PLANTS

kyoutani kentarou was a dog person, which many people knew. he was a volleyball person and loved the feeling of the ball slapping his palm. that was obvious. what wasn't as obvious was that he owned a lot of plants. that, no one knew. no one, of course, except yahaba shigeru.

kentarou was only supposed to get one house plant. it was supposed to spruce up his new apartment, make it feel more like home. in all the home design magazines there seemed to be at least one house plant somewhere. he figured it may be the secret to a better home. he wasn't entirely wrong.

he was only supposed to go to the florist shop once. once. once turned into not only once, but two times a week. how this happened, kentarou had no idea.

going to the florist's shop seemed innocent enough. kentarou had no idea it had been just a block away from his apartment complex, which surprised him. he walked his dog, yasu, past the shop almost every day. he figured its pastel exterior wasn't exactly that eye-catching, but it was attractive nonetheless.

a bell ding!ed overhead when kentarou walked in. the pastel colors continued inside the shop, creating a nice sense of minimalism. the bright flowers muted the hues of the interior around them. the shop was so full of life, which he hadn't expected from a little corner store type place. it seemed he was alone in the shop, though, because when he looked around there was no visible employee. "hello?" he called out timidly, not sure where an answer would come from or whether or not he truly wanted one.

kentarou flinched when a head popped out behind a wheel barrel display. the wheel barrel held an array of vases filled with boldly colored blossoms. the head belonged to a man who seemed to be around his own age. he was wearing a green apron which tied at the neck and lower back, so kentarou assumed he worked there. his brown hair was swept neatly across his forehead, giving him a boyish look. "oh, my bad, i didn't mean to scare you," he chirped, a radiant smile decorating his face. kentarou felt frozen in place. the man looked at him, seemingly concerned. "is there something i can help you with?"

kentarou shook his head lightly, not in response to the man's question, but to shake himself out of a daze. his palms were sweating. why are they sweating? he grunted out, "no, i'm alright for right now," and power-walked into another section of the store. he wasn't normally this nervous around store workers. sure, he was a bit socially awkward, but there had never been a case where his stomach acted up in the manner it did. he peeked out from behind a shelf, safely concealed behind a rather large potted bush. the worker stood in the same spot kentarou had left him, looking a bit confused. he then shrugged to himself and went behind the cash register.

kentarou glanced around the store and wiped his hands on his jeans. he had no idea what kind of plant would be suitable for him. he hadn't thought that far in advance. he sheepishly crept up to the counter. "i actually have a question," he griped. the florist, who's name kentarou could now say was yahaba from looking at his name tag, looked up from a book he had been paging through. he looked a bit surprised, eyes wide and mouth agape. his expression quickly changed to a warmer one and he smiled his dazzling smile again.

"what is it?" yahaba asked, sticking a bookmark in his paperback and placing it on the soil-ridden counter. he leaned forward and propped his head up with one hand.

kentarou sucked in a breath. "i want to buy a houseplant." yahaba furrowed his eyebrows. "and i don't know what type of plant to get," he admitted.

yahaba's face brightened considerably. "oh. oh!" he exclaimed. wordlessly, he shuffled out from behind the counter and walked to another part of the shop. something in kentarou told him to follow the worker, so he did. yahaba stopped in front of a wall. from the wall, several shelves jutted out, each holding a similar looking plant. "these," he said brightly, "are bonsai trees. the ficus," he pointed to the two middle shelves, "is very good for beginners. it's tolerant to low-humidity and can withstand quite a lot. do you have any especially bright places you plan to put this?"

kentarou thought about the picture frame window in his living room and nodded. it seemed like a good place with plenty of sun. yahaba grinned. "good, because any plant will need lots of sunlight. would you like me to show you any other plants, or do you plan to buy one of these?"

kentarou shrugged. "i'll get a ficus i guess," he said, forcing his face into a scowl. the smile on this guy was unbearably cute, and kentarou hated it. the last time he had thought anyone was attractive in the least was in junior high.

speaking of his smile, yahaba's faltered at the deep frown lines in kentarou's forehead. "alright. choose whichever you'd like. i'll ring you up." he frowned and walked back to the front counter.

great, now you've done it! he isn't smiling anymore, kentarou though bitterly. frustrated, he ran a hand through his bleached hair. he chose a tree and hefted it up to the counter, surprised at the weight of it. yahaba smiled weakly and giggled. "is the tree's weight a bit much for you?"

"no," kentarou huffed. "i can handle it." yahaba smirked knowingly as he watched kentarou struggle with the plant.

"that pot is heavier and the tree is larger. it would've been easier to just grab the other plant," yahaba supplied once the bonsai had been safely put on the counter.

"i don't do easy," kentarou challenged.

yahaba laughed. "whatever you say," he teased. "now," he pulled out a notepad and started furiously scribbling things with a pen he had slipped out of his apron pocket. "for watering, just check the soil. if it's dry, water it. there is no specific schedule you should follow. you can also mist it to maintain humidity, but not too much or it could cause fungal problems. for fertilizing, fertilize weekly or bi-weekly in the summer and every two to four weeks in the winter. you can use liquid fertilizer or fertilizer pellets, whichever you prefer. got that?" he stopped scribbling and looked up to see a very confused and overwhelmed kentarou. "no, you don't. i wrote it down here." he ripped the page off of the pad and handed it to kentarou, who folded it up and put it in his pocket.

"thank you," kentarou muttered. he picked up the plant with both hands and went for the door.

yahaba smiled and waved. "you're welcome. see you next time!"

kentarou didn't think there would be a next time. his subconscious and self-control had other ideas.

☮

"you lost your fertilizer again?" yahaba asked incredulously. it was the eighth time in two months that kentarou had 'missplaced' his fertilizer and come in to get more. at this point, he had way more fertilizer than he would probably ever need, but he needed some sort of excuse to come and visit the beautiful florist down the street. "tell me, kyoutani, how is that even possible?"

kentarou shrugged. "i'm really forgetful," he insisted bashfully.

yahaba chuckled. "i'm beginning to think you're just coming in to see me," he joked.

"why would i do that?" kentarou had suddenly forgotten how to breathe. yahaba was sitting on the counter looking down at him, smirking that smirk kentarou had grown a love/hate relationship with. their faces were so close he could feel yahaba's warm breath on his nose, meaning yahaba felt the absence of his breath.

"oh, i dunno," yahaba said innocently. "maybe you like me or something," he drawled, raising an eyebrow and catching kentarou's eye contact. he dragged a finger across kentarou's jawline. kentarou tensed up at the contact, not entirely prepared for it. yahaba then abruptly leaned back, bringing his hand with him. "or maybe i'm wrong," he shrugged.

"no, no, you're right," kentarou muttered.

"what was that?" yahaba asked, feigning obliviousness.

"maybe i like you or something," kentarou relented.

yahaba smiled that award-winning smile. "finally!" he laughed.

kentarou raised an eyebrow. "finally what?"

"you finally confessed," he explained. "it was so painfully obvious you liked me."

"then why didn't you say anything?" kentarou asked.

yahaba shrugged. "i wanted you to make the first move."

kentarou smirked. "is that so?" he snaked his arms around yahaba's waist, never breaking eye contact. yahaba giggled and they both leaned in-

the bell over the door rang, announcing a customer had walked in. both boys sprang away from each other like magnets meeting at an identical pole. "uhm.. am i interrupting something?" the woman asked carefully.

"n-no! not at all!" yahaba said cheerfully. he jumped down from the counter and wiped his hands on his apron. he walked over to kentarou. "you, me, dinner. be here at seven, and wear something casual." he whispered before stalking over to the woman and asking her if she needed any help with anything.

kentarou left the florist's shop, hoping this new friendship would blossom into something more.

( a/n ) and you all thought i forgot kyouhaba week come on