A/N: Inspired by hispilct's lovely flower shop AU. This is the first in a collection of oneshots. Reaper76 and Widowtracer are the ships here. I'm starting out with a bit of both for this first oneshot. Enjoy!
Lena doesn't shut up, does she? I desperately tried to tune out the babbling of my over-excitable coworker as we cleaned up for the day. Lena was a nice girl, but the way she could go on about things was quite- obnoxious. "I'm telling you Jack, she was the prettiest lass I 'ave ever seen!" Lena laughed, and I rolled my eyes. "Not to mention, she has a coworker that could catch your eye." She elbowed me in the ribs, her voice teasing. I scoffed, but on the inside I was curious. Maybe this is your chance, Jack.
"So tell me, where does this new obsession of yours work?" I asked. Lena was a hopeless romantic, and it seemed like she had a new crush every week. Lena's face flushed red. Silly girl. Young love is so naive.
"She works at a flower shop just down the street. And I'm not obsessed with 'er!" Lena retaliated. Flower shop? Did I hear that right? Oh no.
"Flower shop huh?" I questioned, finishing up the last of my cleaning. "You know there's no way in hell I'm going in there with you, right?" Come to think of it, I have seen that shop down the road a couple of times. I try to avoid it like a bomb went off though.
"Oh come on Jack! You have to at least go in there with me once!" Lena implored, making puppy eyes like a five year old would. God damn it Lena. Why do you always do this? She finished up her cleaning, and threw on her jacket. It was time to lock up for the night.
"Lena, you know my allergies are hell." I replied, putting a hand on her shoulder. "And before you say anything about medication- it won't do anything in a place like that." She pouted at me as we walked out the door. I fumbled with the keys and turned the lock for the night. All the while, Lena was looking at me with an imploring gaze.
"Why are you such a buzzkill Jack?" She whined. "You 'aven't even given the place a chance. Besides, it can't 'urt to just check 'im out." Lena replied, a smirk going across her face at the slip of her tongue. Lena, you asshole. It was almost like she was purposely setting me up to talk to this mysterious stranger. Lena wasn't always the best matchmaker either. Yet, it was quite apparent she wasn't going to shut up until I agreed with her. I let out a prolonged sigh and looked towards the bubbly british woman standing next to me. She was bouncing on her feet, an amused expression on her face.
"Fine. I'll go with you to the flower shop tomorrow." I replied gingerly. Her whole face lit up, and she had an ear to ear grin. This better be worth it. Lena bid me farewell and I began walk back to my car. "Don't forget to take your allergy meds!" Lena called over her shoulder, just before I was out of earshot. Hopefully I won't make a fool of myself tomorrow.
As I drove into work for the morning, I looked out the window at the empty streets. It was early enough in the day that the streets weren't littered with people. As much as I thought it was foolish, I decided to take my allergy medication today. After all these days of staying away from that damn flower shop, I'm finally going there today. I parked my car and went down to the martial arts studio I run. Lena typically takes the classes working with children. She is a great role model for the kids. It always softens my heart a bit to watch her interact with the younger students. She stood outside the door in the crisp morning air, waiting patiently for me to unlock the door. Lena was always early and always a morning person.
"Morning Jack!" She called cheerfully as I walked down the street. I inwardly groaned. While Lena was awake this early, I wasn't mentally prepared for her cheerfulness. I unlocked the door with a nod, and entered the building to prepare for the first class of the day. Lena's first class wasn't until around 10, so she got to work cleaning up around the studio. She is the only person who stays late enough to clean up, and gets here early enough to help out. I should really give that kid a raise. The rest of the instructors filed in shortly afterwards. They are my employees yes, but I haven't really become good acquaintances with any of them but Lena. I could see her grinning at me from a distance during my classes. It seems as if she hasn't forgot about our deal today. Time seemed to fly by, and soon Lena was grinning like a madman, standing by my side. I let out a groan as she tugged me down the street towards the flower shop, her excitement untouchable.
The sign of the flower shop was made of wrought iron. There were multiple flower boxes outside, overflowing with color. On the window was a painted logo of a bird, a flower clutched in its talons. My nose began to run as we walked inside, but I didn't say anything to Lena. Flowers of all types lined the walls. The shop was an explosion of color. Behind the counter stood a pale woman with long purple hair. She was tending busily to a bouquet of flowers, but looked up when she heard us enter the store. A small smirk crossed her black painted lips. "Back again, I see." Lena's cheeks began to flush, and I elbowed her in the ribs.
"Uh, yes. I brought my friend along this time. We just wanted to check out more of your beautiful work." Lena responded as my eyes began to water. Being around all these plants was starting to take a toll on me. The woman behind the counter just began to laugh.
"Well i'm glad you like ze work, cherie." She replied. Lena once again began to blush. As suave as the kid tried to act, she could be read like a book. "Can I catch your name?" Lena stuck out her hand, her gaze dropping to the floor.
"Name's Lena. I work at the martial arts studio down the street." She responded and the woman behind the counter let out a small gasp. I rolled my eyes, watching the two try to flirt with each other. I thought Lena said there was another person around the shop.
"My name's Amélie." The woman responded. As the two of the talked, the flowers began to take a toll on me. I pulled my jacket up to my nose, desperately trying to stifle the inevitable sneeze that was going to happen. Why did I think this was a good idea? Oh no. My sneeze resounded throughout the shop and sent me flying back… into someone? I felt my cheeks burn red as strong hands caught my arms as I stumbled backwards. Lena and Amélie began to laugh. I could tell the person behind me was not amused.
"Allergies huh?" A gruff voice spoke as a tall man walked past me. He was clearly latino, and was built like a tank. "Watch where you're going next time." He smirked, waving to Amélie on the way to the back of the shop. Oh no, he's hot. I didn't dare utter a word until he was out of earshot. My tongue was frozen on my lips.
"Oh no! I'm going to be late for the class!" Lena exclaimed, and bid Amélie farewell. I was reluctantly dragged along with her. I never even got to catch his name. To make matters worse you made a fool of yourself. My allergies were hell on the walk back from the shop. Despite the consequences though, I wanted to go back. The mysterious stranger there was drawing me in. As much as I hated to admit it, he was on my mind the rest of the day. Maybe I'll start tagging along with Lena more often.