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Rin doesn’t even care about flowers that much. If he was to be completely honest with himself most of them smelled like wet grass or dead leaves anyway. He didn’t really see the appeal in flowers besides their fleeting beauty which faded much too quickly for his tastes. He also hated watching them wilt away and felt guilty when he had to toss them out.
Flowers just weren’t his thing yet every day around his lunch break Rin found himself walking into the small flower shop around the corner from his work place and home. The only reason he entered the shop in the first place was to buy his sister some flowers as part of her gift for achieving her new dream job (something that involved muscles or whatever).
Rin would rather not recall how badly he embarrassed himself that day. It’s rather painful remembering how he got so caught up in those gentle green eyes that greeted him behind the counter that he walked right into a hanging potted plant then accidentally knocked over a display of gardening seeds. Then when the worker that caused his blunder rushed over to help him Rin accidentally dragged him down to the floor to.
After fixing the mess Rin had planned to rush out the shop and search for new routes to get him home but the worker was faster than him. He gave Rin a charming smile that short circuited his brain then as a final blow the guy pushes his hair back as he asked Rin what he needed help with. Somehow Rin managed to pull together enough brain power to blurt out something about “Congratulatory flowers” and “Sister”. That’s when the man’s eyes light up and his smile becomes brighter as he starts listing off possible flowers to buy.
Rin ends up buying the flowers the worker was the most excited about and surprisingly pays for them without any trouble. Though the entire time Rin was busy staring at his amazing body that was much too fit for him to be just a florist. Rin is also one hundred percent sure that shirt is three sizes too small on purpose. As he’s leaving the man leans over the counter and waves to Rin saying “Come again soon!” and without thinking Rin replies “Sure thing”.
--
Almost two weeks later Rin stays true to his promise and actually returns to the shop. He honestly didn’t expect for the worker to even remember him and he definitely didn’t expect to be greeted with an exuberant “I knew you’d be back!”. Rin later finds out that his name is Makoto and that Makoto is not just a worker but actually the owner of the shop itself. He just prefers to run the shop himself and sometimes a gray hair college kid named Aiichirou will handle the shop for Makoto when he can’t.
Rin didn’t really have a reason to stop by the shop besides to keep his promise and (not so secretly) oggle Makoto, the two mostly chatted and killed time till Rin had to go back to work. Mako saw him to the door and just like last time Makoto asked him to come again soon. Rin tried not to think too much about it and just gave a quick flustered “If you insist” before rushing out. He completely missed the fond chuckle Makoto let slip out.
The third time Rin came back to the shop he left with a small vase that held one single flower. He wasn’t sure what kind of flower it was but it was lovely and actually sorta smelled nice for once. Rin had tried to pay for it but Makoto insisted he take it free of charge. So instead Rin bought some flower seeds before leaving.
Rin set the vase on the night stand next to his bed the moment he got home even though it didn’t match anything in his room. Rin didn’t know much about flower care or flowers in general so it quickly died not even nine days after receiving it. He was so ashamed that he actually had trouble looking Makoto in the eye when he came back to the shop the day he had to dispose of the flower. After getting the truth forced out him via an intense puppy dog pout Makoto then proceeded to spend the next twenty minutes explaining flower care to him. At the end of his visit Rin had another flower to take home and more knowledge about flower care than he really needed.
He also had Makoto’s number and grin that didn’t leave his face till the next day.
Soon enough it sort of became their daily thing. Rin would stop by the shop to keep Makoto company and buy some seeds that he’d either try to plant himself or give to his friend Rei who was actually into that sort of thing. Sometimes they’d even meet outside of the shop and go out to get a quick lunch or just walk along the beach for a change of scenery.
Whenever Rin’s flower would die (which thankfully didn’t happen as quickly as the first time) Mako would always give him another. After a month Rin noticed that it was always the same flower he’d receive as a gift. With this suddenly realization Rin picked up his phone that was laying on the pillow next to him where he had tossed it before.
To: Hot Florist Mako- Hey what’s the name of the flower you’re always giving me?
From: Hot Florist Mako- Oh! So you noticed? It’s called a Gloxinia!
With that answer Rin locked his phone and slid off his bed and walks over to his desk. He takes a seat in his desk chair and opens his laptop that he never bothers turning off. He opened up Google in a new tab and searched for the meaning of the Gloxinia flower. He clicked on the first option given to him and scrolled until he found the flower he was looking for.
With a strangled shout Rin fell out of his chair as he slammed his laptop shut. He didn’t get up off the floor for a good ten minutes as he repeated the meaning of the flower in his mind. Rin crawled over to his bed and blindly searched for his phone. Once he found it Rin quickly sent Makoto a text with shaking fingers.
To: Hot Florist Mako- Where are you right now?
From: Hot Florist Mako- I’m about to close up my shop. Why?
To: Hot Florist Mako: Good don’t leave yet I’ll be there soon.
--
Makoto stared at his phone blankly as his heart beat speed up to alarming rates. Rin was coming to his shop? Obviously he had looked up the meaning behind the flowers he had been giving him this whole time. Rin coming to see him obviously meant something good though. There’s no way he’d come all this way just to call him a creep right? Makoto contemplated just closing up his shop and leaving before Rin could arrive but that was cowardly and Rin would just stop by the next day anyway.
As Makoto fretted about what Rin could possibly be doing he buzzed about his shop and prepared to lock up as a feeble attempt to distract himself. As he locked the back doors of the shop the front door jingled signaling the arrival of someone. Makoto quickly entered the front of the shop to find Rin out of breathe and flushed from his ears all the way to his neck.
“Oh good you’re still here.” Rin sighed in relief as he tried to catch his breath. Makoto nodded trying not to giggle at how cute Rin looked as he took off his apron and hung it up on a nearby hook.
“So did you have something you wanted tell me?” Makoto urged gently. No sense in beating around the bush.
“Oh! Yeah well… I just… Fuck just! Here!” Rin shouts as he hands Makoto a single flower with a red bow tied around it. Makoto blinks in confusion as he accepts the flower Rin shoved in his face.
“Rin? Is this a Jonquil?” Makoto gasps as he recognizes the flower he’s now holding.
“Yeah and it was a total pain in the ass to get this late at night to. I would have just grown one myself but that’d take too long and I had to get it to you now since I’m an idiot who didn’t even realize-“
“Rin you know you talk a lot right?” Makoto teases as he cuts Rin’s babbling off. Rin blushes even more and huffs while jamming his hands in his coat pockets.
“Whatever. Do you want to go out on a date this weekend or not?” Rin mutters while avoiding eye contact. Makoto chuckles at Rin’s pout before leaning down to give him a quick kiss on the lips.
“I’d love to.”