Well, back at my house, I got a California King!

___

Valerie does up the final button on their cardigan for the third time. They sweep their eyes over their reflection, brushing their fingers through a few curls to separate them. One of their rings is crooked, so they straighten it, aligning the pentacle in the middle of their finger. Another glance in the mirror.

It's Friday, almost time for them to leave for work, they can't stand here forever. But they can't drag themself away yet.

A bouquet of flowers lies on the couch next to their purse— a gift for Marvin. They deliberated over buying them for over a week, wondering if they'd be coming off too strong. Their relationship with Marvin has always been more casual than professional. And they've brought each other gifts before, for holidays and random occasions. In the end, they steered away from roses and opted for sunflowers, something cheerful rather than overtly romantic.

They do leave, eventually. It's a few minutes before eight o'clock; they're going to show up late. He hasn't been upset over them being late yet, partially because it happens so rarely, but Valerie still reprimands themself for it. Not much happens along the way, besides a woman seeing the bouquet in their hands and nodding at them. Valerie nods and smiles back.

Marvin is coming down the stairs when Valerie puts their key in the door. They hide the flowers behind their back, shoving the door open and grinning at him. "Good morning! Sorry I'm late."

"Good morning," Marvin replies, taking a long sip of his coffee before he adds, "and I didn't notice." He sets his mug on the counter. Maneuvering around Valerie, he opens the door and flips the sign to HELLO, WE'RE OPEN!

Valerie swallows, their heart beginning to race. I can do this. "Okay, good. I was gonna be early, but I picked something up on the way."

"You still have one of your energy drinks upstairs." Marvin turns around, searching for a grocery bag at their side. His head tilts.

"I know, it's actually something for you!" And with that, Valerie produces the bouquet and presents them to him, grinning.

Marvin freezes. One hand extends automatically, but he stops short of actually taking it, fingers twitching. His eyes flick between Valerie and the bouquet. They scour his face for any emotion they can latch onto and find nothing. Panicking, Valerie begins to pull the flowers back.

"You don't like them," they say quickly.

Marvin shakes his head. "I do!" he says, voice cracking. "I'm just surprised, is all. Thank you." He takes the bouquet, cradling it in the crook of his arm. "But why-"

"I thought they'd brighten the place up!" Valerie slumps against the counter, breathing a sigh of relief. They didn't make things awkward, good. "Or you could put them upstairs, I suppose," they add, glancing up to gauge Marvin's reaction.

He's staring down at his flowers, brows knit as though he's contemplating his words. When he notices them looking, he smiles.

"Hold on," he says, putting the bouquet down. Marvin jogs upstairs and returns a minute later with a vase full of water. It's tinted soft blue, decorated with tiny gold stars and the occasional sun and moon. He rummages behind the counter, produces a pair of scissors, trims the sunflower stems, and places them in his vase. After some thought, he slides it to the end of the counter. "I've been meaning to use this."

Valerie's heart skips a beat just looking at the vase. That's their contribution to the shop, their mark on Marvin's life. Their gaze wanders to him; he's also staring at the flowers, a cheesy grin stretched across his lips. He suddenly becomes aware of himself and springs into motion, circling the counter to put his scissors away. They can't help but giggle at him.

"You're acting like you've never gotten flowers before," Valerie jokes, watching Marvin fiddle with the shelf behind him.

"I haven't," he replies, "besides Mum. She gifted me the rose bush outside."

Oh. Valerie nods politely, their cheeks heating up.

They're making a big deal out of nothing. They have to be. Does Marvin even care that much about dating? He's never brought it up before, besides a mention of a nebulous "first boyfriend". (Though, he never had that conversation with Valerie, they eavesdropped on him and Sunday.) And they had assumed that he preferred making romantic gestures first.

They still don't even know if he would be interested in them. The bouquet is just them testing the waters.

Valerie picks up the conversation as though the pause never happened. "I made sure that they're safe for Higgins too. In case he nibbles on them, y'know?"

Marvin chuckles, leaning against the wall. "I think Higgins may be the bigger threat between the two." He mimes swiping the vase off the counter.

"Fair." They laugh as well.

For the rest of the day, Valerie keeps an eye on Marvin when they can. He handles a few customers while they clean up the stock room. The door stands ajar, and they keep their music extra quiet to keep an ear out. They chat over lunch about Marvin's coworkers being idiots and a TV show Valerie started recently, silly things to pass the time. Val steals glances at him in between laughs, watching the way his lips curl up and his eyes crease, their heart fluttering.

His gaze, they notice, keeps wandering back to his sunflowers.

___