Hi. Another AU to keep this fandom from completely being dead. It's a Peddie Flowershop AU. Aged Up. It's a fun time. You know the drill.
In case it's not clear, here's some context:
Patricia and the OG gang (excluding Nina) went to Anubis, but in this AU everyone is normal. Eddie, KT, and Nina never attended.
These 3 and Willow all work at a local flower shop in the area that Amun Academy is located in. Patricia, though it's not mentioned here (if I continue it will be) is a guidance counselor at the school. Her boss is Mr. Sweet. Aren't I clever?
enjoy! (Crossposted on AO3)
Eddie had never like flowers much; they'd always been a bit too girly for his taste. When he'd mentioned this to KT one day, she'd talked his ear off about "gender roles" this, and "toxic masculinity" that, leaving Eddie to wish he hadn't mentioned it at all. Nina had just rolled her eyes from the register, while Willow nodded sagely from the tulip section.
It wasn't that working at Neferflower was a bad gig—on the contrary, the pay was relatively good, and it didn't require a ton of experience. The problem was why Eddie was working there. He needed a job for the time he was in the UK visiting with his estranged father—which was already way too long in his opinion—and the little town in the country with nothing but a massive boarding school, a couple of cottages, and a minuscule downtown didn't offer much in the way of opportunities.
Thankfully the little flower shop with weird name (Nina mentioned it was a reference to Nefertem, the Egyptian goddess of flowers; Eddie didn't really care, but he'd still nodded along like he was listening) was hiring. He was now one of four employees, not to mention the only male.
Nina and KT were American like him, and Willow was somewhat of a local.
Nina had gone to university on the late side. She'd explained to him when they'd first met that her Gran had been ill for some time, and she held off on school to take care of her. Now, she was studying abroad for her last year of university in the tiniest goddamn town in England, but she seemed perfectly happy. She really loved the shop, and took it upon herself to read up on all the different flowers.
KT was also still in school; she attended an arts academy a few town over for theatre, and was apparently pretty good at it. She needed to pay tuition somehow, though, and took a job at Neferflower and at a small pub in the equally small downtown. Eddie was super impressed with her work ethic—she never seemed to stop going from place to place.
Willow, on the other hand, was the weirdest woman he'd ever met. She reminded him of a wood nymph in some weird, overly sexual 80s fantasy film, if that made any sense. She never really talked about why she was employed at Neferflower, but, then again, Eddie had never really asked.
It was Eddie's turn behind the counter that morning. KT was on the floor placing displays, while Willow and Nina were in the back cutting flowers. It was quiet and sunny for once in dreary England, and Eddie let himself relax for what felt like the first time in months.
He and his father had had another tense breakfast before Eric went to work. They'd hardly spoken except to arrange plans to have dinner the following night in his office at the school, and the tension even then was palpable. It wasn't easy for Eddie to just shove his ill-will towards his father away. It had been nearly twenty years since Eric and Eddie had been on the same continent, and it showed in nearly every interaction.
But all relationships had to start somewhere. Creeping on month four of his stay in the UK, they were at least eating meals together. It was a start—a step in the right direction.
Eddie was roused from his thoughts by the jingle of the bell above the glass door, and he refocused his gaze on the new arrival, and nearly had a heart attack. She was a pale, sturdy young woman with curly auburn hair, and she seemed to be wearing heels to make herself a few inches taller than she probably was. She was pretty, in fact. But what startled Eddie, though, was the fury on her face.
She stomped straight for him, fishing around in her purse as she advanced. When she reached the counter, she pulled out a few crumped pounds and slammed them down on the glass in front of a wide-eyed Eddie. "HOW DO YOU SAY 'FUCK YOU' IN FLOWERS?" she bellowed impatiently.
Unable to formulate a coherent response, Eddie looked desperately to KT for help, but she'd ducked behind the roses in terror when she saw the fire in the woman's eyes.
For the first time in Eddie's life, he was speechless. What could he possibly answer?
The woman drummed her fingers on the counter. "Well?" she prompted, eye twitching slightly.
"Um...most people want flowers to say 'I love you', not 'fuck you'," he quipped weakly. The woman's face darkened, and KT cowered further behind the display.
"No shit," she deadpanned. "But that's not what I asked for, now is it?"
Eddie had recovered slightly, and was about to reply when Nina piped up from behind him. "No, ma'm," she said, shaking her head with a wide smile plastered on her face. Willow was right behind her with a twinkle in her eye.
"I know just what you're looking for," Willow assured, walking around the counter. The woman seemed to relax some, knowing that her demands would be satisfied, and shot Eddie one last glare, before following Willow into the flowers. Eddie gaped after her, shocked at the encounter, but not entirely off-put. Nina just shook her head and returned to the back room, as KT scurried off the floor and behind the safety of counter.
"I'm gonna be honest," KT whispered to him, watching the woman pick up a yellow carnation and twirl it between her fingers, "I'm kinda turned on."
Eddie nearly choked on air. KT had mentioned she was gay multiple times, but somehow that was still the last thing he'd been expecting. "Same," he managed, only somewhat embarrassed. KT laughed out right, and disappeared into the back room
Willow tied up the bouquet of "FUCK YOU" and brought it over to the counter for Eddie to ring her up.
"You gave me £40, right?" he asked as suavely as he could, punching in the numbers on the register.
The woman's pale face flushed. "I mean, I think," she said, smoothing out the crumpled bills from where they still lay on the glass countertop. "Look, I was a little blustery coming in here—"
"Only a little?" Eddie couldn't help but cut in. The woman gave him a look, but the heat from earlier was gone. "So why're buying these flowers anyway?"
"What's an American doing working in a British flower shop?" she countered, raising an eyebrow.
"I asked first," Eddie said plainly.
"Ooo, devastating." She clapped sarcastically, and Eddie couldn't help but chuckle under his breath. He'd have reacted the same way. "But fine," she continued. "You have no idea what my boss is like. He's a fruit loop, who's been pulling the same shit since I was a teenager."
"So you're getting him...flowers?"
"Flowers that mean something rude," she reminded him. "I still have to be nice to him if I want my job" —she nearly spat out the word 'nice'— "so I get at least a little revenge on him knowing that he'll be watering flowers meant to mock him. Though knowing my boss, he'll probably know the 'language of flowers', or whatever the hell it's called. God, he's a weirdo."
Eddie laughed. "Seems like you've got a lot of pent up issues towards this guy."
She rolled her eyes. "Boy, do I ever. I could go on and on."
He laughed. "I bet you could, Yacker."
She scoffed at the nickname. "'Yacker'? Are you kidding?" she asked. "Maybe I ought to call you weaselface."
Eddie bit his lip to keep from grinning. "Any reason?" he asked cheekily.
'Yacker' gave him a challenging look. "Because your face looks like a weasel's."
Eddie was really enjoying this exchange, and he got the feeling she did too. He'd never flirted with anyone like this before, but there was always a first time for everything. So he shot his shot. "Well, does the yacking lady wanna maybe go get coffee with the 'weasel-faced' young man?" he asked, quirking an eyebrow.
She snorted. "Oh my god, are you for real? That wasn't even smooth. Nice try, flower boy."
Eddie held up his hands in surrender, mildly disappointed. "Hey, I had to ask." He handed over a few coins. "Here's your change.
'Yacker' took the change and put it in her pocket, before Gathering the bouquet into her arms. "Thanks for everything," she said, addressing Willow, who'd been watching the whole exchange with a knowing eye. "And thanks," she continued, jabbing her finger into his chest, "for nothing."
"Gee, well when you say it like that," Eddie laughed, giving her a wink as she whirled on her heel and breezed our of the shop, giving him a two finger salute with one hand.
"See you 'round, weaselface," she called over her shoulder.
"Bye, Yacker," he replied, feeling better than he had in months.
All relationships had to start somewhere, after all.