#hacker-sombra

Julius sees a lot of different people come into the shop, and for the most part he could tell what they had come in for by just looking at them, especially regulars. 

However, there was one regular he couldn’t quite put his finger on. Once a week a young man would visit the shop, and ever so often he’d catch of glimpse of him simply staring at him. Julius didn’t mind, and as much as he wanted to the young man to actually buy something with each visit, he wasn’t causing a ruckus so he allowed the boy to simply wander. In the back of mind, Julius knew why he was there, but shrugged off the thought before it could bloom into something deeper.

Then suddenly the young man stopped coming to the shop, and a part of Julius couldn’t help but be worried. It was strange not having him around, and as much as he tried to not let it get to him, Julius couldn’t deny that the unusual regular had left a mark on him. Nova said he had developed a crush, though before he could tell her just how wrong she was, the words caught in his throat.

It was a good two months before the young man came back, and Julius was rather grateful that the shop was having a slow day since he actually wanted to speak with the guy without being interrupted. 

When he approached the counter, Julius gave him a bright smile.

“Haven’t seen you a while. So, what can do for you?” Julius says, and he doesn’t miss the surprised look the young man gives him before shifts his gaze elsewhere.

“Um, well…” His voice is soft, and he fidgets slightly as he takes a deep breath before looking at him again, “What’s the best bouquet to give to your cheating soon-to-be ex-boyfriend to tell him to go fuck himself and that I want nothing to do with him anymore?”

Julius gapes at the young man in front of him, not because of his request per se, but because it was the first conversation the two of them had shared and that was the first thing out of his mouth.

“O-Oh my god, I’m so sorry, that was probably really weird for you to hear, I shouldn’t have been so blunt-”

“Whoa, whoa, it’s all right, really. You’d be surprised how many of those requests we get.”

His words seem to calm him down, though there is a light dusting of pink on the young man’s cheeks. Julius suggests orange lilies, and he can’t help but laugh when the guy asks for plastic flowers because his boyfriend was ‘just as fake as they were’. It was a damn shame that anyone would cheat on him, and soon as he thought of this, it hit him just how hard he had fall the person in front of him. Julius can’t help but chuckle at himself, and as the young man gives him an odd look, he quickly reassures him that his amusement is not directed at him.

The date for him to pick up his flowers was set to the next day, and as the young man placed his signature on the receipt, Julius could make out the name ‘Ludger’. 

"You know...the worst part about this break up is that I never really loved him. I mean I did like him, so It still hurts like hell to have him cheat on me, but I’m kind of relieved.”

“So why did you date him in the first place?”

The now named Ludger goes silent for a moment, and it looked as if he was contemplating something.

“I-I wanted to get over my crush. It seemed so silly to like someone I’d never have a chance with, so I thought if I dated someone I’d get over them...” He pauses again, though this time to give a sad laugh, “It didn’t work in the end.”

Shit.

Shit.

Julius knows it’s wrong to jump to conclusions, but who the hell else would Ludger be talking about? The constant visits to the shop, stealing glances at him whenever Julius wasn’t looking, how hurt he looked when he said ‘someone I’d never have a chance with’...he had to do something. 

“Hey, um, wait here for a second” Julius says as he walks around the counter.

Nova usually did inventory, so he wasn’t exactly sure what he was looking for would even be in the shop. He lets out a sigh of relief when he spots a small batch of the flowers, and they’re just enough to make a small bouquet like he had wanted. Sprinting back to the counter, Julius makes quick work of wrapping them, though he makes sure not to crush any of them, lest Ludger think he was unprofessional.

“Here.” It’s all he says as he presents the bouquet to Ludger, who is looking between the flowers and Julius in a rather confused manner.

“These are for me..?”

“Yeah. They’re linaria bipartita, or clovenlip toadflax, and they mean, er...How about you look it up and we’ll talk about it tomorrow, okay?”

Ludger looked a bit torn, and he insisted that he at least pay for the flowers, but Julius just says that it’s fine. After a few more second of hesitation, he finally takes the bouquet, and it was honestly the happiest Julius had seen him since entering the shop. He couldn’t help but smile at this.

“So I’ll see you tomorrow then, oh and I’ll make sure to look up what these mean when I get home.”

“Great, I look forward to seeing you.”

He hadn’t meant for it to come out quite like that, but seeing Ludger’s flushed face made it worth it. After saying their goodbyes Julius watches as he leaves, and once Ludger is out of sight he finally relaxes while letting out a long sigh.