Work Text:
Ryuunosuke let out a deep sigh as he flipped the sign on the door to read 'CLOSED' after another long day of work. He stretched his arms over his head and let out a soft groan at the feeling of several small cracks up his spine before turning towards the rows and rows of bright blooms behind him and smiling softly to himself. Picking up his clipboard, he set about to do his regular end of day inventory.
Even as a child, Ryuunosuke had always loved flowers. They were beautiful yet fleeting things in a world that he saw as inherently flawed and ugly. When he and his younger sister, Gin, were still on the streets as kids, Ryuunosuke would often pick whatever pretty flowers he could find as a gift to make her smile. When the two of them finally got adopted by Hirotsu-san, the older man would bring home fresh flowers every week to sit on the dining room table once he realized how much Ryuunosuke liked to look at them. What had started out as an interest became a passion, and now it was his vocation. Owning a flower shop was a longtime dream of his, and while he was beyond grateful every day to be able to do what he loved, being on his feet all day was something he could never seem to get used to.
The tinkling of the bell above the front door drew Ryuunosuke's attention away from the bin of roses he was currently counting and he had to resist the urge to smile. There were only two people in the world that would dare to try and interrupt him after his shift ended: his sister and his best friend. And since he knew that Gin was probably getting ready for a date with her girlfriend, Ichiyo —
"The sign on the door does read 'closed', Jinko," he drawled, not even bothering to look up from his work. "What would the populace say if they saw someone barging into a shop uncontested after hours?"
"God forbid a guy want to come visit one of his favorite people when he knows they've got a free moment!" Ryuunosuke glanced up and was greeted with the sight of Atsushi strolling into the flower shop with a signature beaming smile on his face.
"Remind me why I choose to associate myself with you again?"
"Beeeecause you love me?" The white-haired man batted his eyelashes playfully at Ryuunosuke.
More than you know…
Ryuunosuke gave him an exaggerated eye roll in return and a half smile before turning his attention back to the flower bins. "How were your classes today?"
"Not bad, honestly!" Atsushi chirped as he hopped up on his usual perch of the check-out counter, letting his feet swing a little as they dangled off the edge. "Professor Kunikida's still kind of a hardass. Thankfully I only need one semester of calculus and I won't have to see him again. But Doctor Yosano said I did a great job with my research paper I turned in last week!"
"The poop one?" asked Ryuunosuke, moving over to the amaryllis bins.
"It wasn't about poop," Atsushi groaned. "How many times do I have to explain it to you? It was exploring evolutionary trends across primates based on the prevalence of bacteria specifically found in the digestive tract of that class! And then going on to create a phylogenetic tree based on the concentration of—"
"Atsushi, I adore you, but it was a paper about monkey poop."
The dark-haired man grinned over at his longtime friend, who had dramatically covered his face with both hands and tilted his head up towards the ceiling. God, his antics were adorable. Feeling a bit bad for teasing him so much, he withdrew a single pink amaryllis stem from the bin he had currently been counting and crossed over to the counter where Atsushi sat.
"Here."
Atsushi leaned back forward and took his hands off his face, the slight scowl morphing into a brilliant smile at the sight of the offered flower.
"It's beautiful!" he exclaimed, carefully accepting the amaryllis and stroking over the silky pink petals. "What does this one mean?"
It was a ritual as old as the flower shop's inception. Flower language was a special interest of his that had translated spetacularly into his work. Every so often, Ryuunosuke would gift Atsushi a flower that had a special intended meaning behind it. He would always be careful to select stems where meanings could be ambiguous should the younger ever get curious and research further, but his intent would always be to secretly express the feelings he's harbored for Atsushi. The flower he'd chosen today was meant to represent playful love and affection, but Ryuunosuke was ready for the ever-present query.
"Friendship," replied the older man smoothly. "Consider it a peace offering for shitting on your research paper — no pun intended."
Atsushi let out a huff of a laugh that puffed his uneven bangs away from his face. "You definitely meant that pun."
"You have no proof."
The white-haired man smiled softly down at the amaryllis in his hands before sitting straight up, eyes wide.
"Oh! I forgot to tell you one last thing that happened today!"
Ryuunosuke raised a single eyebrow in question. "Good or bad?"
"I got asked out on a date!"
Bad…decidedly very bad. It felt like a bucket of ice water got dumped over Ryuunosuke's head, the cold tendrils of dread taking root in his chest. Atsushi was beautiful, it was plain for everyone to see. Not to mention he was smart, funny, and always the brightest light in any room. He was one of the few people in this world that renewed the florist’s sense of any semblance of faith in humanity. It was only a matter of time before someone else realized that and made a move before Ryuunosuke could pluck up the courage himself. It took every ounce of his self control to keep his features schooled in perceived nonchalance.
"Oh? Who was it?" he asked airily.
"I think I've mentioned him before to you, his name's Michizou. He's my desk partner for Professor Dazai's Psychology class."
Atsushi had so many friends and intermingled with so many people on campus that it took Ryuunosuke a minute to try and recall the name.
"The redhead with the eyebrow piercing?"
"Yeah, that's him! He asked me if I'd wanna get coffee with him on Saturday at that little café off campus."
"And do you want to?"
"I think so." Atsushi looked back down at the flower in his hands and gently twirled the stem between his fingers, a thoughtful look on his face. "I told him yes, but nobody's ever asked me out before…I'd be lying if I said I wasn't kind of nervous."
"Frankly, I'm rather surprised nobody's taken notice of you before now."
Ryuunosuke mentally chastised himself for not holding his tongue better. But with the way that the younger man looked up at him, eyes brimming with hope? How could he not?
"What I mean to say," he continued, hoisting himself up on the counter beside Atsushi, "is that you're an absolute catch. Anyone would be lucky enough to call themself yours."
"Heh, you're just saying that," replied Atsushi with a gentle nudge of his elbow.
"When, in all the years you've known me, have I ever censored myself around you before?"
"Hmm…point taken." The white-haired boy shifted to rest his head against Ryuunosuke's shoulder in a familiar gesture. "Thanks, Ryuu. It means a lot"
"Anytime, Jinko."
The words tasted like ash on the older's tongue as he wrapped a tentative arm around Atsushi's waist in a comforting gesture. It was hard to say how long the two of them just sat there coexisting like that, but Ryuunosuke wouldn't complain about it. He always cherished the small, shared moments with his friend. Finally the spell seemed to break as Atsushi extended the amaryllis in front of them.
"You know an awful lot about flowers and what they mean, Ryuu."
"I should hope so, considering my chosen career."
"Can you…would you be willing to make a small bouquet for me? To give to Michizou as token of thanks for asking me out?"
Ryuunosuke felt his heart drop to his stomach. Atsushi had no way of knowing how such a simple, earnest question made it feel like the dark-haired man's world was shrinking in on itself. Had Atsushi just asked for a bouquet, he would happily oblige, but the last thing he wanted to do was construct one as a gift for a romantic rival. And yet, with the feeling of those eager ametrine eyes looking at him expectantly, Ryuunosuke let out a heavy sigh of resignation.
"Okay."
~~~
As much as Ryuunosuke didn't want to make a bouquet for this Michizou person, he promised Atsushi he would do it. And he was a man of his word at the end of the day. Thankfully he had a whole day to toy the idea of what to do, since Atsushi had asked him on Thursday evening. Eventually he came to a rather clever conclusion: Atsushi wasn't very well-versed on flower language outside of what he'd taught him. Ryuunosuke could abide by the younger man's request to make Michizou a bouquet, but he wasn't hindered by any particular meaning for it.
Once his plan was formulated, he set to work just after opening the shop on Saturday morning. It wasn't a big bouquet by any stretch, but he still attempted to at least make it look nice and full between helping customers, adding multiple different kinds of blooms and types of greenery. He had actually just been putting the finishing touches on it when the bell tinkled above the door again.
"One moment, I'll be right with you!" he called over his shoulder, still wrapping the green cellophane around the bundle of stems.
"It's just me, Ryuu!"
Immediately turning his attention towards his friend's voice with a soft smile on his face and a welcoming comment at the tip of his tongue, Ryuunosuke felt his mouth go dry and his knees go a little weak.
The usually wild and loose hair that Atsushi usually sported was plaited against his shoulder in a neat braid, a few strands left out to frame his face. He had a cozy-looking ribbed cornflower blue sweater on that was tucked neatly into the waistband of his skirt. And while the younger man had never been one to conform to the idea of 'gendered' clothing, and seeing him in a skirt was nothing new, the way this skirt in particular looked on Atsushi? Olive green and flared out just beneath his knees, it paired with the simple black platform heeled boots Atsushi wore to make his already long legs look like they went on even further.
He was fucked. Well and truly fucked.
"Ryuu?"
Atsushi's voice broke Ryuunosuke from his thoughts and he blinked a few times, adjusting to his newfound proximity. A choked gasp escaped him at the sight of gold glitter on the white-haired man's eyelids and baby pink blush on his cheeks, but Ryuunosuke managed to play it off as a tiny cough. He plastered on a practiced look of neutral indifference onto his face.
"Jinko?" he quipped back.
"I asked if you thought I looked okay," said Atsushi, nervousness tingeing his tone. He tugged subconsciously at the sleeve of his sweater. "I feel like it might be too much for a first date, you know?"
"Nonsense. You look —" Ryuunosuke's thoughts got silenced again by the sheen of what could only be gloss on the bottom lip that the younger man was currently worrying between his teeth, but he recovered quickly. "You look resplendent," he said with as much sincerity as he could muster.
Ryuunosuke felt pride blossom in his chest at the natural blush that colored Atsushi's cheeks underneath the light makeup he had on. It only seemed to make him all the more beautiful.
"You're just saying that, but I appreciate it — oh wow, is that the bouquet you made for me? It looks incredible!"
Letting a shaky exhale out through his nose, the older man plastered a practiced easy smile onto his face as he scooped up the bundle of flowers and passed it over delicately for Atsushi's appraisal.
"Did you honestly anticipate anything less?"
"Nope!" Atsushi shook his head animatedly, loose hair flying about. "What all did you include in it? And what do they all mean?"
God, he was adorable when he got like this…
The bell tinkling again drew both of their attentions towards the door. A middle aged man in a bowler hat and trench coat walked in, the cane in his hand tapping rhythmically against the floor as he approached the counter. The dark-haired man let out a soft sigh of relief at the short respite he was given.
"Remind me tomorrow, I can go over it all with you," promised Ryuunosuke. "Have fun, Jinko."
"Will do! And thank you again!"
Atsushi set down the bouquet and reached across the counter to give his friend a tight hug before gathering the flowers back into his arms. In a blur of blue, green, and white, he was out of the store and walking down the street towards the cafe. Ryuunosuke watched him go, a subconscious fond smile at his lips before the subtle clearing of a throat brought him back to reality.
"I apologize, I was lost in thought," said Ryuunosuke quickly. He refocused his attention back onto the man in the bowler hat and smiled warmly. "How can I help you?"
~~~
Ryuunosuke managed to make it through the rest of his shift without any further incidents. While his mind often wandered to Atsushi and how his date might be going, he would switfly force himself to refocus on his work each time. The younger man would probably tell him all about it anyway the next time he saw him. As the florist waved his last customer of the day away with a smile, he flipped the sign on his door again from 'OPEN' to 'CLOSED', letting all of the stored tension in his shoulders drop.
He went ahead and locked the front door before going about his daily closing tasks almost robotically. Inventory, putting the cash in the safe, sweeping the floors...all standard fare. He was very nearly done with cleaning up the store for the night when the sound of rapping against the glass door startled him mid-cleaning.
"Sorry, we're closed!" he called over his shoulder as he continued wiping down the counter.
"Ryuu, let me in."
The dark-haired man froze at the sound of Atsushi's normally warm voice being directed towards him so sadly. He turned around to face the door and saw his friend standing there, still in that stunning outfit, but with his arms crossed over his chest and a frown on his face. What happened? Had the date gone badly? Ryuunosuke set the rag aside and swiftly made his way across the storeroom floor to unlock the door.
"What's wrong?" he asked, ushering Atsushi inside and locking the door behind him. "Was the date not enjoyable? Did Michizou not like the bouquet?"
Atsushi didn't answer right away. He crossed the floor to the check-out counter, to where he normally would jump up and sit when he visited the shop after hours, but opted to lean against it this time. The older man felt torn between giving him the space to talk when he was ready and wanting to somehow fix whatever happened and make that awful sadness go away. He didn't take his eyes off of his friend as he turned the door lock again and took a few tentative steps towards him.
"Atsushi..?"
"Did you know that Michizou is like you?"
"I'm afraid you'll have to give me a bit more than that, Jinko."
"He's interested in the language of flowers, too."
Ryuunosuke recoiled as if he'd been physically slapped and a knot of unease settled itself firmly in his stomach.
"He was so excited to see those flowers I asked you for," continued Atsushi, eyes downcast. "I told him I had asked my florist friend to make a bouquet for him, and while I didn't know much about flower language, you did. I can't get Michizou's face out of my mind when he started ticking off what they each meant."
"Atsushi, wait —"
"Sweet pea. Yellow hyacinth. Pink chrysanthemum." Ametrine eyes were now trained on Ryuunosuke, voice raising steadily. "Used as a means to say 'farewell'. 'Jealousy.' 'Platonic intent.' Do you know what he asked me, Ryuu?" Before the shop owner could reply, Atsushi interjected, "He asked if we had ever been together before! If my 'friend' that worked at the flower shop was really just a friend! Do you understand how embarrassing that is to explain on a date?!"
"Please, allow me to explain that bouquet —"
"No, Ryuu, I want you to start from the very beginning." Atsushi's voice was firm amidst the slight wavering at the start. He moved to stand right in front of Ryuunosuke, his skirt swishing from his speed as he pointed an accusatory finger at the older man's chest. "I don't want you to just explain the bouquet. I want you to go through every single flower that you've ever given me and tell me what they really mean. Right now."
"I never lied about the meaning of any of the flowers I ever gave you."
"A lie of omission is still a lie!"
Ryuunosuke stood stock still with his hands up in a show of surrender. Guilt and defensive anger swirled hot in his blood in equal measure. Atsushi was right: he had lied to him, but it was only because Ryuunosuke was too much of a coward to admit to his own feelings. He tried to keep his breathing as slow and level as possible, lest he lose his temper (and potentially Atsushi forever) as a consequence. This wasn't the way that he wanted to confess to his best friend, but at the end of the day, he truly could never deny Atsushi anything. Very slowly, with the feeling of hammering the final nail into his own coffin, he gave the younger man a single nod of understanding.
"Okay," he acquiesced, lowering his hands to his sides. "Where would you like me to start?"
Atsushi blinked a few times at him, seemingly disbelieving how readily his friend gave in. He recovered quickly, lowering his own hand and striding over to the nearest bin of purple blooms.
"Violets," said Atsushi pointedly. "You told me that in history, violets symbolized nostalgia, for fondly remembering the past. This was the first flower you ever gave me after opening this shop. You said it was because you couldn't help but think about us picking flowers together in primary school, and now here you were with a flower shop all your own. What did it really mean when you gave me one?"
The dark-haired man was gobsmacked. He couldn't even remember the very first flower he'd given to Atsushi. And yet here he was, prattling off his half-truth of an explanation as if it were just yesterday he'd done it.
"You…how..?"
"Ryuunosuke Akutagawa, answer my question."
Something about that authoritative tone in his voice made the beginnning heat of arousal coil in Ryuunosuke's belly but he tamped it down quickly, willing his body not to betray him now of all times. He finally moved over to the wall of the store where the bins of stems rested, toying delicately with the petals of the nearest flowers to him.
"In ancient times," he started quietly, "the Romans did lay violets on graves of their departed as a symbol of rememberance. That much is true. But the Greeks associated violets with Aphrodite, the goddess of love. And a bit later during the Victorian era, they were similarly used to represent faithfulness and devotion…"
Ryuunosuke looked up at his first ever real friend, drawing forth courage from deep within himself and exhaling shakily. "While my explanation to you adopted the meaning from the Romans, my intent with giving you that flower was more along the lines of the other two societies: love, faithfulness, devotion."
Atsushi took a few measured breaths as his gaze bore into the older man. Nodding once, he crossed to another bin and gestured to the new blooms within.
"And these? Yellow acacia — you said they were a 'representation of my bright disposition' when you gave me that one."
"Again, that is a real meaning for those flowers…but they can also represent concealed love."
On and on Atsushi went, walking around the shop floor and pointing out various blooms that the other man had given him at some point during their friendship. And with each new flower, Ryuunosuke calmly amended the younger man's understanding of what they represented. He dug his fingernails harder into his palms to prevent himself from shaking as Atsushi finally came right up beside him and gestured to the amaryllis bin that he was standing in front of.
"Pink amaryllis," breathed the younger man. "Friendship?"
"Among other things."
"Such as?"
Atsushi's face was now mere inches from Ryuunosuke's own.
"Resilience," he whispered. "Beauty. And…playful love."
Ametrine eyes seemed to stare into his very soul while Ryuunosuke stood as still as he could, waiting for the proverbial other shoe to drop. It was unnerving to bare one's soul so plainly to someone else, and the older man tried his best to tamp down the anxiety swirling in his belly. Would Atsushi still want to be his friend after all of this? Could he find it inside himself to forgive Ryuunosuke for lying to him all this time? He almost wished Atsushi would yell or something, it'd be preferable to the intense silence.
After what could have been minutes or hours, the white-haired man nodded his head once and backed up a few steps. He withdrew his phone from his pocket and tapped away at it wordlessly, not even sparing Ryuunosuke a glance. Ryuunosuke didn't even dare breathe while he just watched Atsushi scroll at the screen in seemingly deep thought. He finally seemed content with what he'd wanted to do, pocketing the device again and scanning the various bins in the flower shop before striding confidently over to one in particular.
Ryuunosuke's heart leapt into his throat when he saw what Atsushi reached for. Yellow ambrosia. A rather unassuming stem from the ragweed family, one that most would think just a weed if they encountered it out in the wild. It's often disasterous for anyone that suffers from hay fever, which is why the older man kept a small supply in store at any given time. But he'd never dreamt that Atsushi would ever know what it meant. Or even that he'd be crossing the floral shop floor to stand right back in front of him, offering the single stem to Ryuunosuke timidly.
"Reciprocated love?" he asked in a voice barely above a whisper.
Atsushi nodded, biting his lip. "Yeah…is that bad?"
"If it is, it's hopefully not as bad as pining away in silence for the better part of a decade for a friend that somehow felt the same."
"Better part of a decade?"
Ryuunosuke mentally kicked himself for that one. He was already in deep at this point, what was the use of holding back now? He gingerly accepted the ambrosia stem and exhaled a deep breath, looking to it as if for strength.
"In the spirit of full transparency," he started, "I think I've always been drawn to you, Atsushi. You were the first person besides Hirotsu-san to show me actual kindness. You were there for me through everything — the good times and the bad. And somewhere along the way, the first friend that I ever made became the first and only person I've ever considered loving."
Something akin to pride welled up in Ryuunosuke when he glanced up and saw dark natural blush peeking through the remnants of the younger man's makeup.
"You can't just say shit like that with a straight face," pouted Atsushi. "It's not fair."
"All's fair in love and war, Jinko."
"Even covertly sabotaging my date?"
"I'll properly apologize to Michizou later, you have my word."
"I'm still pissed at you for it."
The sentiment of his words was severely undercut by the soft smile on Atsushi's pink lips, and a giddy, almost disbelieving laugh bubbled up out of the dark-haired man's chest. Ryuunosuke reached out a hand to gently cup at the other man's cheek, giving him a fond smile in return.
"If it means I can finally call you 'mine', I think I can live with that."
"So where do we go from here?" asked Atsushi, voice barely above a whisper.
The two of them were already close to each other, close enough to be breathing the same air, but Ryuunosuke stepped just a bit closer. He was so sure that Atsushi could hear his heart pounding against his ribs.
"May I kiss you?"
To the older man's surprise, rather than getting a verbal reply, Atsushi took the initiative to close the gap and kiss him first. Tentative lips pressed against his own and it didn't take more than a half second of realization before Ryuunosuke returned the gesture. He settled his hands at the white-haired man's waist, anchoring himself as he kissed him back.
It was messy and uncoordinated. Curious hands would bump against each other and retreat just as quickly in their separate tentative explorations. When Ryuunosuke tried to deepen the kiss, their teeth clacked together and Atsushi ended up accidentally biting his lip. And yet, every aspect of their kiss was utterly perfect. It was perfectly imperfect and everything that Ryuunosuke had hoped it would be. He even found himself having to purposefully angle his hips away from his friend, lest he know just how excited that mere kisses made him.
When they finally broke apart for air, Atsushi rested his forehead against the older man's and exhaled a shaky laugh.
"Did we really just do that?"
"We did," chuckled Ryuunosuke. He planted a soft kiss to the tip of the white-haired man's nose. "And I'd love to be able to do it again and again."
"You're unbelievable."
"I've been holding myself back for damn near a decade, Jinko. Forgive my enthusiasm at my feelings being reciprocated."
The florist guided Atsushi to walk the short number of steps backwards until his hips hit the edge of the check-out counter. He then gently cupped Atsushi's cheek and stroked his thumb over it, looking into those ametrine eyes he adored so much.
"Would it be presumptuous if I asked to kiss you again?"
"Only if it's presumptuous for me to want you to kiss me, Ryuu."
"God, you're going to be the death of me someday…"
"Then you should probably kiss me again before your untimely demise," Atsushi smirked.
Ryuunosuke groaned in spite of himself and resituated his hands on the white-haired man's hips, gently lifting him up on to the counter and stepping between his legs. "Minx."
"You love it."
"Absolutely I do…"
Without further preamble, Ryuunosuke leaned forward and kissed Atsushi again. The younger reciprocated in kind, wrapping his arms around Ryuunosuke's neck and smiling against his lips. Warmth bloomed through the dark-haired man's body and his head felt like it was filling with cotton for how light it was. Atsushi pulled him closer and, in a gesture that had the older man's eyes flying open in alarm, wrapped one of his legs around the florist's narrow hips to draw him in closer.
"Wait, Atsushi —"
Before he could fumble around a hurried excuse for his arousal, the rest of the words died on his tongue at the feel of the younger man's erection pressing against his own. So many emotions hit him at once: pride, surprise, excitement, nervousness. There was a much more pronounced blush on Atsushi's cheeks under Ryuunosuke's awed gaze.
"I…I just wanted you closer…I wanted to feel you," he mumbled, looking off to the side in embarrassment.
Ryuunosuke cupped the other man's face again, gently guiding him to look back up at him. "Don't hide. You don't ever need to hide from me." To punctuate his point, he slowly rolled his hips against Atsushi's, drawing a choked moan out of him that had the older man biting the inside of his cheek. "It's completely natural. And I won't lie, I'm also incredibly flattered."
Almost as if his approval was the permission Atsushi was looking for, he used his grip around both Ryuunosuke's hips and neck to pull him back in for another frantic kiss. It was Ryuunosuke's turn to groan at the timid way that the younger man shifted his hips against his own. The friction felt incredible, so much so that the florist didn't care that they were still in his shop — he wanted to chase after that feeling.
The pair of them rutted up against each other like horny teenagers, lips never separating for very long as if they couldn't get enough of each other. Probably because they couldn't now that the dam had broken. Ryuunosuke slowly stroked his palms up the white-haired man's thighs, kneading and teasing at the lean muscle beneath the olive green fabric. Needy little whimpers bubbled up out of Atsushi that only served to spur him on further.
How he wished he could feel the smoothness of the other man's skin beneath his hands…he'd waited this long to just to kiss him. Even though he wanted everything and more that the younger man would willingly give him, he would gladly wait however much longer it took.
Atsushi locked his legs around the small of the dark-haired man's back and gave a slow, indulgent drag of his own hardness against Ryuunosuke's. The older man felt like the air had been punched out of his lungs and he broke their kiss, leaning his forehead against Atsushi's and panting into the space between them.
"Fuck, Jinko…"
"I know…me too…"
"Do you- can I get you off? Is that okay?"
Another needy sound came from the younger man. "Please?"
Ryuunosuke felt like the last vestiges of his self control were hanging on by a frayed thread. He took a deep, shuddering breath and more surely anchored his hands on Atsushi's hips to pull him flush against him. Using the noises his friend made as a guide, Ryuunosuke took over the pace of their grinding. He dedicated himself to doing everything he could to bring the white-haired man to his peak, his own pleasure being secondary but ever-growing with the knowledge that he finally was able to have Atsushi the way he wanted.
It didn't take much longer for Atsushi's body to tense and for a broken, high-pitched moan to escape his lips. That was the last little push that Ryuunosuke seemed to need for the dangerously tight coil in his own gut to snap. He managed to stifle his own cries by crushing his lips against Atsushi's again, kissing him hard and trying to pour every last ounce of love and longing he felt into it.
Eventually, their kiss slowed down along with the racing of their hearts. Limbs gently disentangled themselves. Ryuunosuke pulled back slowly to look at the younger man and his chest clenched at the dazed grin on Atsushi's face. The florist couldn't help a dumb smile from splitting his own face at the realization of what just happened.
"Are you okay?" he asked softly.
Atsushi hummed. "I'm great. You?"
"I'm incredible." Amidst the fuzzy, post-orgasm haze, a thought made its way back to the forefront of Ryuunosuke's mind. "Can I ask you something? How were you able to remember every flower that I ever gave you and their meanings?"
Atsushi gave him a sheepish smile. "I may or may not have pressed them all in a book."
"You're not serious."
"They were gifts from you, Ryuu…why wouldn't I have kept them?"
An even brighter smile split the older man's face as he shook his head in disbelief. "You're unbelievable."
"Can I ask you something, too?" asked Atsushi.
"Anything."
"If you were to give me another flower right now, what would it be?"
Ryuunosuke didn't even have to think about it. He cupped the white-haired man's cheek again and stroked against it with his thumb.
"A red rose," he replied easily.
"And what does it mean?"
"I love you."
Atsushi hummed and leaned into the palm against his face. "I love you, too," he replied in a soft voice.
And that was more than enough for Ryuunosuke.