The sweet smell of fresh baked bread and handmade icing filled the air, mixing with the warmth from the open ovens to add to the warm and cozy feeling of the tiny bakery. The ding of a timer sounded, and the smell of fresh cupcakes soon joined the cacophony of scents.
A gentle humming wove through the air and wrapped around the soft sounds of the music playing gently in the background as Hunk pulled the cupcakes from the oven, setting them on the counter to cool while he prepped the icing. Once he was sure the cupcakes had cooked enough, he picked up a bag and started piping. Thirty minutes and three bags of sprinkles later, he stepped back with a relieved sigh. He grabbed a towel and wiped his hands clean of any stray icing, then did a quick wipe down of the counter. Satisfied that the kitchen was clean, he placed the dozen cupcakes onto a plate, making sure to arrange them so that the image he wanted was clearly displayed.
"Hey Keith, I'm headed out for a bit," Hunk called out, turning to look at the man filling piping bags beside him. "Pidge should be back from break in about ten minutes."
A grunt of affirmation sounded from the dark haired man leaning over the counter, a tray of meticulously crafted cookies cooling and awaiting frosting in front of him. Hunk took off his apron, folding it neatly and laying across the back of the chair behind the register, then picked up the tray of cupcakes and headed out.
The empty lot next to Balmera Bakery had finally been bought, and to say Hunk was excited to meet his new neighbor was an understatement. In less than a week, the empty building had been completely revamped, the gloomy shadows taken over by heat lamps and windows of stained glass fairies, the dust and spiderwebs swept out and replaced by shelves covered in pots of flowers and herbs, bright and colourful. The once empty space above the door now held a sign made of repurposed driftwood, painted white with the words 'Oriande Flowers' written in a soft pastel blue. The door had been painted a similar blue and a round piece of stained glass depicting a Lily of the Valley and a fairy had been added to the top, and the outside of the shop had been cleaned up and painted white as well.
Simply put, it was beautiful, and a far cry from the melancholic mess it had been before. Hunk spent a moment more admiring the glass work before he pushed the door open and stepped inside.
His immediate reaction was to stare in open mouthed wonder at the interior of the shop. Sunlight filtered in through the windows and skylights, bathing the inside with a soft yellow glow. Flowers of every shape and size covered every available inch of space, their petals meshing into a rainbow of bright colour. It smelled much like Hunk imagined heaven would, the sweet tang of pollen and exotic flowers wrapping around him and mixing with the scent of the cupcakes in his hands.
"Hello?" he called, making his way through the jungle of plants until he found the cashiers desk. No one was there, but a tiny silver bell decorated with tiny fairies and tulips engraved on the sides sat beside the register, so he set the tray down and tapped the bell once. A loud crash accompanied by a string of swear words followed, and someone stumbled out of the back room and strode quickly towards the desk.
"Hi there! I'm Lance. Welcome to Oriande Florist Shoppe, what can I help you with?"
Hunk floundered for a moment, lost for words at the sight of the boy in front of him. His skin was dark, a sun kissed colour spotted with faint freckles, and his eyes were a deep blue that reminded Hunk of the beach back home, ocean waves lapping gently against a shell spotted shore.
Lance raised an eyebrow, and Hunk realized he was staring. "Oh! Right, uhm, I'm uh, my name's Hunk, and I own the bakery next door. I saw you guys just opened shop and wanted to meet you and welcome you to the neighborhood so I brought these cupcakes and-"
"These are for us?" the other boy interrupted, eyes wide as he stared at the plate on the counter in front of him. The cupcakes were organized in a circle shape, with light green icing piped to completely cover the tops. Hunk had taken the fairy theme of the flower shop and ran with it, creating little toadstools out of fondant and a tiny little snail made from coloured chocolate. Little flowers crafted from carefully piped icing and copious amounts of sprinkles were strategically placed across the entire thing, and the icing itself was made from a super light cream he hand crafted special at his bakery, and was practically weightless.
Lance carefully pulled one from the bunch, turning it around in his hands to admire before taking a bite. He closed his eyes and hummed in appreciation, a look of bliss crossing his face.
"Oh my god! How'd you get them so fluffy, it's like I'm eating a literal cloud!"
Lances eyes were bright and a wide grin crossed his face as he took another bite. Hunk laughed at the sight, and Lance wiggled his eyebrows at him. "Come over sometime and I'll show you."
Lances grin grew at Hunks words, and he nodded. "It's a date."
The next time Hunk saw Lance, the other boys face was hidden behind a giant bouquet of flowers. Yellow chrysanthemums, scarlet zinnias, and daisies filled the vase, and Pidge said they looked gorgeous on the counter. Hunk agreed, but he had trouble getting the words out until a sharp elbow from Keith jabbed against his ribcage. He cleared his throat and managed to stutter out what he hoped sounded like a thank you.
He must have succeeded, because Lance beamed and Hunk felt his heart melt at the sight of the sparkle in those eyes.
Hunk returned the favour by bringing over a cake, much to the delight of Lance's coworkers. Allura, the owner of the shop, was very sweet, thanking Hunk for the gift, and Coran, Oriande's stock boy, gushed over how light and moist it was, and he and Lance somehow ended up in a competition over who could compliment Hunk more.
Coran won, so Lance brought more flowers.
The cycle continues, and one day Keith commented on how it looked like he was working in a flower shop instead of a bakery, exchanging a look with Pidge while Hunk arranged the newest bouquet, brought over after Lances shift last night. White jasmine, blue salvia, yellow tulips, and a single red tulip in the middle. It was beautiful, and Hunk couldn't stop himself from messing with it. He was just rearranging the tulips for the fifth time in an hour when the bell above the door rang out, and Hunk looked up in time to see Lance walk in.
"Hey, Lance. What's up?" Lance didn't usually come over until lunch time, so seeing him this early was definitely strange. The other boy seemed nervous, a slight red tinge to his cheeks as he looked up at Hunk.
"Here, I uh..I made this for you." Lance held his hand out, and nestled in his palm was a braided hemp cord, small sea shells woven into the knots and bits of colourful sea glass scattered in a seemingly nonsensical pattern. Hunk took the gift from Lance and turned the small bracelet over in his hands, fingers running over the rough cord and the smooth shells. He had seen the jars of shells and rolls of cord behind the counter in the flower shop, but he had assumed they were Allura's. To have Lance give him this, something that he had obviously spent a lot of time on, judging by the quality of the knots and how well the shells had been woven in, caused a warmth to bloom in Hunks chest, spreading through his body to color his cheeks pink.
"Lance, thank you, it's beautiful."
The tips of Lances ears flared red at that, but grinned up at Hunk and winked. "Of course it is, I made it special for you."
Hunk was at a loss for words, and Lance laughed. The sound wrapped around Hunks ears and he couldn't help but smile himself.
"So what do you say? Meet me on the beach tonight after work?"
Wait, was Lance asking him out? Shocked, Hunk could nothing nods furiously, and Lance's smile melted into something much softer. "I'll see you then."
The sun was beginning to dip on the horizon, shades of red and gold and yellow mixing and bleeding with the gentle blues of the ocean. A picnic basket lay open on a large red afghan, half eaten sandwiches and a third of a chocolate cake left abandoned on the fabric. Two shirts lay piled atop each other, their owners having long since taken them off. Beside the basket lay a large bowl, filled to the brim with shells. Sand dollars, whole and broken, spilled from the bowl, bits of colorful sea glass filling in the empty spaces. A smaller container held shark teeth and small stones, and a third was full of shells of every size and shape imaginable. Two braids of rope sat beside the bowls, half done with shells and sea glass scattered around them.
Further down the beach were Lance and Hunk, pant legs rolled up as they splashed around in the calm water. The gentle waves were dyed green in the light of the setting sun, fragmenting across the water in a glittering display of blue and green-gold. Shoes were left abandoned by the edge of the water, just out of reach of the retreating tide. Lance was dancing, arms spread wide as he spun in circles, his voice singing a melody in a language Hunk didn't understand but found beautiful all the same. Warm water danced around their ankles, small waves caused by Lance's movement, and Hunk's breath was taken away as he watched the sun set behind Lance, casting an orange glow around him and framing him in sunlight. Hunk smiled, and reached out, wrapping an arm around Lance's waist and pulling the boy towards him. A curious look crosses Lance's face, but he doesn't stop singing, and soon they're dancing, Hunk spinning them around in the water.
Their laughter echoed through the air around them as they danced in the ocean, kicking up sand and shells in the water around them as they moved. As Lance got further into his song, the distance between the two slowly decreased, until his lanky body was pressed up against Hunk's and their noses were inches apart, warm breath slipping through Lance's lips to mix with his words and glide across Hunk's face. He felt his breath catch in his throat as Lance neared the end of his song, and when the last note trailed off, he closed the distance between them, capturing the end of Lance's song with his own lips.
He didn't know how long they stayed like that, lips pressed together as the warm water lapped gently around their ankles, but he never wanted to leave.