You stand confused as ever, a wall of floral arrangements staring you in the face. You have no idea what you are doing. You've never bought flowers for anyone before. Well, there was that one girl, but as soon as you presented it she asked what it was and you started yelling about how it was obviously a rose because that's the most common flower and everyone knows it and she started crying and...
No. Calm down. Forget her. She wasn't special. Ishimaru *IS* special, and you have to make sure to get the absolute best flowers for him. You're even getting them two weeks early, you've never bought a birthday present that early for someone. That's how important he is to you. Your boyfriend also told you that he's never received flowers before, so you need to make sure they are extra perfect. No pressure.
Fuck. That's just more pressure now that you think about it. You should probably ask the person behind the counter, but then they'd get all in your personal business with "who's it for," "what's the occasion," and who knows what else.
Ok. You can do this. You decide on an arrangement with red and purple flowers to match your eyes, because that seems sentimental, right? Fuck yeah it does. You're a genius. You pick it up and take it to the cash register to pay, when the cashier decides to comment on your decision. "Uh-oh, did you break some poor girl's heart?"
"What?" you ask her, immediately regretting your decision.
"Well you picked out the purple and red hyacinth bouquet, people usually choose this one to apologize."
What. The. Fuck. You're an idiot. Stupid. Stupid stupid stupid. You're too embarrassed to ask her for a different flower arrangement, so you just give her a flustered "No," place your money on the counter and leave. She's put them in a box and tied a bow around it, thank God, because as you set the gift you've just purchased in the dorky basket your boyfriend gave you to carry things in you realize that you probably would've just let the draft caused by your motorcycle to tear each and every petal off. Good job, Mondo. Man of the year right here.
Two weeks have passed since your flower-buying incident, and you've safely kept them in the same box and in your closet the whole time to avoid anything happening to them. Ishimaru has been busy with schoolwork, so he hasn't even suggested coming over to your apartment, another blessing. His birthday fell on a Saturday this year, which is perfect because you never would have gotten him to spend the whole day goofing around with you if he had class. You had enough trouble convincing him to skip his Saturday morning study hour to take him out to breakfast.
The day has been going well, you decided to take him to all of his favorite places. You went to his favorite museum, his favorite bookstore, his favorite restaurants for breakfast and lunch, his favorite spot on Tokyo Bay. It's been quite a long day, actually, and you're pretty worn out, but he is smiling and that's all that matters. You end your day out with his favorite restaurant for dinner, the small ramen shop you used to frequent when you were in high school.
He orders his food and starts talking about how wonderful you are to the person behind the counter. It's embarrassing, really, but also it makes you so happy to see that you've made him so happy, so you let him talk without protest. The person behind the counter gives you a smile and makes some comment about how lucky Ishimaru is to have you. You don't really agree, you think Ishimaru deserves way better, but that's why you try your hardest to make sure Ishimaru gets the best, it's what he deserves. Ishimaru grabs your hand and squeezes it, staring at you with those gorgeous rubies he has for eyes. Caught up in the moment, you tell him about the birthday present you have for him. You want it to be a surprise so you don't tell him what it is, but you just love how big his smile gets when you tell him that he can still expect more today.
You leave the ramen shop and head back to your apartment to end the night, and you know that Ishimaru is anxious to see what you've gotten him, though he is too modest to ask for it directly. You both sit down at the only table in your studio apartment, drinking some tea and just enjoying each other's company in silence. It's not really something you enjoy doing, but after a long day out Ishimaru does it to 'decompress' as he put it so you wait for him to drink his tea before standing up once more.
"Okay, wait here while I go get your present," you tell him, not quite sure how to say it any less blunt. You're just so excited to give it to him, it was so stressful when you were buying it but now you think it will have been worth it to see his eyes light up when he opens the box. It's not far to your closet, you do live in a studio after all, so as soon as you open the closet door you tell Ishimaru to close his eyes, furthering the suspense. He does so, covering his face with his hands. Fuck, he's just too cute.
You get back to the table and set the box down, telling him to open his eyes. He does so, but before opening it he scoots over close to you to give you a hug and a kiss on the cheek. "Thank you," he says, "No matter what it is, I know I will love it."
He's sitting next to you so that when he opens the box, you'll have a clear view of what's in it. It's as if he wants you to see what it is, too, even if you already know since you are the one who bought it. You both instinctively hold your breath as he unties the ribbon, and although you are still excited,you begin to get nervous. You just hope that he likes them, you hope that he thinks the same thing you did about the colors and how they match your eyes, you hope that he doesn't know what the Hell a hyacinth or whatever she called it is. Then as he opens the box, the expression on both of your faces completely changes.
They're wilted. Fuck. You can't believe it. You're in complete shock.
But you shouldn't be. Now that you think about it, yes, flowers are alive so of course they can die. You've had them in a box in a closet for two weeks. No sun. No water. Actually, no. Even if you had put them in water by a window, you don't think the flowers would have lasted two weeks. But you've never bought flowers before and you've never been given flowers before so how were you supposed to know? You start to get mad at yourself before stopping to think about the more important thing here: you just gave wilted flowers that mean 'I'm sorry' to the love of your life who has never received flowers before. You look at him to gauge his reaction and you can see water. Those are tears in his eyes.
"Oh my gosh, Kiyo, I am so sorry!" You are so flustered and feel so unworthy that you just sit there like an idiot, hoping he will forgive you. A storm of emotions swirls around inside of you, anger at yourself for being so stupid, sadness for Ishimaru as that must be what he is feeling, hatred at the flower shop clerk for not warning you, but most importantly fear that your wonderful, spectacular, amazing, perfect boyfriend will see you as an idiot from now on. He had to be thinking it before, what with him getting into college and you trying to go straight into the workforce by being a carpenter's apprentice, but to not put flowers in water for two weeks? Stupid. Stupid stupid stupid.
His eyes tear up more, and he tries to speak but you cut him off.
"I mean it, I forgot that flowers needed water. I didn't give you wilted flowers on purpose!"
He takes in a deep breath, and before you have a chance to hush him and apologize again he leaps at you with full force, wrapping his arms around you and knocking you to the ground.
"Shut up and let me talk! I love them!" You're stunned.
"What?" He couldn't have just said that.
He pulls his head back to look at you, his eyes staring directly into yours intensely. "Nobody's ever gotten me flowers before. I love them."
"But they're dead! I fucked up and bought 'em too early, and then I suffocated 'em. You deserve better." You wipe away his tears, relieved that he isn't sad but still angry at yourself.
He shook his head. "Mondo, it doesn't matter. I know you must have put a lot of thought into picking them out and that is what matters. They look like they were purple and red, right?"
His words touch you deeply, but you still can't believe he is happy. "Yeah, they were..."
He then says something that to you seems like a sign you were meant to be together. "Just like our eyes."
You laugh, finally accepting that he isn't upset, this isn't a big deal, and you can move on. "Sorry man, I'm an idiot. I love you."
He laughs with you, rolling off of you and onto his side. "You're not an idiot. You're the sweetest man I've ever met. It really is the best gift I've ever received."