How lovely it is to love so much and to be loved just as much in return. Like spring blooming the flowers in a grassy field, a sight so beautiful that you might wish for it to stay as it is eternally. But nothing can always last forever in bloom as the seasons change, things wither and die and are then born anew stronger and lovelier than they were before. Just like feelings and love itself, they cannot always be the same. The feeling in one moment can change just as easily as the seasons pass – whether for the good or bad, the question is always if it could survive the harsh winter to see spring once more.
Perhaps that was the case with Chiyuu and Jamil. Like flowers blooming in spring, their feelings blossomed into a love that could make anyone stare in awe – its beauty never failing to captivate anyone who sees such a display. Though the most beautiful flowers always have to go through the winter storms, some of them will wither and some will survive. Like a stubborn flower refusing to let go of the ground, they manage to mend their relationship time and again only to prove their bond as something that goes deeper than the surface level.
Love for Chiyuu is like a warm meal in a little cottage. Something so fulfilling and full of a strange sense of nostalgia that waves over someone as they take the first bite – and then crave for the other. A simple yet thoughtful gesture that could charm thousands. A love so heartfelt and pure that nothing could ever compare to the simplicity it held.
Love for Jamil is like traveling the world. Each and every experience with them was new and thrilling – it sent exhilarating shivers down his spine to the point that it was addicting and he couldn't get enough. Something he wanted, something he secretly longed for but couldn't. Such a passionate romance was fitting for someone like him. These two together were enough to invoke a love story so gentle yet passionate that it could be passed down from generation to generation.
The butterflies fluttered about in the grassy field as Chiyuu and Jamil sat down on the picnic blanket placed atop the grass. The setting sun was enough to give them an orange hue so photogenic that Jamil was tempted to steal shots of Chiyuu while she wasn't looking. Chiyuu could only let out a small laugh as Jamil looked away embarrassedly after he realized he was staring at her a tad too hard. He apologized profusely, "sorry, I didn't mean to."
"It's not as if it was a bad thing, I don't mind," Chiyuu reassured him as she placed her hand atop his and gently caressed the back of his palm with her thumb as she smiled at him so wistfully. She decided to throw in a little something to tease him since she was feeling partially braver – perhaps it was because of the ambiance of the whole situation. "You can stare at me as much as you'd like."
Jamil was flustered. Although he hid it well, it was enough for Chiyuu to tell that he was trying to save himself from embarrassment. She thought it was cute how he would desperately try to hide any sort of weakness he shows around her but always ends up failing because she knew him too well to fall for his silly acts. It takes knowing someone to love someone fully, and she was dedicated. Jamil could only sputter out: "Aren't you embarrassed saying things like that?"
"Hmm?" Chiyuu only hummed as she took his hand and gripped his shoulder as she gently nudged him to lay on her lap. She pretended to act as if she didn't hear anything he said. But instead of pressing further or getting angry, he could only let out an exasperated sigh as he lied down on her lap and stared at her eyes looking down on him so gracefully. Her eyes sparkled like stars he would see back in his hometown, so clear and mesmerising. "I don't know what you mean by that."
He pouted his lips slightly, "you're pretending as if you don't know again. I don't want to ask you twice so save me from embarrassment."
"Hehe, I meant it. You have each and every right to stare at me – I'll allow it since you're my boyfriend." She mused, and Jamil could only grumble in response to such an embarrassing thing to say but he doesn't mind. He really, doesn't mind. Not when she calls him her boyfriend so tenderly with such a voice to the point that it made him all choked up. She gently ran her fingers over his hair and weaved flowers into his hair carefully as she hummed her favourite tune. How lovely it was to love so much…
… And to be loved just as much. Jamil gently tucked a strand of her hair behind her ear as he gazed at her fondly. "You know, since I get boyfriend privileges, don't you wanna know your girlfriend privileges?"
Chiyuu flushed red, letting out a nervous laugh as she didn't expect Jamil to say something like that with a straight face but it wasn't unwelcome – she thought it was cute how hard he tried to match her energy and pace "I don't know, do I?"
"Of course you do, you've got to know your rights as my beloved."
"... Your beloved," Chiyuu looked away, embarrassed. But Jamil wasn't satisfied just yet with just making her a tad embarrassed, he needed to give back what she gave him tenfold even at the cost of his dignity – not like he had any intention upholding his whenever he's around Chiyuu, but it was just how far he was willing to go.
Jamil grabbed her chin and forced her to look directly at him, stroking the outline of her gently with his finger as he muttered – "you're the only one who can look at me like this. You're the only one who can make me feel as if my heart is about to explode into a thousand pieces. You're the only one whose eyes I adore so much that I start comparing them to the night sky I adored so much and find them lacking compared to the sparkle in your eye. You're the only one… for me."
Chiyuu paused, and Jamil could only smirk as he saw her face turn bright red as she hid her face behind her hair, trying to get Jamil away from looking at her extremely embarrassed state but she thought it was so unfair how he could say such things after some light-hearted teasing and banter. He was definitely more childish today than she thought, but if it meant him flattering her like that, she didn't particularly mind. Her heart was so full of love it was as if it was about to burst and stain Jamil with her crimson. She stuttered out: "Y-You…"
"What?"
"Aren't you embarrassed!?" She huffed, repeating his words from a moment ago and proving Jamil right all over again. In the end, he won the battle between the two and he didn't mind taking a rematch. "I can't believe you started blurting out that kind of thing. I… that's so unfair…"
"I'm just returning what you gave me moments ago, I'd say this is a pretty fair trade between you and me."
"No, no – if that was a light jab, you punched me straight in the guts with no mercy at all. You're just straight up ruthless, Jamil."
"What can I say… I'm the type to always return the favour tenfold no matter how big it is. It's how I was raised, and I still stand by it. You are no exception to this rule I brought up."
"That's not fair…"
"Oh, but that reminded me. I did forget one more thing to add to that small list of your privileges – do you wanna know what it was?"
"Do I…?" She did. She wanted to hear him flatter her one more time and tell her how she was the only one who could do this and that to him. She thought that it was a special thing for her and only her – similar to sweet nothings save for the fact that they were full of nothing but love and adoration for her.
Jamil leaned in until their lips made contact with each other and melted into a sweet kiss. A simple yet lovely kiss that conveyed words that he could never say. "Only you have the right to kiss me like this."
hoooooooo boy guys youre all in for SUCH a ride :)) this is 5k words long so i broke it up into 2 parts!! also, this was LARGELY inspired off of the flower shop and tattoo parlor au that @thunderandrainclouds wrote (im linking it here!) and i thought “why not just write the au but with all our ocs” LMAOOOOO
she also drew some art, so i hope youll give her art work some love bc it LITERALLY SENDS ME ALL THE TIME
Akiko is my oc
Chiyo belongs to @thunderandrainclouds
Miyuki belongs to @kny-writings
so without further ado, please enjoy!
Part One || Part Two
“Have you heard? There’s going to be a new shop across the street,” Akiko says, looking out the window at the construction team that’s pointing at blueprints.
“Hah? Why the hell should I care?” Sanemi snaps, not bothering to look up from his client. Akiko rolls her eyes, directing her attention away from the busy scene outside and instead to her two co-workers, whom she hates with a passion.
The ever so quiet Giyuu that once snuck up on her, tapped her shoulder, scared the shit out of her, and made her fuck up on a client.
Sanemi, a royal asshole that can’t control his temper and snaps at Giyuu and herself.
Yup, Akiko is living the life at her job.
Unfortunately, the three of them are the best of the best, and they get clients from all over the world.
What with Akiko’s talented eye for precision, Giyuu’s incredible watercolor designs, and Sanemi’s bold sense of style, their names are well known by other tattoo artists.
It’s such a shame they all hate each other.
Well, maybe Giyuu has no hate in him, but tensions are high.
At any rate, a few more months pass, and Akiko is able to tell that the new store across the street is a flower shop. There are colorful buckets lining the outside of the store, and the windows are big and tall to allow for sunshine. The two stores line directly parallel from each other, and Akiko catches sight of three people that constantly walk in and out of the new shop.
She doesn’t even realize she’s looking at one particular guy until he turns around, and their eyes meet. Akiko blinks once, twice, then she quickly turns away from the window of her parlor.
It’s the next day that Akiko actually meets someone from the new store across the street.
The bell to their parlor rings, and Akiko looks up from her phone to tell them that they’re still closed, only to see that Giyuu is already at the counter.
“Hi! Sorry to just walk in, I read your sign I swear. But we’re your new store neighbors!” A bubbly voice says, and Akiko finds herself look at a pearl haired girl wearing a light green apron with a small batch of flowers in a small mason jar in her hands. Her white short sleeved shirt allows for Akiko to see her muscular arms, and she’s impressed by the size.
Giyuu makes no move to talk, only blinking stoically at the girl. Akiko can’t help but find this odd.
Sure, he doesn’t talk much, but he would at least greet customers or visitors.
Her smile turns a bit wry, she looks nervous in Akiko’s eyes, and she awkwardly places the jar of flowers on the corner of the counter.
“Uhm, anyway, there are two other workers over there, and if you ever want to stop by and say ‘hi’ you’re more than welcome to! No pressure or anything,” she mutters a quick ‘fuck’ under her breath, twiddling with her thumbs.
“Yeah, I’m Takenaka Chiyo, and uh… yeah, I think I’m gonna leave now so… bye!” Chiyo jets out of the store, the bell ringing a final time, and the store is quiet again.
Sanemi walks into the store a few minutes later, an eyebrow cocked at the odd sight of Giyuu and Akiko staring off into the same general direction.
“What? The fuck you guys lookin at?”
Giyuu bursts into a fit of red, and both Akiko and Sanemi’s jaws drop.
---
It’s been a week now, and Akiko finds herself looking out the window more often.
She hates it.
Why?
Because she’s looking out of the window to stare at some burgundy haired guy that works at the flower shop.
He wears a forest green apron that reminds Akiko of a Starbucks employee, and Akiko can see that he also wears hanafuda earrings. There’s also a scar on his left temple, but she finds herself drawn to his bright smile every time he gifts a child a small daisy.
She’s getting caught more often now though, and it’s embarrassing as hell for her. She tries to play it off nonchalantly, but she can’t help the quick blush that spreads across her face.
“Oh my! How cute! Did you get these from across the street?” A lady gushes once Akiko is done with her tattoo and is ringing her up at the counter. Akiko turns her attention to the batch of wisteria, peonies, camellias, and white roses.
Akiko smiles at her customer, handing back the change and replying, “Yeah! Our store smells a lot nicer ever since they’ve come into town,” she laughs, and the lady laughs with her.
“Well I think it’s a nice touch to the store. Perhaps you’ll get a discount and can have more flowers in the parlor?”
Akiko glances over at the window, catching the burgundy boy looking at her, before flicking her eyes back at her client with a polite smile.
“Y’know? I couldn’t agree more!”
---
“Sanemi go across the street and pick up some flowers I ordered.”
“HAH?! Why me?”
Akiko and Giyuu hold up their tattoo guns, continuing to scroll through their phones on a lazy Sunday before chiming in, “We have clients we’re waiting for.”
Thank god Akiko found out she could purchase the flowers online.
Otherwise she would have stayed staring out the window and sent in a telepathic order.
Sure, she wants to walk over and say ‘hi’ to her store neighbors, but she also doesn’t want to meet the burgundy haired boy. Her heart might not be able to handle his smile up close.
Sanemi glares at the two lazy asses before stomping over to them, his own tattoo gun in hand.
“Fuck that. I have clients too. Akiko you go,” he points his gun at Akiko, and on instinct she lifts her gun to point it right back at Sanemi.
He’s giving her the nastiest glare now, and Akiko glares right back at him, slowly standing from her seat to square him up.
“Wait, guys,” Giyuu makes the mistake to point his gun in their general direction, and the two whip their tattoo guns straight at Giyuu within a snap.
And now Giyuu can’t help but actually point his gun at Sanemi out of feeling threatened, and Akiko slowly slinks back to her work area to grab another gun.
The two other idiots do the same, grabbing another gun while moving back and forth between each other and glaring menacingly.
“Put the fuckin gun down you brat,” Sanemi snaps at Akiko, one gun pointed at Giyuu and the other at our golden eyed protagonist.
She scoffs, “You first, twat.”
“Guys maybe we should stop before customers walk in-”
“KEEP YOUR MOUTH SHUT!”
“YOU HAVE YOUR GUNS POINTED AT US TOO DUMBASS!”
“How cool! What do you think is going on?” Miyuki smiles, resting her chin on her hand as she leans over the store’s counter to look through the window. She’s watching the three world famous tattoo artists and their stand off, and to say she’s interested is an understatement.
Chiyo looks up from the register, squinting her eyes at the scene then tilting her head to the side.
“Are those… Real guns?”
“Do I call the cops??” Tanjirou suddenly shows up, quickly putting down the watering can in his hand to pick up the store phone, only to be stopped by the two older women.
“Put the phone down,” they chorus without moving their gaze from the window.
“Miyu, are you recording this shit?”
“Do you take me for a fool?”
“I- I really think we should call in some law enforcement to make sure no one dies…”
“Oh wait? Oh? Tea? They’re putting their guns down- THEY’RE UP AGAIN!!”
“This is gonna go viral.”
“Guys I don’t think-”
“OH SHIT ABORT ABORT! OLD MAN IS WALKING OVER!!”
Miyuki scrambles to turn her phone off, shoving it into her apron pocket as Tanjirou scrambles to pick the watering can up again and rushes to the back of the store to hide. Chiyo, for reasons unknown, ducks under the counters and sits there, so Miyuki is left to defend the fort.
She picks up a random rag, wiping the counter and making sure she doesn’t look into the eyes of an oddly hot hell beast, finally hearing the bell chime.
“Hi! Welcome! How can I help you today?” Miyuki goes for a smile.
There’s a crash and a bang from the back of the store, a miserable, “Ow…” then Chiyo popping up from the counter to dash back and check in on a certain baby. Needless to say, the store isn’t making the greatest first impression.
But Sanemi pays the incident no mind, shoving his hands into his pockets before nodding his head back to the tattoo parlor.
“I work there, and one of my stupid co-workers bought some flowers from you guys.”
Miyuki can’t stop staring at his toned chest, which he so brazenly displays with the top half of his silk black shirt popped open. The shirt is tight fitting too, and Miyuki is about to ascend, her mind repeating ‘NICE’ on repeat like some mantra.
“Uhh, yeah, lemme go get that,” she mutters under her breath, then stumbles to the back of the store.
When Sanemi gets back to the tattoo parlor with another small batch of flowers, Giyuu looks up from his work and Akiko swings her legs off a nearby chair. She stares at him quizzically, in no way used to seeing him with a light blush on his face.
“What? You embarrassed you scared the flower fairies?” Akiko scoffs, and Sanemi moves to slam the jar onto the counter but stops himself, setting it down gently instead.
Now Akiko knows something is up.
“She kept me there longer than she should have. Rambling on and on and on about flower language and what the flowers we ordered means and the colors and stuff. God she’s annoying,” Sanemi snaps, and Akiko raises a brow and the newly budding love.
“Yeah, sure Romeo…”
“CALL ME THAT AGAIN AND I’M CARVING AN ‘L’ ON YOUR FOREHEAD!”
---
Akiko almost drops her tattoo gun and through her foot when she sees sunshine boy walk through her parlor doors.
She’s just finished up with a client and rather than setting the gun down onto the metal tray, she starts to cough on her own spit and freaks out a bit.
Sanemi and Giyuu look over at her, and she discreetly mouths at them to casually ‘fuck off’, before helping her client to their feet and assisting them to the counter.
Sunshine boy is accompanied by his oddly attractive friend, but they wait patiently while Akiko quickly explains the steps for aftercare while ringing her client up. She’s quick to notice that she better hurry up though, since sunshine boy’s friend looks to be a bit… energetic.
When her client leaves, Akiko tries her best to smile at her two customers, shutting the cash register door with a clank.
“Hi! How can I help you guys today?”
Sunshine boy looks apologetic, gesturing to his friend, who looks around the store at the examples of what he can possibly get tattooed onto himself.
“Sorry, uhm, my friend Inosuke has been wanting to get a tattoo for a long time, so I thought this would be the best place…”
Akiko starts tapping into the computer, spelling out Inosuke’s name before frowning at the screen.
“Sorry, but did you guys make an appointment?”
“Huh? Why would we do that? Just draw a boar on my arm,” the Inosuke guy stands before Akiko now, his arms buffer that the Chiyo lady Akiko met a few weeks ago. Akiko raises a brow, and sunshine boy quickly rallies his friend back.
“S- Sorry! I didn’t know we had to make a reservation. We’ll just go now-”
“Hold up,” Akiko raises a hand, clicking through the computer to check her schedule for the day. When she sees that she’s all clear, she looks up from the screen with a smile.
“It’s your lucky day. I can squeeze your friend in,” Akiko says, but sunshine boy looks distressed.
“No, that’s okay! We can schedule a real time and date and come back, honest!” He says, but Inosuke rolls his eyes and starts to waltz over to the chair that Akiko’s previous client was sitting on.
Akiko smiles at sunshine boy’s abrasive friend, not too bothered by this attitude since Sanemi is leagues worse, so she turns to sunshine boy and winks.
“Consider this a store neighbor special.”
Wow.
When has Akiko ever been this smooth?
Akiko tunes out her embarrassed thoughts, shoving aside the last 20 seconds to get out her sketch pad and asking Inosuke what he wants.
“A BOAR!!”
“You’re gonna have to give me more to work with. Else you want me to ink Peppa on you.”
So Inosuke rolls his eyes, and Akiko’s pencil dances across the pad of paper. She works quickly, listening to Inosuke ramble on about how cool boars are and how he used to live with a bunch of them when he was a kid (this mildly worries Akiko).
By the end of it, Akiko’s drawn the head of a boar with sharp tusks, and Inosuke marvels at her drawing, claiming it to be badass and worthy enough to be inked on his arm.
Even sunshine boy looks impressed, softly clapping for Akiko from his seat across she.
Akiko ignores her subtle blush, deciding to get to work as she fills up her tattoo guns and swabs the arm that Inosuke wants inked. Then she quickly redraws the boar onto her ipad, gets it printed out, then applies the art onto Inosuke’s arm.
“Is it done already?! That’s fast!!”
The sudden buzzing noise from Akiko’s tattoo gun makes Inosuke jump a bit, and his face pales enough for her to notice. Even sunshine boy takes note of his friend’s alarm, and he offers his hand with a smile. Inosuke turns the offer down though.
But once Akiko starts to get to work, Inosuke becomes oddly quiet, eyes trained on the flowers on the counter with the sound of buzzing clouding his mind.
Akiko looks up from her work to glance at sunshine boy, who is watching with wide and curious eyes, and their gazes meet once again.
She decides to strike up a conversation while she has his attention, flickering her eyes back down to make sure she isn’t messing up then casually saying, “I never got you name.”
He blinks to snap himself out of his concentrated daze, flushing a bit and scratching at his cheek.
“Oh, sorry! We’ve been store neighbors for months and I never properly introduced myself. I’m Kamado Tanjirou.”
Akiko smiles to herself, “Finally, I can call you something other than sunshine boy,” she chuckles.
Throughout the rest of the conversation, Tanjirou remains red in the face and Akiko busies herself as to not flush red too. Of course, the minute she puts down the tattoo gun, it’s over for her.
hhhh so for some last minute notes, ill,,, explain a few things :)
that tattoo gun scene? yeah think of that one episode from the office. cant picture it? literally type “the office showdown gifs” into google and bam, a live action of the scene.
this was such a joy to write!! and i cant wait for you guys to read the next part! this was like,,, the set up of the ships so :)
a huge huge thank you to mari and chuu for letting me use their ocs!!!!!!!! check our their blogs guys, theyre so so nice and such a joy to collab with :,,)
“Hey. Move. I want to look out the window,” Akiko glares up at Giyuu, but he remains unbothered.
So she looks at his eyes, then follows to where he’s looking at.
And now she’s glued to the store window by Giyuu’s side.
“What the hell’re you guys starin at this time,” Sanemi snaps at his idiotic co-workers.
“Art.”
“Fuck that supposed to mean.”
“Art.”
Chiyo wipes some sweat off her brow, huffing with slight exhaustion as she sets the box down. Miyuki looks over with a smile.
“Kidding! Move the box to the right again?”
“I’ve had to move this box six times already, so what the hell are you aiming at?”
Miyuki looks across the window to see the three tattoo artists staring at Chiyo. Or, more specifically, her arms.
The three nod to themselves, finally finding something to agree on.
“Art.”
---
Akiko’s heart goes into overdrive at least three times a week.
Why?
Tanjirou walks in just to say ‘hi’ to her.
The bell chimes and Akiko quickly looks up with bright eyes, only to see that Sanemi has come back from the flower shop with another small batch of flowers in his hands.
“Oh. It’s just you.”
“Y’know? You really piss me the fuck off sometimes,” he growls out, swapping the flowers out from the counter and disposing of the old flowers.
Akiko looks back down at her client, resuming her work before piping up, “So? How was your weekly visit? Have you hit on that girl yet?”
Sanemi begins to sputter out protests, but he doesn’t yell at Akiko like she expects he would. So she smiles down at her work.
“You’re so whipped already…”
“I HEARD THAT!”
Nevermind, he’s back to yelling.
---
“I’m gonna do it.”
“Do what?”
“Science.”
Miyuki looks at Chiyo oddly, wiping her hands on her apron as Chiyo looks at the new shipment of roses.
It takes a second to click in Miyuki’s head, but once it does she stares wide eyed at Chiyo.
“Are you gonna cross breed them?”
She doesn’t get an answer, Chiyo’s mind tunnel visioning on the roses that she’s gathered into her arms and brings to the front of the store, a few roses left behind.
“You know, you can always just text Giyuu to go out for some coffee!” Miyuki calls out, waving her phone into the air. Chiyo stops in her tracks.
“How the hell am I supposed to slide into his DM’s?”
“Just… Just ask him for his number…”
There’s silence, and Chiyo breaks it with a loud laugh.
“Ask for his number- what year were you even born?”
“HEY! We’re the same age!!”
Miyuki’s phone suddenly goes off, and she glances down at the text before smiling.
“Cool! Giyuu and I are hangin out after work!”
“HAND ME THE PHONE OR DIE!”
---
Tanjirou’s daily way of life consists of working at the flower shop and staring at Akiko from the store’s big windows. Her workstation is right in front of the window like some sort of high school anime protagonist, but it allows for Tanjirou to see her work diligently.
And she dazes off from her spot by the window too, often times looking up at the clouds or scrolling through her phone. And whenever she catches him staring at her, he quickly turns back to over watering the flowers.
Even Chiyo and Miyuki have caught him a number of occasions, and they now tease him relentlessly for it.
“I’ll be taking my break now!” Tanjirou says, hanging his apron on a spare hook before quickly trying to escape through the front entrance.
“Are you going over to the tattoo parlor?” Chiyo wonders aloud, and Tanjirou freezes in his tracks.
“N- No? I’m uhh… Getting a coffee!!”
He runs out, barely hearing Miyuki call out, “Make sure you get Akiko one too!”
The two girls laugh when they see Tanjirou’s red ears and they get back to work when new customers walk in.
The next time the bell chimes, Akiko is happy to see that it isn’t Sanemi or Giyuu, but rather Tanjirou. She finds herself smiling giddily, then quickly directs her attention back down to her client while attempting to hide her happiness.
“Hey kid,” Sanemi calls out, and Tanjirou jumps a bit.
“You need something?”
Tanjirou stares at the cup in his hand before setting it down on the counter, “Ah, if Akiko is too busy, just give this to her later if you can.” He smiles, and he’s about to zoom out of the door in fear of Sanemi, but he stops himself.
Then, with all the courage in his soul, he turns around and shuffles close to Sanemi, beckoning him closer to whisper his question.
“Do you… Do you know Akiko’s favorite type of flowers?”
Sanemi cocks a brow, “How the hell am I supposed to know that-”
“Camellias.”
Two heads whip to Giyuu, who has just finished up with his client. He probably overheard them when he turned his tattoo gun off, and he peels his plastic gloves off.
“She likes camellias.”
Tanjirou smiles as bright as the sun, overwhelmed with joy, and he speaks up to say, “Chiyo likes peonies and Miyuki likes white flowers!” And with that quick bit of information, Tanjirou skips out of the store and back to the flower shop.
---
“Just to let you know… purple roses mean love at first sight and true love.”
Giyuu looks over at Miyuki, the two oddly close as friends. She’s laying on her bed and he sits on the floor, the two scrolling through their phones and enjoying each other’s presence.
“Why do I need to know that?”
Miyuki rolls over onto her stomach, flashing Giyuu a cheeky smile, “Just cuz!”
He sighs at her odd behavior, pushing his glasses up the bridge of his nose once again before turning back down to his phone. When he doesn’t hear Miyuki move or say anything, he turns back around, in no way used to her silent nature.
Giyuu finds her staring at his right ear, and he tilts his head in confusion.
“What?”
“You have a piercing.”
He reaches up to touch the helix piercing, fiddling with the ring and reminded that he does in fact have a piercing.
“Oh my god, Chiyo will eat that shit up!”
Giyuu sputters in embarrassment, face turning red before he shoots back, “Sanemi has one too.”
Now it’s Miyuki’s turn to burst into a fit of red, and the two end their conversation there.
---
“Oh, this?” Akiko touches her helix ring before taking another sip of the coffee Tanjirou has brought her.
She tucks a lock of her hair behind her ear, showing the piercing off for the world to see before shrugging.
“Giyuu, Sanemi and I have matching piercings,” she says nonchalantly, but Tanjirou’s jaw drops.
“But don’t you guys hate each other?”
“We were drunk.”
“Makes sense- wait how old are you?”
Akiko hums under her breath, taking another quick sip before saying, “Nineteen?”
Tanjirou is happy to know that they’re the same age, but he backtracks and frowns at her answer.
“Aren’t you underage then?”
“Yeah, but we were celebrating Giyuu’s 21st birthday. Sanemi bullied him into buying alcohol for us.”
Tanjirou continues to frown at which Akiko smiles teasingly, claiming that that occasion was the only time she’s ever had alcohol, and that she hasn’t had any since then. Tanjirou can only sigh, gently taking her hand into his and asking her to promise that she won’t drink till she’s legal.
Somehow, despite being a stuttering mess, she promises, and the two keep their fingers intertwined for the rest of the time Tanjirou stays.
---
“Today?”
“Today.”
Miyuki and Chiyo look at the purple roses with pride, and Chiyo wipes some imaginary sweat off her brow.
Lo and behold, Chiyo has achieved the perfect crossbreed of purple flowers. They’re finally in full bloom, and Chiyo has just wrapped them up nicely in some wrapping paper. There’s an elaborate bow she’s tied on too, something she’s especially good at.
“Do you think he’ll like it?” Chiyo mutters, suddenly growing worried. Giyuu isn’t one to show his emotions, and Chiyo barely catches his rare blushes. She can only hope that her first batch of crossbred roses will be to his liking.
Tanjirou pops into the room, a smile on his face, “I’m sure he’ll love it!”
That’s when the two girls notice the small batch of camellias in his hand, differently assorted with pinks and white and reds, and some white with pink or red tips.
“Are you-”
“Confessing to Akiko?” Miyuki finishes for Chiyo, and Tanjirou blushes before reaching up to scratch the back of his neck.
“Uh, yeah! We just got the new shipment of camellias, so I thought now would be the best time…”
Chiyo’s eye twitches.
“Tanjirou, no offense, but it’s my day to shine. I poured my blood sweat and tears into this shit,” Chiyo points at her purple roses, and Miyuki runs off into the store.
“Can’t we both give them flowers?”
“Not to be petty but I want to be first.”
“Not if I’m first!” Miyuki pops up with some white roses, and Chiyo nearly slams her face through the wall.
“Miyu, those are your favorite flowers!”
“LET ME FEEL INVOLVED, OKAY?!”
“Wait where’s Tanjirou.”
The two girls snap their heads to the front door, where Tanjirou is quietly trying to sneak out. When he sees that he’s been caught, he tries to make a break for it, and all of a sudden he sees two pairs of glowing red eyes zoom towards him.
Akiko, Giyuu and Sanemi stop ignoring each other to glance up from their phones, wondering where the screaming and yelling is coming from. That’s when their door is broken down, and the three florists from across the street fall in.
“SANEMI THESE AR-”
“WAIT ME FIRST GOD DAMMIT-”
“You guys I can’t breath-”
“Time out!” Akiko yells loud enough for everyone to stop. She lets out a tired sigh, hand on her forehead.
“Can this be solved by rock paper scissors?” The youngest of all six asks, and the three fighting on the floor slowly nod their heads.
So they comply to the resident baby, gathering their flowers and hiding them behind their backs (thought it’s no surprise anymore.)
“Rock, paper scissor-”
“Wait do we shoot on shoot or scissors.”
“Shoot.”
“Alright cool. No cheating.”
“I don’t need to cheat to win.”
“That’s not how rock paper scissor works.”
“JUST PLAY THE DAMN GAME!”
The three jump in fright before quickly yelling ‘rock paper scissor shoot!’ and dealing out whatever is on their minds. Akiko releases another sigh when Chiyo yells in victory, extremely pleased over her simple win.
Tanjirou gives Akiko an apologetic smile when he loses again, and Miyuki is willing to accept second.
All of a sudden, Chiyo doesn’t really want to go first. She’s gripping her purple roses from behind her back and she can feel her hands sweat a bit. But for all Giyuu knows or cares, she’s just giving him a bouquet of flowers.
So she shoves the flowers into his arms, a blush on her face as she says, “I crossbred these for you!!”
Giyuu stares blankly at the flowers in his hands. They’re fragrant, more so than the flowers that are normally left on the counter, but he can’t even bring himself to take a quick whiff out of curiosity.
How should I say this.
Giyuu.exe has stopped working.
Chiyo stares at his blank expression and dread slowly begins to fill up within her, a pressure wrapping itself around her throat tight enough to make her feel like she’s being choked by vines.
“You good…? Do you not like my flowers…?”
“Does Chiyo know?” Miyuki whispers to Tanjirou.
“She doesn’t know.”
Giyuu blinks once.
Purple roses mean love at first sight and first love.
As if reliving the day he first met Chiyo, his face bursts into a fit of red.
He’s fallen in love all over again.
Sanemi rolls his eyes at the two awkward, possibly new, couple(?) before he makes a move to split the two up. But Akiko yanks him by the back of his collar, effectively choking him, and she turns her hard ass co-worker into Miyuki’s direction.
“Take it away, Miyuki,” Akiko gestures, and Miyuki’s already pink dusted nose deepens in shade.
Akiko can see both Miyuki and Sanemi look nervous. She doesn’t know why Sanemi is in any way nervous, considering Miyuki is the one that’s about to do all the leg work here.
“So… What flowers did you get me,” he demands an answer, and the bouquet of white roses is chucked into his face.
Akiko sighs at the two as they quickly start to bicker, Sanemi spitting out a rose petal and asking why the hell she threw the bouquet for, and Miyuki yelling at him to be a bit nicer.
“AND WHAT’S WITH THE WHITE ROSES?! AREN’T THESE YOUR FAVORITE FLOWERS?!”
“YOU’RE NOT ALLOWED TO CALL ME OUT ON MY BULLSHIT!”
Miyuki blinks, reeling at some sudden information before holding an incredulous look on her face.
“How and why do you know that?” She interrogates him, and he’s fuming, suddenly grabbing her shoulders and yelling:
“BECAUSE I LIKE YOU!!”
God he’s so whipped for her.
Now no one is talking.
Sanemi is panting from yelling so much but Miyuki looks like she’s not breathing at all. Akiko almost calls the ambulance out of pure fear (that, and she doesn’t want a lawsuit on her hands).
He knocks on her forehead with the back of his hand, “Hey, you still alive in there? Y’know I just confessed my shitty feelings for yo- OMF!”
Miyuki jumps into his arms, the roses flying everywhere and scattering onto the floor.
“HeY- GET OFF! YOU’RE JUST TRYING TO TOUCH MY ABS!”
“SO WHAT IF I AM?!”
The two revert back to their bickering, going back and forth between each other but this time with Sanemi wrapping his arms around Miyuki’s waist, a light blush dusting their cheeks.
“Is… Is it my turn?” Tanjirou continues to stares at the other adults in the room. Two of which just,,, aren’t talking. And the other two of which are talking a bit too much.
He decides to start, blushing before producing a small batch of camellias from behind his back. Akiko blinks in surprise at the display, thrown off from her usual level headed demeanor and quickly sporting a blush of her own.
“Anyway, these are for you! Giyuu told me your favorites are camellias.” Akiko carefully takes the batch into her hands, handling them like she would a newborn. She faces down, attempting to cover the blush on her face with her bangs as she quickly mutters her thanks.
He then plucks a flower from the small bouquet, only to carefully tuck it behind Akiko’s ear for the world to see her helix.
“There! Now I can see your face a lot better!”
Tanjirou, as per usual, smiles as brightly as the sun, and Akiko’s eyes reflect his soft rays.
just to make this very clear, PLEASE DONT DRINK UNDER AGE!! shit guys sorry akiko is such a bad influence rip
but if youve read this far,,, THANKS FOR READING SUCH A LONG AU!! it took me a while to write, so i really appreciate it!
writing this was fun and thats mainly thanks to the fact that we would come up with so many stupid ideas for these fools, and it fed me to actually complete this behemoth of an au
so anyways, akiko is my oc, chiyo is @thunderandrainclouds‘s oc, and miyuki is @kny-writings‘s oc!! check out their solid content!!! youll definitely have a fun time :)
Ori K gathering~~ Sayaka, Yuttan, Mocchi, Nontii, KK, Nattsumii gathered for Nnachi and Chiyuu’s birthdays. Chiyuu’s bday is in November and Nnacchi’s is in July so it’s a lateass celebration lol. Well it’s also celebrating Nnacchi’s marriage and Chiyuu’s album.
