Work Text:
Simon's days have fallen into a comfortable routine, and he enjoys it as a flower loves the sun.
Waking up next to his husband every morning is one of the best part of his day, the soundtrack of some old movie as the alarm marks the start of the day. Simon remembers a time were his body would automatically startle awake at certain hour, no matter if he was tired or how much sleep he got; now he needs the gentle help of the music, and still spends a few minutes tasting the calm scene.
After that, he wakes up Grace, who doesn't matter how loud the alarm is, he could only get up relatively fast by another human being. Simon was happy to be his human clock.
Grace greets him with a kiss, and instantly leaving the bed to change and clean himself and get some toast and sprint out of the apartment building at 7:20, where Adrian awaits for him with their car, destination Grover Cleveland middle school.
Simon prepares his work clothes and his prosthetic with more calm, having much more time to spare than the blonde. Before leaving the bedroom to make breakfast, Simon takes a look at the clock.
8:00 am
He walks down the hallway, noticing Bryan's bedroom door almost closed, and decides to take a look to make sure everything is fine. Opening the door slowly, Simon can see his son still sleeping; if he remembers correctly, he had a delivery that night and arrived very late at night.
Already on the living room there was Nikki, brushing her hair while watching some documentary on the TV.
"Good morning moonlight" Simon kisses his daughter cheek, and he's answered by being pull into a hug.
"Morning appa… you aren't late right?…"
"I'll take you to Cassell's Music, don't worry. Breakfast?" Nikki smiles and nods following her appa to the kitchen.
They leave their house at 8:45, Nikki taking control of the radio while Simon drives through the traffic.
"You should have let me drive" Nikki argued playfully.
"I'm not gonna let you drive on traffic this early in the morning, is boring. And its easier to drop you off at work like this" He saw his daughter roll her eyes, and Simon could only giggle and give in "when we go to Phoenix to visit my mom, I'll let you drive there".
"It's a promise!"
"Don't tell your brother"
Simon said goodbye to Nikki at 9:00 am.
Fifteen minutes later, he was in front of his flower shop. "Flower moon". The florist had another fifteen minutes before he had to open the shop. He's grateful about always leaving the shop with everything cleaned and prepared for the next day, or fifteen minutes wouldn't have been enough to be able to open the store.
Simon puts his apron, the pin with his name and makes the first round to take a look at every flower at the back of the store, noting which one are about to bloom, who needs a little cut, water, or anything else the beautiful flowers may need. Simon takes care of each one of them with a smile on his face.
At 9:30 am, the shop opens its door to the public.
Like every three days, there is an old man already waiting outside, the cane he uses for stability echoes through the shop.
"Good morning sir, what can I offer you today?" Simon asks as he puts a glove on his prosthetic arm, protecting it from small branches and leaves that could mess with the wiring.
"Oh, young man, you look as happy as always" And isn't that a funny comment? There was a time… "Are my three usual available?" the old man smiles widely.
"Two peonies for your wife, one daisy and one sunflower already on the work. Please fell free to look around" the old man nodded and Simon started working as the customer approached. He had been a usual at the flower shop for years now, so he probably knew the store better than Simon himself.
"They're visiting today… My daughter and my granddaughter, so of course i have to buy the three most beautiful women in the world the prettiest flowers. I cant wait to see the kid with that cute flower decorating her hair, running around with a smile on her face." He stopped his rambling to sit on a chair Simon had placed near the counter. "Of course I can't forget about my own mother, rest in peace, my wife and I are visiting her this weekend, we will come here to buy some for them."
"I can't wait for that." With the last touches and decorations, the order was ready.
"You do such a lovely job, young man, how much I owe you today?"
Ava walked through the door at 12:04 pm, coffee and tea in hand.
She worked on something administration related near the flower shop - she never explained Simon what exactly it was, a detail that annoyed him and the reason Ava continued doing it - and always spent her break with her old friend.
Leaving the cup of tea on the counter between her and Simon, she took a sip of her coffee before she started talking. "How's the morning treating you, Si?"
Simon finished cleaning his tools and walked at the other side of the counter, picking up the tea and sitting next to his friend. "Can't complain, got a bit busier than usual around ten, but that's good" A sip of the cup, green tea from the coffee next door; Simon's usual order that Ava knew by heart at this point. "How about you?"
"Wish it was the same, there was a bitch being the fucking bitch she was, wanting us to make something we don't do, lasted almost two hours. No one was able to finish what they had for the mourning" the vein in her forehead could be seen throbbing, Simon continued to listen in silence.
"Also, saw the kid - Bryan, specifically - out late at night, did he arrive home safe?" Despite her complaining and usual angry look, Ava has always deeply cared for the people she held close. A lot of people couldn't believe it.
There was a time Simon couldn't believe it too.
"Yeah, had a late delivery yesterday. Was peacefully sleeping when I left home this morning; and definitely continues to do now, he hasn't said anything on the family group chat"
"Good, that kid is horrible at handling guns."
Simon laughed "Stop trying to give weapons to the kids - and I'm sure he just needs practice. Or something short-range."
The pair continued talking for a while, before Ava and Simon had to get back to work.
"Are you coming for dinner tonight? Nikki is going out with friends and I'm not sure if Bryan has work" asked Simon before Ava opened the door to leave.
"Can't today, I'm meeting with someone."
Simon raised an eyebrow at that, but before he could ask, Ava was already gone.
Ava left at 12:29 pm.
Bryan sent a message to the group chat at 13:27 pm. A good morning and a confirmation he had a delivery that night, and would pick up Nikki after that to bring her home after the outing with her friends.
Nikki's friends had offered to ride her back home, and it was an option - but neither Simon nor Grace really trusted those two guys. Sarah was a nice girl, but she still didn't have her license.
Simon's lunch break starts at 14:00 pm, and was two hours long.
Today he was eating lunch with Rocky on his mechanic's, as he has already received all the cars and machines he needed to fix, he wouldn't have to deal with any costumers - that was his coworkers job.
Having made a stop at a local burger joint to get both their food, Simon arrived at "The BioDome repairs" forty five minutes after his lunch break started. Rocky's coworkers greeted him and pointed at where his friend was working. The sound of the paper bag resting on a table made Rocky aware of Simon's presence.
"Friend Simon! Happy to seeing you!" Even after being on the USA for decades now, Rocky still talked on a broken english most of the times. Simon would argue that is because Rocky found it funny.
And that he didn't want to fully forget that english wasn't his mother language, being a long time since he last visited his childhood home in Spain. Simon was born on the states, but his mother sometimes talks about how beautiful South Korea was, and how much she missed certain places.
Maybe they could travel there someday, now that life is being kinder to everyone. He has never had the chance to see his mom place of birth, and he's sure his kids and Ryland would love to.
Simon is sure that when he tells Grace, he will move the ocean to grant Simon that wish. Just like Simon would make for him.
"Bought what you asked for. How much do I have to wait?" Simon rested his back on the wall, looking at his friend walk around the room.
"Nothing. Todo finished, but not wait for Rocky, start to eat. Gonna have to clean these manitas" Rocky moved his hands as he sprinted towards the bathroom. Simon ignored his request and waited for his friend before they both started eating.
Rocky scolded him for ignoring his request.
Simon ignores that too while eating his burger.
The mechanic talks about anything at all, just filling the room while both of them finish their respective food.
"Question, You are planning on using your engineer title? Simon knows I have contacts to lot persons, could give any engineer job Simon could want"
Simon thinks his answer for a moment - or, actually, thinks how to phrase it, he has always known the answer. At the end, it has been almost 15 years since he graduated college as a 30 years old.
He was still thankful to Ava for pushing (and bulling) him into getting there, even if managing the flower shop, the moving, and a recently adopted Nikki were already too many things at once. Simon values and loves knowledge as much as Grace does, and getting into bioengineering has also helped him with understanding his plants. A job where all that knowledge can be put in use, at it's full potential, sounds interesting.
But he loves Flower moon, he loves the costumers, he loves how all the flowers look and be able to look at them every work hour, he loves being able to take care of them and helping them bloom.
He loves that store because it was the first place where Nikki laughed after moving here.
He loves that store because he met Ryland there.
He loves that store because it was there where Bryan called him appa for the first time.
Simon loved his routine and the memories it brought him.
"And I know that Rocky knows, that I'm content with my flower shop" Simon smiled, and Rocky smiled widely back.
"That's the correct answer"
Later, they take a selfie to send to their respective partners, who is answered with a photo of Grace and Adrian eating their lunch together at the teacher's room. Stratt being seen at the background with her usual two cups of coffee.
Simon was back at his flower shop at 15:50 pm.
From 16 o'clock to 20 thirty pm, Simon gets to work without any major distractions.
He watered all the plants at the shop, organized what had been moved by customers that morning, and nurses the plants that need it.
Customers also enter the flower shop, at this hour is more frequent to see teenagers and young adults. Simon listens to what they have to say, and prepares the perfect bouquet for every situation.
When someone doesn't know exactly which flower to gift, Simon asks about what they wanna say to their loved one; and with small sentences and a few nods, Simon gives them a bouquet of flowers that tell the tale he had been entrusted.
Every time a client comes back, they always reassure him that the flowers send the exam message they wanted. Even if the receiver wasn't with them anymore.
Simon could only thank his mom, who taught him English, Korean, and a big part of the flowers language. The first seed that later bloomed on his loves for plants.
Simon closes the store at 20:30, and after cleaning everything, leaving it ready for tomorrow, he leaves the flower shop, driving back to his house at 21:00 pm.
At 21:20 pm, Simon sees Carl leaving the building, starting his night walk. They both greet each other, and Simon is finally back home.
Opening the door to his apartment, he isn't able to finish it unlocking it by himself as Ryland opens the door.
"I've been waiting for you!" Ryland launches himself into a hug, almost making both of them fall to the floor - if only Simon wasn't used to it "Dinner is almost ready"
"I'll take a shower first then, wait for me a little longer?"
"Always"
Simon doesn't check the clock to see when they finished dinner and moved to the sofa to watch some shitty movie, both resting into one another while Grace talks about what the kids did today.
They sometimes get messages from their kids - Bryan's confirmation that every delivery was going great, a photo of the board game Nikki and her friends were playing on the bar. The married couple answered with a photo of the TV.
Ryland put the phone aside before Nikki could spoil the end of it.
At some point, their yawns get annoying enough that they move to the bed. Falling asleep next to one another.
Simon hears hours later both their kids returning, and how they walk through the house trying to make as little sound as possible to not disturb their dads sleep. The florist falls back asleep easily after a few minutes, now calmer with the confirmation that both Nikki and Bryan were back home.
Tomorrow, everything would be as perfect, and he doesn't need to pray to any god above.