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it never hurts to keep 
looking for sunshine

──● eeyore
WINNIE THE POOH

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Jara is really pretty.

Elliot wasn't really sure what he was expecting exactly when Daphne had said her friend was coming to New York for her Senior year, but it certainly wasn't Jara. Not that he didn't think Daphne could have attractive friends, he just didn't think he'd be attracted to them. 

He shook his head slightly, turning back to the bouquet he'd been working on. They'd gotten quite a few orders in today for custom bouquets, and it was going quite a bit smoother with both Jara and Daphne here. Often he did find his thoughts wondering if every which way, half-dissociating from the task at hand. His smile turned as he looked over the flowers, shaking his head.

"I'm really not sure why they chose Daphne."

His friend looked up, startled by her name, "Sorry?"

Elliot blinked, then a sheepish smile formed over his face, lifting the flower to her sight. "Sorry Daph, not you, the flower."

Jara looked up too, pressing her hands against the wheels of her chair to move backwards to see better between the arrangements along the table. "I didn't even know there was a flower called Daphne."

"That's what I was named after, actually." Daphne nodded slowly, "I was born in the winter, and my parents wanted a winter flower name."

Elliot shook his head, "That's exactly my point though, it's a winter flower, why would someone pick it for a summer bouquet?" His eyes drifted back to the spatter of flowers on the table before shaking his head, "The colors clash."

"Maybe it's their favorite flower, Echo wouldn't have it if no one ever asked for it."

That at the very least was true, Echo always seemed to have the right flowers for whatever she might need. She was smart like that, very intuitional. Elliot did have to give Daphne that point, and reluctantly, he relented. "I guess so."

"Some flowers have special meanings." Jara added nonchalantly, her eyes sharpened by eyeliner as she dragged them back to her own work, a rose bouquet of red and black. "I've always liked periwinkle and lilac, because those were my parents' favorites." She wasn't exactly soft-spoken despite her speaking quietly, because she still had that kind of articulation that made you want to pay attention. Talking for her was deliberate and distinct.

Elliot returned the nod, "Like Kasumi and sundrops."

Daphne brightened, "I love Kasumi, you know Rhys has come in at least once a month to get them for her. He always orders sundrops, sometimes with sage, fern, lavender, or baby's breath. It depends on the month I think." 

Jara looked up again, face calm and expressionless. "Kasumi. That's one of your sisters, isn't it?" 

"Yep!"

"Kas-sumi." She mused, looking back down at her work. "I know Sumi means beautiful, but I'm not sure if Kasumi, has an entirely different meaning."

Daphne looked over to Elliot, "Jara has this thing where she likes to know the meaning of people's names, she has a lot of them memorized, isn't that awesome?"

"It's a little weird." Jara offered in turn, speaking without looking up at either of them.

Elliot shook his head, "No, I think it's cool! Do you know what my name means?"

Jara's eyebrows furrowed, fingers pausing as she weaved cautiously around the thorned roses. "Generally, it means something religious, but it can also mean strength or bravery."

"Huh." Elliot looked up at the ceiling of the shop, thinking about that for a moment. "Well I don't know if I'm really strong or brave, but it's pretty cool that you know that."

"Well Jara means rock-rose, which I'm not really sure how to decipher if I'm being honest, if it makes you feel better." Jara's eyes caught on his again, and Elliot's smile bloomed over his face.

"Really? That's unbe-leaf-able."

There was a moment of silence, and then an audible groan from Daphne. "Elliot, I'm going to tell Echo you're making plant puns again"

"Don't be a prick." His grin grew, glancing towards Jara before lowering his voice. "That's a cactus pun, it's just much more subtle. It takes a special kind of botanist to understand."

To his delight, he watched Jara hide her smile behind her hand as Daphne once again sighed, "I'm telling Echo-"

"What are you telling me, love?" The sound of the bell from the front door sounded, ringing throughout the store. In a moment, he saw Echo's head poke in from the front, eyes scanning the scattered flowers along the table before returning to Daphne, who looked about as amused as a jungle tree in a drought.

"Elliot won't stop making plant puns again."

Echo's gasp was one of mock disbelief, turning to shake her head in psuedo dissaproval. "Elliot, I can't believe you. I'm dissapointed." She stepped past the table, sighing herself before adding, "Plant puns aren't even that ferny."

Delighted, Elliot lit up, grinning back at her as Echo laughed. A bright, sparkly thing that resonated in sync with the dramatic groan of his best friend on the other side of the table. "Not you too Echo."

Echo laughed again, turning back to ruffle Elliot's hair. He couldn't help but smile. Honestly, Echo was really important to him. She reminded him of his mother a little bit, and although he absolutely did adore his family, he liked being able to have a place that was just his own. Echo picked up one of the flowers that Elliot had been working into the arrangement, looking over it before smiling nonsensically and setting it back down, patting his head again. "You know, Elliot, these flowers are for a girl who called me last night, she's visiting her mother's grave this afternoon." She hummed, gliding across the floor. 

Elliot did find it remarkable sometimes, found it inspiring actually how unashamed Echo had always been about her scars. She was wearing shorts today, and an off the shoulder top. The ridges of burns scattered down her flesh, stopping as the curled closer to the collarbone and settled back deep into her skin. He's not sure how she got them, he'd never really bothered to ask, and he figured it was a painful enough memory as it was, especially with the permanent reminder she had attached to her now.

"They were her mother's favorite, isn't that sweet?" Echo gracefully turned to the bouguet that Jara was working on, carefully removing a broken off thorn from the petals. At the words, Elliot felt both Daphne and Jara shoot an 'i told you so' kinda glance. Something that he gleefully ignored in favor of looking back to the finished arrangement. He just needed string, and some ribbon now to finish tying them together. 

As if on cue, Echo appeared with a dusty rose color and matching string, setting it beside him. Elliot smiled in thanks before picking it up, careful to not fracture the stems as he did so. Elliot likes his plants. He liked flowers a lot, and even if when he was younger he was bullied and pestered for the fascination, he wouldn't trade anything for how much he loves it now.

"I love that color." He's inturrupted by Daphne, whose smile is warm and nostalgic. "That was my prom dress color, you know, Ell."

"I know Daph, I went with you." 

It had been out of convienence honestly. Daphne hadn't found a date, and neither had he, so they'd gone as friends. Plenty of people had given them both shit for it, but Daphne was a lesbian, and even if she liked guys, he's pretty sure he wouldn't be her type at all. 

Filing the memory away, he turned to Jara instead, determined to keep her in the conversation. "What'd you wear to prom?"

He watches her hands still, and out of the corner of his eye see's Daphne stiffen a little bit. Her tone is cool and collected when she responds eventually, shaking her head, "I didn't go to my junior prom, and I wasn't able to go to my senior one."

"Oh, you already had senior year?"

"Elliot-" It's Daph, who sounds almost hesitant, but Jara raises her head, shaking it slightly before looking to Elliot.

"No." 

Elliot feels even more confused if that's possible now, but he's not an idiot (at least not completely), contrary to his siblings' beliefs, so he drops the subject, rapidly searching his brain for anything else of mild interest.

Fortunately, he thinks of one within a minute or two, glancing back to the front where Echo has vanished, "Hey Daph, you think Echo's admirer is going to come in today?"

Daphne's face quickly shifts from borderline concern to enthusiasm, a mischevious grin mirroring his own appearing on her face. "Oh, I hope so."

"Secret admirer?" Jara looks up again, meeting her friend's eyes before she looks to Elliot for an expected explanation.

He's happy with giving one. Shooting another cursory glance back at the door, he lowers his voice, leaning forward on the table slightly. "There's this guy, his name is Park Ye-Joon, who comes in like every Friday at around 10 A.M. to drop off a drink for Echo. He works across the street, as a barista, at All Day."

"All Day?"

"It's like a little drink place, it's open 24/7 and has different hours for different speciality drinks. It's actually a pretty cool concept. They have all different types, it was originally a renovated bar." Daphne nods as she leans closer, offering her own fill-in information.

"Right, so, anyway. Park Ye-Joon is the person who owns it. It's a pretty popular place actually, but without fail, every Friday he comes to bring Echo a drink. It's a different drink all the time. In the winter and autumn it's mostly hot drinks. Things like pear cider and hot chocolate. In the summer, it's cold stuff. Smoothies, lemonade, whatever- the point is, he's never missed a Friday."

"Isn't that romantic?" Daphne sighed beside him, setting her head in her hands.

Jara looked at her skeptically before glancing between them. "Is Echo not paranoid at all?" She blinked, "He could be drugging her without her knowing it, and eventually, she'll become hooked, and then she'll become co-dependent on him, and basically her life will be ruined."

Elliot stared at her for a minute, "Well that's...depressing."

"Who would drug someone at 10 in the morning on a Friday? People would know if she wasn't acting like herself, right?"

Jara shrugged at Daphne's defense. "I suppose not. But she doesn't worry about it?"

"Of course I don't Jara." Echo's voice is light and flowery, stepping into the room with a box in her arms, "I trust Ye-Joon. He's my friend." Elliot and Daphne shared a look at the word friend, before quickly looking back at her.

Jara's cheeks flushed slightly, ashamed at being caught. "I didn't mean-"

"I know Jara." Her smile never faltered, gently patting her shoulder, "I don't take it personally, but I've been paranoid long enough, and it's nice having someone in my life I don't need to question."

"Because you trust him." Daphne repeated.

"Yep."

"And you like him." Elliot pressed, hiding his own devilish grin.

"Well, we are supposed to like our friends."

"Romantically?" Jara looked back up at her then, and Elliot bit back his temporary surprise, instead sharing that mischevious look of camaraderie before looking to Echo, who turned back to face them.

"Really?"

"Come on Echo, it's obvious he likes you too." 

"Don't be ridiculous." She shakes her head.

"If that isn't flirting as adults, I don't know what is." Daphne protested, standing up from her stool to shake her legs, "Besides he bought you that pretty orchid for your greenhouse."

"That's not relevant."

"That seems very relevant." Jara doesn't look up from her work as she ties off the arrangement of roses, setting them in a standing vase until the customer arrived to pick them up. Either that or if they paid extra to get them delivered, Daphne would be leaving soon.

"He only gave it to me because it's a delicate flower, he was just worried about breaking it or accidentely killing it."

"Or it was a confession." Elliot countered, setting his own arrangement aside before getting to his feet, rocking on his heels. 

Echo doesn't have time to respond before the bell rings, and her head snaps up. Elliot shares a knowing glance with the girls before they all look back to her expectantly. Her cheeks flush, but she waves them off, muttering under her breath.

Elliot's pretty sure it's something in Korean.

Reglardless, none of them miss a beat when Echo vanishes to the front, their heads poking out of the arch from the back to watch. Elliot's grin is firm when he sees Park Ye-Joon walk through the door, and beside him, he hears a smothered giggle from Daphne. 

Joon smiles charasmatically, "Good Morning Echo."

"It's past morning."

"Not technically speaking." Joon prompts, leaning over the counter of the floral shop. 

He can hear the warmth in Echo's voice at her response, "What did you bring me today?"

"Peach and blackberry lemonade."

"Any reason?"

"They're good contrasting flavors, aren't they?" Joon raises his eyebrow, and Elliot watches Echo lean a little closer to him. "Orange and black and all, like fire and.." He trails off, eyes darting. "I guess that analogy doesn't work, does it?"

Echo's smiling now, and all of them can hear it in her voice. "It doesn't, no." Echo shakes her head then, pulling away slightly, "Thank you for the drink."

Elliot's not really sure what disapointment sounds like, but whatever it does, he's pretty sure Joon's got it. He takes an even, almost hesitant step back before he nods. "Sure, Echo. I'll see you around."

"You too, Ye-Joon." She raised her hand, waving to him a little before he vanished back out the door and down the street to his shop. 

As soon as the door swing shut, he sees Echo's shoulders slump a little, and Elliot scurries from the back. "Echo?? What happened?"

He watches her cheeks flush again, but she shakes her head. "He's my friend."

"There's nothing wrong with being friends and dating too you know." Daphne pushes herself up on the counter, before glancing at the clark. Her features scrunch, and she lets out a dissatisfied sigh before pushing back off of it. "I got deliveries, don't I?"

"The list is on the counter, dear." Echo pats her cheek, nodding before ducking back into the back, assumedly heading to the greenhouse.

Daphne shakes her head, picking up the notepad of addresses, looking over them before vanishing to the back herself to retrieve the box that Echo had brought in, carefully selecting the bouquets that they'd been able to finish that evening. It leaves Jara and Elliot in the front by themselves, and he just goes to sit behind the counter patiently, while Jara wheels backwards to settle in beside the decorative bookcase, adorned with ivy and a number of plotted plants to check the moisture levels of the soil.

His thoughts wonder back to the comment about senior year. He doesn't want to press, and he does know how to be patient, but sometimes it helps to talk about things you struggle with. Elliot, for a long time, kept his feelings about the car crash internalized, but after opening up to his siblings, to Dai, he feels better about it.

"You're doing senior year again with us this year, right?"

Jara looks up, eyes prettily accented with the wings of black on her skin. "Yep."

He nods, the question burning on his tongue. But he won't ask if she's not ready to share. There's a longer beat of silence between them, listening to the soft, muffled windchimes on the outside of the door, hanging over the sidewalk. 

"Elliot." Her voice is gentle, but he forces his eyes back up. She looked hesitant, but Elliot leaned forward against the counter, patiently waiting for her elaboration. The moment of silence seems to comfort her, because she sits back in her chair a little. "It was a coma."

Oh.

"I was in a coma for over six months."

✦

✦ WYN ✦

- elliot is so cute and
sweet i love him

- echo and joon , echo and joon 

- it def is obvious which story this one
is, but idm ^^, i'm excited for them

what is your character's favorite flower?

──● answers