#flower shadow

But the minutes slipped away, falling like petals from the dead flowers in the garbage out back. Two o’ clock passed, then two thirty. Three. Three thirty. Four. 

The bell rang, and Shadow had to catch himself from vaulting to his feet. He straightened his apron. “Hello, how can I- oh.”

It was a lynx. 

“I need some roses for my girlfriend, it’s our anniversary-”

“Yes, yes, I have some in back. How many?”

“As many as fifty dollars will get me.”

“About fifty, then. Red, pink, white...?”

“Can I get a mix of all three?” 

Shadow rummaged around in the fridge, pulling out the lynx’s request and bundling them up before handing them over to her.

“Keep them in water, and use this mineral packet to keep them alive as long as possible. Happy anniversary.” The words, long since memorized if the order occasionally rearranged, flowed easily, and when she left, bell ringing again, he was back to waiting.

Four thirty. Five. Five thirty. Six.

He sighed, spritzing water on the counter and scrubbing at a bit of dirt with a washcloth. The store closed at six, and there hadn’t been hair nor hide of the other hedgehog all-

A blur of blue outside the window. Shadow dropped the washcloth, shoving it under the counter and tugging off his apron, hurriedly folding it and tucking it next to the washcloth before walking outside.

“You didn’t come today.” His voice was level, but he sucked in a breath when he caught sight of his favorite customer- Sonic’s eyes were red, and his cheeks and forehead were flushed.

“Is it possible to become allergic to something out of, like, nowhere?”

“I suppose, why?”

“I think... ‘m allergic to fungus or pollen or something. Hay fever never really got to me before, but this morning... bleeeeh.” He stuck out his tongue. “Hope it goes away soon.”

“So do I.” It took Shadow a moment to realize he’d spoken aloud, and when he did, he turned to look down the street, hoping the heat rising to his cheeks wasn’t visible. Sonic nudged his shoulder.