a/n: i rewatched imagine me and you over the weekend, god i love that movie
spot the references
"So . . . ya want a romantic bouquet?" Kumiko nodded, rocking back and forth nervously on her heels. The florist - a woman in her twenties, with a sleeve of tattoos running up her left arm - tapped her nails on the counter.
"It's, uh, it's f-for someone special. We celebrated our sort-of anniversary a few weeks ago, and I've been meaning to get her something, but . . ."
"You'll have to be more specific."
"What?"
"Like, half of the people here ask for romantic bouquets. What else is a cutesy roadside flower stand for, really?"
"Romantic movies," Kumiko offered. The woman let out a hearty laugh, and Kumiko could see the nametag reading Natsuki resting on her apron.
"You're just proving my point. Tell me if there're any cute girls around here looking for a wedding florist. I'll be there." Natsuki paused for a moment. "Anyway, anyway, you're in college, right?" Kumiko nodded. "And you're buying these for your girlfriend?" Kumiko nodded again. "Well, I think I've got something almost ready in the back, could ya wait a minute?" Kumiko watched her figure disappear into the back room, a gray door with EMPLOYEES ONLY pinned on with a scrap of paper. She didn't see anyone else working in the shop.
"Is there anyone here?" The bell jingled, and in walked the worst possible person to have appeared at that moment. Kumiko froze like a deer caught in headlights. "The sign said that it was open, but if now is a bad time, I can come back later." None other than Reina Kousaka entered the shop anyways, bringing with her the elegance she always so easily carried.
"N-nope, there's nobody here!" Kumiko called nervously, pressing herself up against a giant plant. "You'll have to come back in fifteen minutes!"
"There's clearly someone here," Reina deadpanned.
"We're swamped with work!" The plant's thorns were starting to drive themselves into Kumiko's back. "Come back later! Did I mention that fifteen minutes would work the best? B-because they would!"
"I'll be back in fifteen minutes, then." Reina turned on her heel and walked out, and Kumiko breathed a sigh of relief. Natsuki chose that moment to come shuffling out of the back room with a large bouquet of flowers spilling from her arms.
"What was that about?" Kumiko sidled away from the plant.
"So, uh, do you remember how I told you that I was g-getting these for an anniversary?"
"Yeah, it sure was a tough memory to recall after it happened ten minutes ago."
"W-well, she's . . . here. Or she was, at least. She'll be back in fifteen minutes, which is the perfect amount of time for me to pay you for these really pretty flowers and hightail it to our date spot."
"I don't even know your name, and I'm invested in this."
"It's Kumiko."
"What?"
"My name. It's Kumiko."
"Oh. I'm Natsuki, then." Natsuki extended a friendly hand, and Kumiko shook it. "Do these look good?" Kumiko looked down at the mass of flowers resting on the counter.
"They're perfect." Kumiko reached for her wallet, but Natsuki waved a hand in dismissal.
"Hey, don't worry about it. It's on the house. I don't know ya that well, Kumiko, but I wanna see you succeed. You get that, right?"
"I . . . guess?" Natsuki folded her arms, letting a small smile creep across her features.
"Good luck with your girl. I'll be cheering you on from back here, in this crappy little flowershop."
"T-thank you." Kumiko took the flowers carefully, as if they were a gentle and precious thing - which they may as well have been.
"Let me handle your wedding, okay? I saw a movie about that once."
"I will!" Kumiko held the flowers close to her chest as she headed for the door.
"Your secret's safe with me, by the way! I won't tell her you were here!"
"Thanks!" Kumiko made sure to take note of the address when she stepped outside.
"Reina?" Kumiko didn't quite know why she was calling out to her when she was just three minutes late, but Reina's punctual nature made even something like that feel incredibly off. "Uh, I'm h-here, right outside that restaurant we agreed to go to." The street was empty, almost eerily so, as the humidity and the sun beat down on her.
"Kumiko?"
"Reina!" Like some kind of ethereal angel, some being from a fairytale, Reina dashed down the uneven sidewalk with a bouquet of white lilies in her arms.
"The woman at the flowershop was stalling quite a bit - it almost felt like she had something to hide." Reina held out the flowers, and Kumiko smiled widely.
"You'll never guess what I got you, then." She produced Natsuki's bouquet with a flourish, and Reina chuckled.
"You're terrible, sending me out of a shop just to surprise me."
"It was worth it."
"I suppose it was." The two girls set down the flowers so that they crossed each other, petals floating slightly in the wind. "I can't imagine a better day, anyhow." Kumiko rested her hand on top of Reina's.
"Me neither, Reina."
a/n: the lily means "i dare you to love me"