Chapter Text
Tei is standing at the counter, trying to stop himself from bashing his head into the till. He’s stood, hands behind his back, watching the customers in the store. It’s a fairly busy day, because it’s February 14th. Now, he gets to watch men of all ages rush to buy last-minute bouquets for their partners. It’s slightly pathetic, watching so many people wait until the last possible second to buy flowers for the people they love.
Tei sighs. God, if he had to work a shift at the flower shop on Valentine’s Day, he should at least get flowers as compensation. Unfortunately for him, he has nobody to do that for him. His stingy manager would rather die, and his coworkers thought they were better than him because they only worked one job. They must think they’re really cool for that.
Looking around, he spots two teenagers in the corner. They only looked to be a year older than him. They stood out heavily from the rest of the customers, as they were both sobbing.
Tei didn’t really know how to react to crying customers. He’d dealt with a few before, watching them wail as they pulled out an ex-lover's favourite flower for funeral decor, but he’d always called his manager. He wasn’t paid enough to deal with it. These two were different, though. They stood, silently, hugging each other as they held two large armfuls of flowers. What on earth did two teenagers need this many flowers for?
The blonde girl, with her ponytail and leotard, held an assortment of blue, red, orange, white, gold, and pink flowers in her arms. She was cradling them. The boy next to her, dressed in a weird blue ice skater’s uniform, held a similar-looking bundle. Tei noted that he had more red flowers than the girl.
Tei groaned internally, cursing himself for being a nice person, and walked over to them. Before he could check on them, though, a man with a suspicious lack of a shirt appeared. Tei backed off slightly so as not to intrude and was taken aback by the man’s appearance.
I mean, no shirt and no shoes. Did this guy have any manners?
He still wasn’t paid enough to do with this. Plus, he didn’t take much enjoyment in talking to half-naked guys in the middle of flower shops. However, he was now interested in him and watched him from behind the counter.
The man was kneeling next to the crying teenagers, chatting with them idly about their flowers. Apparently, they were going to deliver them to the graves of some kids they used to know. They were meeting up with two more boys later to visit them.
Tei was interrupted by a bouquet being slammed onto the counter in front of him. The customer was busy on a phone call. The customer handed him a stack of money that was far too little and pointed at the phone. Awesome, just great. So this was how his day was going to go.
“Excuse me, sir! I think you made a mistake! You see, this bundle is actually-”
The customer sighed, reached into his pocket, and dropped his wallet on the counter. He gestured dramatically at Tei and continued his phone call. It was rude, considering Tei had put on his best customer service voice for him and everything.
“Man, if you’re gonna buy something, get off the phone and talk to the cashier!”
Tei jumped slightly at the voice coming from behind the customer. The strange man from earlier, still with no shoes or shirt, was hovering over the shoulder of the man. Holy shit, he was tall.
The customer scowled, muttered something on his phone, and finished paying like a normal person. As he walked off, Tei breathed out in relief.
“Damn. What a lovely guy.”
“You’re telling me. I swear, Valentine's Day turns people into monsters.”
The man grinned at him. Now that he was standing straight, Tei could have a better look at him. He was wearing a green jacket around his torso, unzipped. He was wearing matching green sweatpants, and his hair was tied into a high ponytail at the back of his head. He looked like he might break into a run at any minute.
Maybe Tei had judged him too quickly. Other than the lack of clothes, he didn’t look too bad.
“What happened to those kids you were talking to, anyway?”
“Oh, them? I said I’d pay for their flowers. They’re in mourning, apparently. Dude, can you believe that twelve of their friends died within a few months? Can’t imagine being that unlucky.”
“God, how does that even happen? Poor kids, man. I hope I’m never in that situation.”
“Neither. Anyways, I said that I’d pay, and walked them out. They’re doing a bit better now.”
“Hey, that’s a great thing to do. Though, judging by your lack of shoes, I'm surprised you could pay for them.”
“Wow, man. Can’t even do a good thing for one person these days.”
He shrugged, winking at Tei.
“Nah, I have enough. I also own shoes, but I just didn’t want to wear them. I’m only in town for the flowers, after all.”
“Well, what are the flowers for?”
That seemed to embarrass the blonde man, as he started fidgeting with the bouquet in his hands.
“Well, em, I was passing through for archery practice, but I saw you working in the window. I thought you looked down, and didn’t want to see a pretty guy sad! So, I wanted to say hi!”
Tei arched an eyebrow. This was probably a bad joke. Someone saw him out of the window, working his ass off, and decided he was so dreamy that they simply must hit on him? Sure. Whatever.
Though the guy was grinning at him with such a genuine expression that he couldn’t figure out his intentions. Maybe he did just want to say hi.
“Did you think I was a girl or something?”
“Man, what? You look nothing like a girl. That’s stupid.”
“Well, sorry. Forgive me for questioning what a random man was doing, hitting on me in the middle of my shift.”
“I don’t need to be random. I’m Akiba. Akiba Taku.”
The name fit him well, Tei thought.
“Akiba Taku, huh? You’re an archer?”
He grinned again.
“Yeah, man! I love archery! I’m surprisingly good at it, as well. You should watch sometime.”
“Are you flirting with me again, Taku?”
Akiba smirked. He was annoyingly cocky.
“Maybe. Show up, and we’ll see.”
“I honestly would, if I didn’t have to finish my shift.”
“Oh yeah. What’s your deal, anyways?”
“My deal?”
“You know! Do you work here for your entire day? Plus, I still don’t actually know your name.”
He really didn’t want to get into this right now.
“Tei Atsushi. I’m only part-time. I have a few jobs.”
Gauging that it was a sensitive subject, Akiba switched courses, leaning on the counter.
“So, Tei, what are your favourite flowers, anyway?”
“Well, I like hibiscus. If I had to pick, they’d be my favourites. But I don’t mind tulips, either.”
“Good picks. I like Higanbana, myself. I’ve always been attracted to it, you know?”
That was pretty surprising to Tei. He was expecting an answer like “Tulips” or “Weeds”. This guy knew his shit.
“Anyways, Tei, these are for you. If you want them, anyway.”
He presented the bouquet, a simple mix of Calla lilies and Iris.
Tei smiled and took the bouquet. Hey, if a guy wanted to buy him flowers, he wouldn’t turn them down.
“You still have to pay for these, you know.”
“I know that, Dude!”
A cough from behind Akiba told Tei that the line wasn’t as empty as he thought. Man, he was gonna die later if his manager ever found out he was flirting on company time.
“Well, see you later, Tei!”
“Bye, Akiba.”
He only realised he didn’t have his number when he was already gone.