Chapter 2 

Music blared through orange headphones as the boy swung his hips to the beat. The broom turned into a microphone, the shop was his stage. He could almost hear the screaming voices of his flower friends, see their underwear landing in front of his feet. A smile lingered on the blonde’s lips while he made his way through the crowd, signing countless leaves in his fantasy.

The dirt vanished wherever the boy went, blinds were pulled up. Laughter could be heard, while the blonde showed his new dance moves to the plants. As soon as the solo started, he transformed his microphone into a fancy e-guitar. The way the florist pulled the strings assured him that he must have been the next Beethoven of his generation.There was no way that a skilled, handsome and charming guitar player like him wouldn’t get the admiration of at least three continents. The song reached its peak and the boy tried to convert all his feelings into his voice. He may have not understood the lyrics at all but it sounded emotional, so who was he to deny the song of its message? The last verse ended with a high tone and the florist swore he had definitely hit it.

“—chika.”

Hmm?

“Oi, Nagachika!!”, a voice yelled.

The blonde turned around and saw the totally optimistic and happy face of his… friend. Knowing that he would get into more trouble the longer he would sing, the florist set his headphones around his neck. The singer of a different band could be heard, screaming the lyrics in another foreign language.

“Good morning, Nishiki! Do you want to join in my stage debut? I’m sure there are a few flowers who would love to hear your angelic voice singing, don’t you think?”, the blonde grinned.

The brunette didn’t seem impressed by the florist offering him the broom invitingly.

“Quit it already. Can’t you clean the shop without giving me a headache for once?”’

A mischievous smile lingered on Nagachika Hideyoshi’s lips as he made his way to the trash can to throw a few leaves away.

“Aw, come on. Don’t be like that, Nishiki. You don’t have to be jealous of my voice.”, the florist teased.

“Believe me, I’m not.”, was the simple answer the older one gave him as he pushed his glasses up his nose.

On first glance, Nishiki Nishio seemed like a sarcastic and rather cynical guy. On second glance too. But when you got to know him better, then— No, wait. Scratch that. Your first impression was most likely right. Although he may be crude at times, the blonde enjoyed their mutual teasing. Their antics were fun and in the end he hadn't thought of Nishiki’s company as unpleasant.

Hide shrugged and put his headphones back on. The song playing was just as catchy as the previous one, but the florist made sure not to sing along again. He knew better than to challenge Nishiki’s patience on such a lovely morning. Being satisfied with humming, the blonde continued with his cleaning and carried a few flower pots outside the shop.

The world was beautiful. The florist decided that as soon as he stepped into the awakening morning. The sun was rising and the gleam shone in the light. It was quiet and peaceful. Hide remembered the past day’s storm and how bad it had seemed to be. But besides the destroyed bouquets, every hint had vanished. It was a shame — He had done his best to put suitable flowers together. But that only meant he could do even better ones now. He grinned and looked around. There weren’t many people on the streets yet, but what did he expect? It was still early.

Hide’s eyes lingered on the tattoo shop across the street. He once thought about getting a tattoo, but who was he kidding? The blonde was too much of a scaredy cat. The pain had to be agonizing, and what if he didn’t like the design after some years anymore? No — he wouldn’t risk it.

The shop was rather small compared to other ones, but it looked inviting and comfortable. The florist couldn’t make out every detail of the interior design, but it was flooded by a warm light which made the white hair seem like freshly fallen snow on a winter day. The contrast between the hair colour and the black shirt never ceased to amaze Hide. Whenever he caught a glimpse of the tattoo artist he felt the nagging feeling to cross the street and introduce himself. The boy radiated a certain kindness and tenderness that made the blonde’s heart beat faster.

However, his tense shoulders and introverted stance implied a current problem or a past event which still influenced his everyday life.

How often did Hide think about entering the shop and talking to the white-haired employee? Taking him into his arms and reassuring him that everything would be okay?

The blonde knew that it was the wrong way of approaching the boy and he could seem like a weird stalker. And he surely didn’t want that.

If he ever found the right moment to talk to the white-haired boy, it had to be a perfect one. The tattoo artist didn’t appear to be a social person so it had to be a quiet place which wasn’t full of crowds. A nice picnic in a park or—

“Stop daydreaming, Nagachika!”

Hide winced at the startlingly loud voice of his friend and turned around.

Nishiki stood in the entrance while holding a happy looking Kimi in his arm. The girl smiled brightly at the florist and said one couldn’t resist returning the grin.

“There aren’t any customers right now so I wanted to ask you if it’s alright if I go and eat something with Nishiki.”, Kimi said.

Her and Hide were the only employees of the shop, they could manage even though it was a bit stressful at times. Nishiki often visited his girlfriend at work which leaded to his interesting friendship with Hide. Kimi didn’t mind their bickering, she was kind and gentle. The blonde enjoyed working with her and seeing her this happy in her friends’ arms, who was he to deny her request?

“Of course you can go. Just make sure to be back before noon. I’ll run the shop till then.”

The girl thanked Hide and said one watched his friends walking down the street, holding hands.

A sigh escaped his lips as soon as he reentered the flower shop. Hand ruffling his hair, Hide made his way into the back room of the shop. It was high time to put new bouquets together.

Orange headphones back on his head, the blonde listened to his favourite song. It contained a beautiful harmony which never ceased to lift his mood. Humming to himself and tapping his foot to the beat, minutes passed.

He didn’t know how much time passed when his ears heard the entrance door being opened. A smile creeped onto the florist’s face because finally, he could tease Nishiki again. It was getting boring without anyone to talk to.

“Oi, Nishiki!”, Hide called into the main room while cleaning his dirty hands. “I got a new pun for you!! Okay, listen up: What do you call a deer without eyes?!”

Silence.

“No eye-deer!!”

Still no answer. At that, Hide paused. Nishiki would have long ago sighed while Kimi would have laughed. Something was fishy. Deciding to check on his friends, the blonde left the back room.

“Come on, guys! It wasn’t this ba— oh shit.”, he murmured as soon as his eyes laid on the cute and handsome white-haired boy standing in the entrance awkwardly.

Chapter 1

It was a quiet morning. Only a few people were already out on the streets while the peat was gleaming in the rising sun. The past day’s storm seemed to be forgotten, the only evidence were the destroyed flower bouquets across the streets.

A small smile lingered on the white-haired boy’s face while he watched the employee of the flower shop desperately trying to fix the flowers in front of their store window. Blond hair—which was obviously bleached judging by the brown roots—was tied back in a small plait as the boy carried a few flower pots out of the shop. He seemed exhausted but still smiled his bright and contagious grin which made the white haired boy’s heart beat just a little bit faster. The green apron was dirtied by moist earth and the florist even had mud on his cheek.

But the thing that always catched the boy’s attention wasn’t the orange headphones or the ridiculous green pants — No, what interested the white-haired boy the most were the florist’s breathtakingly brown eyes which seem to be competing with the warmth of the sun. Eyes which talk about home and safety. The boy felt at ease whenever he saw the florist. It was plain amazing what a mere stranger could do to him and maybe, just maybe, this was the reason why he couldn’t stop himself from drawing the blonde again and again and ag—

“Are you listening, Kaneki?”

Grey eyes were forced to look away from the sun’s reincarnation when his best friend’s face appeared in front of him.

“Sorry, Tsukiyama. Could you repeat that?”, he asked and tried to look apologetic.

The purple haired man just sighed and leaned back against his chair. Kaneki was thankful that his friend didn’t wear one of his… fancy suits that day but a plain shirt and pants.

“Would you just go already and talk to him, mon ami? It’s no fun anymore, watching you struggle with your crush on the flower boy.”

Kaneki could feel his rising blush and averted his gaze.

“What are you talking about?”, he asked while touching his chin.

The white-haired boy knew that his friend just rolled his eyes. He wanted to say something but was interrupted by Tsukiyama taking his sketchbook away.

“H-hey! That’s mine! Return it!”, he desperately cried out. The boy tried to to get it back but his attempts were in vain. His friend’s arm was just too far away for him to grasp it. Defeated, Kaneki hid his face behind his hands. There was no way his ears weren’t red by now.

Another sigh escaped the man when his eyes screened over the newly drawn picture of a boy with messy blond hair, brown eyes and a sweet smile. He had to admit that Kaneki was talented at drawing humans even though his obsession with the florist seem to show itself in his latest drawings. While going through the sketchbook Tsukiyama noticed that Kaneki hadn’t drawn anything else besides the flower boy in the last few weeks. Which was kinda cute, but also creepy and just sad.

Kaneki knew that Tsukiyama would lecture him any minute now, but before his friend could start the door to their shop opened and a girl entered. She had short purple hair which covered one of her eyes and wore a t-shirt and shorts. Many people would describe her as beautiful and cute, but Kaneki knew way better than most men that below that sweet appearance a scary personality which shouldn’t be messed with rested.

“Good morning Touka!”, the white haired boy greeted.

He took advantage of Tsukiyama as soon as said one was distracted by the girl’s entrance and took his sketchbook back. A relieved sigh escaped him while his friend looked at him from the corner of his eyes.

“Morning, you two.”, she said while monopolizing the couch on the other side of the room. The tattoo shop was rather small but comfy and Kaneki loved working here. The customers were nice just like his co-worker and chef Uta and Kaneki got the chance to draw whenever he felt like it. Even though he prefered working in the back room he didn’t mind leading the shop from time to time.

Thursday’s like that one were always quiet, and he enjoyed spending time with his few friends. He didn’t mention it often, but Kaneki was grateful for Tsukiyama finding him this job after his aunt threw him out of her house as soon as he turned eighteen. His best friend helped him out when he was lost and even now, many years after all this, Kaneki didn’t know how to repay this kindness.

Touka looked at the sketchbook in Kaneki’s hand and raised an eyebrow.

“Did he draw that flower boy again?”

“Would you please stop calling him that? And it’s none of your business what I draw.”, the white-haired boy muttered and looked away. Why did they always have to tease him like this?

“Getting a bit possessive, hm? And fine, we won’t call him that anymore as soon as you tell us his name.”, Touka mused, and Kaneki knew she smirked even without looking at her.

But she had a point. Afterall, he didn’t know the name of the florist who worked on the other side of the street. How often did Kaneki plan to enter the flower shop and talk to the gorgeous employee just to pass the building once again because he wasn’t brave enough? It was frustrating but he couldn’t overcome his shy and nervous nature.

His friend seem to notice his uneasiness and, with a sigh, Touka scratched her cheek.

“Listen, we all know that you like him. And we want to help you. But we can’t do that when you’re not ready to cooperate.”

Kaneki looked up and saw the sympathy in her and Tsukiyama’s eyes. His friends already found their most important person and they just want him to be happy as well. He knew that and he was grateful, but he didn’t think that there was anyone who could actually like his weird and awkward self. Even though he had tried to change himself, he couldn’t shake off his old behaviour and no new haircolor or clothes could change that.

He couldn’t stop himself from shrinking back as soon as a hand touched his shoulder gently. Only then Kaneki noticed the tears streaming down his face as Tsukiyama offered him a tissue.

“Your flower boy will definitely fall for you, mon ami. So don’t worry about it. He would be a fool for not seeing your great personality, no kidding.”, the purple-haired man said while smiling.

Kaneki tried to return the smile when a fist connected with his head. It wasn’t a hard punch but it still made the white-haired boy whimper while rubbing the back of his head slightly. He tried to send Touka a death glare but her smirk told him it didn’t quite worked.

“Now stop crying, idiot. I decided to visit you and the color-blind clown today because I have an important announcement to make. You see, after I thought about it for months I finally proposed to Yoriko and she said yes. We’re going to get married and I want you—” She pointed at Kaneki, “to be my best man.”

To say that Kaneki was speechless would be an understatement. Why for the love of god would Touka choose him for her best man? He couldn’t even hold a normal conversation without stammering or being awkward so how can she expect him to hold a speech in front of a crowd? She really had to hate him.

Stunned he looked at his best friend for support but Tsukiyama’s amused expression told him that he wouldn’t get any from him. Just great.

“I won’t accept a ‘no’ as an answer so save it, Kaneki. And do you want to know the best part?”

The white-haired boy already knew that he wouldn’t like what would come next.

“I want you to help me with the preparations for my wedding. And this includes buying flowers.”

Grey eyes widen in recognition. She couldn’t plan to….

“You wouldn’t.”, his voice mumbled.