"Yuri what —?"
"Apple blossoms."
"What?"
"They're apple blossom genius." Yuri gestured with his hand to the small twig of white-pink flowers he'd dropped into a small glass beside Yugo. "This place needs something to liven it up, and maybe deal with the smell."
That was the first time it happened, Yuri had dropped in on Yugo's garage while he was working, and left behind a plant to 'brighten up the place' he said.
Yugo didn't think too much about it, moving the branch of flowers to the window until they withered and fell off.
He was cleaning up after working one day when he noticed a fresh branch in the glass with a note beside it.
'Don't forget to change the water asshole, they'll last longer.'
He chuckled; he could recognize Yuri's hand writing anywhere.
The next time Yuri was in he made a point of changing the water in front of him, just to satisfy him and keep him off his back. It seemed to work, as no more passive aggressive notes popped up and occasionally the dead or dying plants would find themselves replaced with fresh ones.
Then one day a new plant turned up, a small leafy one with narrow, trumpet-like orange flowers. It had a sweet smell which Yugo couldn't help but to enjoy.
Honeysuckle, the attached tag had said.
It took up a spot in the window next to the apple cutting, which seemed to be thriving at last.
Yugo had to admit, they definitely did add a pop of colour to the otherwise drab looking garage.
The next flowers turned up together, one of which he recognized right away, the pansies. He'd seen enough of them in gardens to recognize the flat faces and starred centers. The other one Rin identified as a Morning Glory, a deep purple-blue flower with a white, radiating center.
The pansies ended up in a planter outside while the Morning Glory took a spot above a workbench with a window view.
Yugo panicked one day when he looked up, late in the evening, and saw the flowers closed up, almost dead looking. He'd killed it, he was sure he had and rushed it to Yuri. It was not in fact dead, just dormant for the night and Yuri reassured him it would bloom again when the sun came out.
Yugo was relieved; the idea of killing a plant, even unintentionally that Yuri had given him rubbed him the wrong way.
Caring for the plants that now adorned the inside and outside of his garage gave him something to do on slow days, making sure they were all watered and cared for. He didn't have a green thumb, but Yuri did and more often than not he found himself referring to him for help. Yuri, for all his impatience with Yugo on every other matter, didn't seem to mind the constant bothering for plant care.
The next flower to turn up wasn't potted like the rest but a cut one left in a vase. A carnation, a red one carefully trimmed and left out.
Several days after that, a deep red tulip joined it in the vase, its bloom almost fully open.
They looked nice together he thought, though they didn't have much of a smell. Yuri must have thought so too, spending more time around the garage and commenting once on the arrangement.
The tulip and carnation eventually died, their petals falling around the base of the vase, which even Yugo knew was to be expected, and after cleaning up the petals one day and disposing of the flower remains, he noticed a new flower had appeared, left out for him to find.
It was a single white flower with a double layer of petals, and a dark purple, almost black center.
Anemone, according to the information tag left with it.
And after that Yuri stopped coming around.
It was unusual for sure, Yuri had been around enough that even Yugo's regulars had noticed and he was nearly a fixture there, even if he didn't do anything other than spend his time looking after Yugo's plants.
Work. Yugo chalked it up to that, he just had more going on at work and couldn't spare the time any more, goodness knows he knew what that was like.
'Wow, someone really likes you.'
The words rattled in Yugo's skull all day, so much so that he couldn't sleep. It was just a passing comment from a customer about the flowers, so why did it bother him so much?
Finally, he grabbed a pen and paper, and jotted down all the flowers he'd been given before getting to work. He knew some flowers held meaning; roses for example were for love, that much he knew. But that was where his knowledge on that subject ended. Perhaps the other flowers did as well. There was only one way to find out. Starting with apple blossoms.
Yugo pushed his chair back, lips drawn in a tight line as he pressed his fingers together. How could he have been so blind? All the signs had been there and he'd missed every one of them.
Apple Blossom-
Strong liking
Honeysuckle-
Devoted affection
Morning Glory-
Affection
Pansy-
'You occupy my thoughts'
Carnation (red)-
'My heart aches for you'
Tulip (red)-
Declaration of love
The whole time, and he'd never noticed. He might as well have been toying with Yuri's affections for what he'd done.
He looked back at the list, he still hadn't looked up Anemone and if he was being truthful he was afraid to.
Finally, swallowing his nerves he began to type.
Anemone-
Forsaken love, diminishing hope
Words, those had never been Yuri's strong suit, unless it involved a barbed insult. He always got tongue-tied or could never find the right words. But flowers, those spoke to him in volumes and carried a language all their own. So when Yugo accepted his first few gifts, he'd thought maybe Yugo understood, or that the mechanic had at least an idea of what he was doing.
He clenched his jaw as he walked home, caught in the pouring rain and already soaked to the bone. How could he have been so stupid, so blind? Yugo had constantly accepted his flowers and took remarkable care of them for someone who couldn't garden to save his life. He actually took the time to learn how to keep them alive. So by the time Yuri left the carnation and the tulip, he was sure Yugo understood.
But then nothing. He'd hoped Yugo would say or do something to answer him, but nothing happened. He waited and waited and nothing, and he began to realize that Yugo had been completely unaware of what he'd been doing. It was completely pointless.
His shoulders shook as hot tears rolled down his cheeks, mingling with the rain that splattered his skin. He'd been trying to put it aside the feelings since his last visit to Yugo, when he left the last plant, not that Yugo would understand the meaning, but he couldn't, it hurt too much.
"Yuri!"
He stopped in his tracks as Yugo's voice cut through the rain and his thoughts.
"Yuri!"
Yugo panted, rain rolling down his face and trickling down the back of his neck and soaking straight through his clothes. He had to make this right; he couldn't let it end like this, not without trying.
He clutched an arrangement of flowers tightly, hands trembling in the cold as tears misted over his vision.
He called out to Yuri, halting him in his tracks.
For several long moments the pair stared at each other before Yugo held the flowers out, cheeks flushed as he tore his gaze away from Yuri, words dying in his throat.
Yuri looked from Yugo to the flowers in his hands, clusters of purple hyacinth mixed in with a variety of red flowers, tulips, chrysanthemums, carnations and a rose. Hesitantly he took a step forward, then another, and another and before he knew it he was within arms reach of Yugo. He took the flowers from him, making a show of sniffing the rose deeply, inhaling its sweet scent.
Damp, calloused hands covered his as he took the flowers, gripping them tightly and pulling him closer. Even in the rain they felt warm against Yuri's, the warmth prickling his skin.
Ice blue eyes met pink ones, and in the next moment Yuri was kissing Yugo. Or perhaps Yugo was kissing Yuri. It was hard to tell.
Yuri clutched the flowers tightly between them, being careful not to crush them as he leaned in. Yugo's hands slid off Yuri's and brushed over his jaw line, moving to the back of his head as their lips pressed firmly together.
There was no need for any more words; the flowers that Yugo had brought with him said it all.
Hyacinth (purple)-
Forgive me, I am sorry
Carnation, Chrysanthemum, Tulip, Rose (all red)-
I love you
AN: Had to do flower language research for this one. Originally I wanted to have Yugo present him with Ambrosia flowers, rather than a bunch of red ones, as it means 'deceleration of love' in the language of flowers. Then I learned that Ambrosia flowers, are Ragweed. And I can't think of anything less romantic than giving someone Ragweed.
So red flowers that all mean love it was.