes flick from his rosy cheeks, his slightly parted and damp lips, and his curly brown hair that’s still slightly messy from getting ready so quickly. Just as much as you’ve been observing him, it seems that Seymour’s been doing the same.
“If… If you ever need something- anything! You can tell me, I’m… your man?” Seymour murmurs lowly, his eyes locked with yours, unwavering and filled with so much hope it makes your chest tighten.
“Yeah… yeah, I’d like that.” You whisper back softly.
In what may have been a split second decision, Seymour slowly brings his hand up, cupping your cheek. Your breath hitches as his thumb gently traces over the curve of your cheek, wiping away any remnant teardrops from your eyes.
Staring into Seymour’s eyes, you can feel yourself getting lost in the beautiful galaxy that he presents. Every small eyelash that frames his eyes, his pink and parted lips that let out small breaths the longer you stare at each other, the small gleam of meekness in his eyes as he starts doubting himself the longer you say nothing.
After a moment of debate, you flutter your eyes closed, leaning into his face slowly, so slowly to let him pull back if he wants to.
He doesn’t want to.
The soft, tentative press of your lips against each other sends sparks and fireworks launching throughout your body, the overwhelming joy and relief of finally having him in your arms after months of pining for him secretly making your head spin in dizzying delight.
You wrap your arms around Seymour’s neck as his other hand cups your other cheek, holding your head steady as he tilts his head slightly to deepen the kiss.
The sensation is the most electric and heart-fluttering thing you’ve ever felt. The feeling of Seymour’s lips chasing your own hungrily makes every tiring day worth it in the end.
Seymour barely pulls away for breath, his expression starved as he only gasps in a large lungful of air before swooping back in for a more passionate kiss as he wraps his arms around your entire body, holding you close.
Your moment is only broken up by the sound of someone clearing their throat behind the two of you.
“So… the plot seems to be thickening between my employees.” Mr. Mushnik says with an obvious tone of disapproval, his foot tapping against the pavement as he crosses his arms.
Seymour pulls away from you and immediately retracts his arms to himself, staring wide-eyed up at your boss as his mouth hangs wide open.
“M-Mr. Mushnik, sir! You scared me!” He stammers out, his face as bright as a tomato as he stands up quickly, nearly toppling over in his haste.
Mr. Mushnik only eyes him for a moment, sending him a steely glare as he looks back down at you.
“Y/n. Run along. You got the day off.” He says before ushering Seymour back into the shop, murmuring something under his breath before closing the door behind the two of them.
With the blinds down and closed, you can’t see in at all, but you can hear faint shouting in either anger or disbelief. You don’t waste a moment, scrambling to your feet and rushing back across the street to your house.
You certainly aren’t going to be staying in a ruined and dirty dress all day, along with listening to your boss and (maybe) boyfriend(?) yell at each other.
Sighing and looking out the window one last time, you close the blinds and slump back onto your bed. You smile as you can feel your cheeks heating up, tomorrow is surely going to bring some interesting developments… Especially now that you know Seymour definitely likes you too.