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fingers tap on the counter, humming softly to the tune of the cold storage where flowers were kept. it was near the end of the day, each ray of the sun escaping through the windows inside to illuminate everything in its soft glow.
nana looks up, smiles. the bouquet on her hands was nearly done, yet she still had to add the main flowers.
the camellias are in full bloom, she puts them gently in the middle. three of them, just like the people involved in the proposal.
“my destiny is in your hand,” she murmurs. it fit the three of them, it was why nana even thought of putting them there.
her eyes look outside of the shop. everything was orange, so was the lake before the building. it looked peaceful, the beauty only a small town could possess.
nana glances at the clock. it wasn’t that time yet.
the hydrangeas are next. she places only one this time. they were three people but it was one union, three fates intertwined into one.
“unification.” nana bites her lip, grabs some green leaves and adds them in between. good, now it felt more complete.
her eyes glance to the side. on the other side of the park, a coffee shop is open. it didn’t use to be, but for weeks nana had now gotten used to finding comfort in the person who works there.
she used to be alone, with only the park to accompany her. now she wasn't, the empty building now a cafe loved by many.
nana blinks in surprise when green eyes meet hers from the window of the cafe. even from afar, she notices the smile directed at her.
she looks down with a blush, shaking her head. what was next...?
“lilies!” nana giggles, grabs the three lilies that she’d put on the side. “hikari-chan would have my head if i forgot these...”
someone moves under her window. it wasn’t very high off the ground, but from outside nana could barely reach the top of the window while standing before it.
nana looks down outside. green eyes meet hers and nana barely drops the bouquet. but she doesn’t rush, pulls a blue, red and green bow.
she could wait a little. it wasn't time yet.
she wraps the bows around the bouquet, curls the ends and smiles in satisfaction. it was simple yet beautiful, exactly what she knew hikari wanted for mahiru and karen.
camellias, hydrangeas, and lilies. the most vibrant of bunches, their meaning wrapping everything perfectly.
“my destiny is in your hands from this pure union,” mutters nana. “fits the color scheme too.”
the clock ticks. nana looks up, stretches her neck.
the shop was painted orange, warm from the sun setting before it. nana looks to the side again, where the reason why she was waiting this moment stood.
nana smiles. it was 6 pm. it was time for them to meet.
she loved sunsets for more reasons than just their beauty.
(perhaps junna always coming for her break during sunsets had to do with that.
nana wouldn’t say it out loud, kept this fact locked in her heart the same way she locked the shop when junna entered with a smile and glittering eyes.)
“and you did this yourself?!”
nana giggles, scratching her red cheeks. it was the first time she’d taken junna to her rooftop, a space she shared with enough people she could count with one hand.
junna looks around the rooftop, eyes wide as she stared at the countless flowers and at the four trees that grew on vases big enough that she wondered how it was possible they were even there.
a tent was set up between the trees, white and with two chairs under. this was nana's space, one she had been taking care of and remodeling ever since her parents gave her the shop. nana perhaps enjoyed it here more than inside the shop, the fresh scent of flowers mixing with the fresh air from the lake before the building.
“the olive trees were here since my parents had the shop!” she smiles as junna crouches, in awe at the colorful flowers that rest on the ground all around them. “everything else i did myself, yeah! does junna-chan like it here?”
junna stands up, nodding excitedly. she looks peaceful, sunlight reflecting in her green orbs as she gazes at nana. her mouth moves, though nana hears nothing, too gone by how beautiful junna looks, even with her barista uniform on.
“-coming from? nana?”
she blinks. “uh- i’m sorry i was uh- what were you saying again?”
“where is the music coming from?” both of them focus, until junna’s eyes widen and nana barely stifles her laugh.
“one time i leave and karen blasts- is that kpop?!”
nana breaks then, laughing and clutching her stomach. junna’s loud sigh does not help, the girl joining her in laughing soon until it leaves place to a peaceful moment, devoid of loud laughs or the occasional traffic sounds.
both stare towards the horizon. the sky is purple and blue, morphing into a bright orange that paints the lake in its color. it’s quiet and nana stares at junna for a moment, at how calm she looks, so far from the cool and distant person she looked from afar when she had opened the cafe.
they were friends now, their lives and free time intertwining just like the hydrangeas that she gave junna the other day.
nana could get used to moments like these.
the song changes to something calmer, gentle and slow enough for nana to remember one of their shared interests. “junna-chan.”
“mm?”
nana raises her hand, smiling when junna looks at it curiously. “would you like to join me for a dance? unfortunately, no cute sounds from the pair of crocs you loved so much will be present as music.”
junna chuckles, her cheeks pink as she placed her hand in nana’s. it was warm, smelled idly like coffee when nana raised it to her shoulder.
“i will miss the horrid crocs, of course.” they sway easily, in tune with the song that karen was blasting. nana leads and junna follows, even if they just move slowly and with no thought behind each step they take. “wonder how i can dance with you without them…”
“junna-chan! those crocs are why this friendship started!”
green eyes glint, staring up at nana with adoration and fondness. there was a higher chance for nana to go blind from looking into her eyes than from looking at the bright setting sun behind junna.
their steps moved them closer to the railing, a path surrounded on both sides by small trees that reached their hips and flowers that came in all colors. she barely looks around as she moves, junna secure and warm in her arms.
“nana, what are the flowers by the railing?”
she spins junna around, smiling when her hands move to junna’s hips, two arms wrapping loosely around her shoulders. nana doesn’t mind how they are barely moving, all too happy to have junna close and look at the violets that resemble her hair under the sunset.
“ if you forget me- ” she starts softly, “ -think of our gifts to Aphrodite and all the loveliness that we shared. ” she looks at junna with a small smile. “all the violet tiaras, braided rosebuds, dill, and crocus twined around your young neck.”
junna’s eyes widen, perhaps surprised at how nana knew english. or maybe she knew-
“violets, rosebuds, and crocus… are these violets?”
nana hopes junna can see how proud she is. “you’re right, junna-chan! these are violets, they mean faith and affection.”
“and the poem?”
junna’s eyes shine and not just from the sunset. nana doesn’t think junna would be surprised at her knowledge, nor uncomfortable at the fact. perhaps she was challenging nana, wanting to find out something that nana had yet to say out loud.
her junna sure could be sly if she wanted to. so nana smiles, ready to say what would confirm what junna wanted to know about her.
“by sappho,” she replies with a quiet voice. “she’d use the flowers as a way to show the love for her female lover.”
junna doesn’t reply, hums and meets her eyes.
they stop moving, perhaps even the world does the same. and perhaps the world was just this rooftop and the girl in her arms, warmer and more beautiful than any beautiful flower nana held in this building.
both of them simply stand close under the sunset. there is no music now, only their heartbeats.
can junna feel it? can she feel nana’s heartbeat? is her heart the only one that beats so strong?
her breath shakes, junna’s face closer than it was before. they were almost breathing each other’s air, nana’s head low enough for their eyes to meet without much strain.
what could happen, she wondered, if she did something? would junna be surprised? weeks had passed since they met, perhaps she could lean closer and nothing would be surprising for them now. perhaps she could lean lower and-
“i-” she murmurs, barely breathing. junna licks her lips. “i-”
a loud scream comes from down, snapping them out of their moment.
junna notices it then, perhaps, the distance dying between them, nana’s speechless self and red face. the barista pulls away, blinking as if pulled out of a trance. she fixes her glasses, coughing and barely meeting nana’s eyes.
“i uh- i think that was karen.”
nana gulps, nods her head and a nervous laugh escapes her lips. “why don’t you go check? wouldn’t want karen-chan to burn down the cafe, do we?”
junna laughs too, stepping away from her embrace. she takes another step back, and another until she’s by the door of the rooftop. nana expects her to leave, curious when she pauses.
behind nana, the sun sets, disappears and leaves behind a sky filled with its colors.
before nana, junna smiles, cheeks red from more than just the lighting.
“thank you for this, nana. i’ll see you later.”
before her, junna disappears and leaves behind a heart that is ready to jump out of nana’s chest.
would she ever know how much brighter than the sun she was and how she helped bloom emotions in nana’s heart that she had yet to accept?
the violets almost mock her, making nana groan loudly and stare at the sky. this was just another close call.
hopefully next time- if there ever was one, she wouldn’t have interruptions, going from violets to roses as red as her cheeks. but now she smiles, remembering junna’s smile and how she felt in her arms.
the warmth of a feeling. nana hoped that junna would like the smell of the peppermint she’d give her tomorrow.