Note: Happy very late birthday @sako-mii, my moon petal <3 I love you so so much! Also I hope you will finish your assignments soon so you can rest. I know you'll do amazing!!
This is based off the flower shop au we talked about ages ago, hopefully you like it <3
The trucks had been in front of the old boutique for weeks now. Sometimes, on early afternoons when they were drilling on the other side of the wall, you worried the vases on your shelves would come crashing down. Other times you heard hammering so loud that you couldn't help but wonder if they were going to demolish the place next door completely. That would have been fine by you hadn't the construction impacted the serene haven you'd created in your flower shop. While strolling pedestrians used to be drawn to your shop for the simple but lovely outdoor displays, now for the past month they circled the area due to the yellow and red warning signs around the place.
The day you finally got fed up with these disturbances and went to ask the renovators why they insisted on such ruckus, you learnt they were making adjustments for a clinic. With that, your irritation subsided to a degree. It was true that healthcare was scarce in this city—a new clinic would certainly benefit the residents of the area. In the end, you issued your complaint in a much more mild manner than you had initially planned, only making a sidenote of how the signs outside were obscuring the sidewalk, and returned to your shop in a state of defeat and disappointment.
The renovations did come to an end eventually, and it wasn't long before more people began to frequent the coastal street. Your business steadily regained its usual customer numbers and even started making slight extra profit—likely from the people who bought flowers for their loved ones at the clinic. You had seen a lot of new faces around, after all, and perhaps you had cursed whoever had been in charge of the renovations next door a little too harshly.
On a sunny afternoon, his arrival announced by the bell over the door, one of those new faces entered your shop. He was a tall, fashionable man with admittedly handsome features, and so you had to make a point not to stare for too long.
"Welcome," you greeted from where you were adjusting an array of peonys. You knew some customers preferred to look around at first and weigh the options of their purchase before approaching you, so you thought of letting him be. However, to your surprise, this solemn man spoke to you immediately.
"Good afternoon," he said, walking up to you, and you quickly stood from the floor to regard him. "I am Doctor Zayne. My clinic opened here a month ago."
Your eyes widened just the slightest. So it was him. He was the guy responsible for that whole havoc, for not informing you of his grand constructions before your vases were falling off the shelves.
You put on your most polite smile. "Oh, I'm Misa. I own this flower shop," you say and mentally dig yourself into a hole for sounding more pointed than you intended to, but Doctor Zayne wasn't put off. Instead, there was a hint of a smile at the corner of his lips.
Embarrassed, you tried to cover up you mishap and continued: "It's great to have another healthcare service in the city. Perhaps you are looking to decorate it?"
"No," Doctor Zayne said bluntly. "Healthcare services must take account the needs of their patients, that includes those with pollen allergies."
"I see." You tried to find the method in his logic. "But you're still located next to a flower shop?"
"The sea breeze will be enough to carry the pollen away."
You paused for an awkward second, looking around your shop. "Well, if blossoms are out of the question, I can introduce you to some indoor plants. They are very safe for children," you suggested, gesturing to some of your newly arrived Chinese evergreens. "We also have a small collection of handmade ribbon flowers."
Doctor Zayne politely refused. "No, thank you. That isn't what I came here for today."
Your smile wavered. What did he want then? There was no way this handsome doctor came to your shop just to apologise to you, much less make small-talk.
"I am looking for a bouquet for someone," he continued, and your heart sank at the disappointing but predictable outcome.
Still, you nodded and lead him to the flooral cooler where vases upon vases of different flowers sat arranged beautifully. As a minute passed, Zayne continued to look over his options silently. Having noticed he was glancing over at you every now and then, you were just about to ask if he had anything in mind when he finally spoke up.
"Those jasmines," he said decisively. "And some lilies of the valley."
With practiced hands, you collected the choices and arranged them into a neat bouquet. The result reminded you of a wedding bouquet, both of these flowers being very popular with brides as of late. Was he going to a wedding? Or maybe he had a special someone...
When you showed the doctor the arrangement you came up with, he hummed in thought. "I do not have much of an eye for aesthetics," he admitted and his hazel eyes flicked over to you. "What do you think?"
You thought for a second, the sweet fragrance of the flowers wafting in the air. To be honest, your throat burned with slight jealousy. You wished someone would gift you flowers like these, chosen with so much care and effort. "I can't speak for the person you're giving them to," you told him, a sincere smile gracing your features, "but if I received these, it would more than make my day."
He seemed pleased with that although you weren't sure why his eyes lingered on you for so long. "Then that is what I will go with."
After you had made the final adjustments and he paid for the bouquet, you were surprised to see him not turning to leave. He was certainly a strange one. "Is there anything else I can help you with?" you asked hesitantly.
Again, to your surprise, Zayne nodded. "Could you come look at this?"
Worried about the quality of your work, you hurried out from behind the cash register and were about to inquire about the problem when Zayne presented the bouquet to you in a gentlemanly fashion, bowing to you as he held it out. His eyes did not leave yours even as you stood there stumped, and for the first time you noticed their soft gaze, the hazel hue of them were both the sunlit branches and the moss that clothed an old oak tree.
The heavy beating of your heart almost distracted you from his words. You looked up at Zayne for an explanation but he did not budge so you hesitantly took the gift into your arms.
"I would like to extend my apologies to you," Zayne went on. "I heard from the workers that the construction of the clinic affected your business negatively."
That was correct, but you couldn't bring yourself to agree with him, not anymore when he was acknowledging it so sincerely. It would make you seem arrogant. "It's nothing really," you said nervously. "You don't need to go to such lengths..."
Zayne shook his head softly and insisted, "No, this is nothing compared to the trouble you faced." He watched intently as you modestly bended into accepting his gesture.
You took a deep breath, startled both by his courtesy and the surreality of the situation—it was straight from a romantic fantasy: from the flowers to the gentle way he was gazing at you. It made something inside you long for more.
"Well..." You chuckled, your face warm. "Thank you. I never imagined I would prepare a bouquet for myself."
At this, Zayne nodded in understanding. "It must certainly feel out of the ordinary but I wanted to contribute to your shop as well."
Your heart fluttered at the realisatsion. "Oh, that's very kind of you."
"There is of course a second reason for these flowers too."
"What is that?" you asked, curious how else this man could surprise you, but Zayne then glanced over at the clock on the wall.
"Apologies, my lunch break is about to end so I need to return to my work. It was a pleasure meeting you, Misa." He bowed his head to you once more. The hint of a warm smile remained on his lips as your eyes met for one final time. "I look forward to us working side-by-side."
"A-Ah, yes, likewise... Zayne." You hugged the jasmines and lilies close to your chest, watching the doctor take his leave.
The bell above the old door chimed once again, leaving you alone in your shop. Although the room was now more empty than a minute ago, your soul felt strangely full. You decided to finally drop your one-sided grudge against the faceless owner of the clinic next-door and look forward to getting to know the stoic but gentle doctor by the name of Zayne.
Little to your knowledge for the time being, this tender feeling was mutual. Beautiful as a jasmine and gentle as a lily of the valley, you had caught the eye of this seemingly somber man.
