Lauren

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content: Lauren's newest customer is eager to do something nice for his boyfriend.

tags: shameless fluff, established relationship

author's note: Part 2/6

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Lauren loves her job.

She's always been fascinated by the different kinds of flowers and plants, visiting the beautiful flower shop of Mrs. Jane around the corner since the day she was able to walk on her two chubby legs. She spent a major part of her childhood at the large greenhouse in the back, learning about everything there was to know about the countless types of green. She was like a sponge, absorbing every little piece of information.

And when Mrs. Jane offered her a job at her shop – at first a few hours a week, but after the girl's graduation a more permanent arrangement – Lauren took the opportunity with a smile so big the angels in Heaven probably didn't miss it.

Yes, she honestly loves her job.

And it's not only the flowers she's obsessed with but the different kinds of people as well. Each customer has a story, a background, a reason why they're finding their way into Mrs. Jane's shop.

There is the elderly woman who likes to see some color in her garden. And there is the young man that sends a beautiful bouquet to his wife's work place every Monday morning, going on for months now. And then there is the exhausted mother of four children who obviously finds some peace and quiet just sitting next to the little fountain in the middle of the shop and watching the flowers around her.

All very different people.

And the man who is approaching the counter now looks like a special case too. He seems more like a guy you find at the hardware store – plaid, a washed-out jeans, an old Led Zeppelin shirt –, but he appears rather determined when he stops in front of Lauren, so he obviously didn't just lose his way and walked through the wrong door.

"Hi," he greets Lauren with a nice smile, his green eyes glinting in a way that's almost hypnotic.

"Welcome," she answers politely. "How can I help you?"

The man lets his gaze roam over the large room, searching for something Lauren isn't sure what yet. "Um … I've gotta confess I've got no real clue about the whole … well, plant thing," he admits, rubbing the back of his neck as if he's ashamed of that fact. "I just walked by and …"

He trails off, apparently unsure how to proceed.

Lauren finds herself smiling. He's seriously not the first customer who came in here without a real idea what they even wanted for themselves or for someone they loved.

"It's … it's actually for my boyfriend," the man adds, flushing adorably as though he's not used to that term yet. "He said recently that it'd be nice if we'd have a garden in our, uh, backyard. I mean, right now there is only grass and nothing else, you know. Not much to work with."

Lauren leans a bit closer. "So you were thinking about starting a garden?"

The man's eyes brighten a little, like he actually believed Lauren would laugh off his suggestion or something and can't help being relieved that this isn't the case.

"Cas loves all this stuff," he continues, the fondness in his voice more than noticeable. "Y'know, digging into dirt, caring for some pretty flowers and perhaps even a small herb garden. Just …"

He shrugs and simply smiles, obviously thinking that his smitten expression would tell the rest of the story by itself.

"I want it to be a surprise," the man continues. "I mean, my brother and he are gonna visit some exhibition at the other end of the country next week because they're both the hugest nerds in existence and they love that old stuff …" He rolls his eyes affectionately. "And that gives me a few days to – well, to surprise Cas, I guess."

It takes a lot of effort to not coo in the guy's face since this is one of the sweetest things Lauren ever heard. This man obviously has no freaking clue how to even begin this project, but he's so utterly in love with his boyfriend that he's keen to bite the bullet and do it anyway.

"And Cas likes bees," the guy adds as an afterthought, his cheeks tinged a little bit red. "Maybe … maybe we could consider that too."

Lauren grins widely. "Well, your boyfriend is a very lucky man!" she says. "And I'd love to help you. I've got some recommendations that –"

But before she's even able to continue any further and underline her excitement rather enthusiastically (because she enjoys big projects like this one very much), the front door suddenly opens and a man with a messy bird's nest on his head peeks inside.

"Dean?" he asks confused, his gaze trained on the guy in front of Lauren.

"Cas!" the man – Dean – exclaims loudly, looking like he's been caught with his hand in the cookie jar. He turns around and smiles awkwardly at this beautiful stranger with the most otherworldly blue eyes on earth – who is obviously the mentioned boyfriend.

Damn, no wonder Dean wants to build a whole garden for this man from the ground, only because he mentioned once that it might be nice. Lauren would have done the same in a heartbeat.

Without any hesitation.

"What are you doing here, man?" Dean wonders, stepping back from the counter. "I thought you wanted to go to the pet store after the library."

Apparently Dean counted on Cas being so distracted by the puppies that he would have had all the time in the world to talk with Lauren about his plan in great detail.

"It's closed," Cas informs him. "I think a pipe burst at some point this morning." He squints his eyes and studies Dean intensely. "And what are you doing here?"

"Uh …" Dean starts to fidget. He doesn't seem to be prepared to come up with some believable excuse for his presence in a flower shop of all things.

And Lauren can't see him suffer.

"It's my fault," she pipes in, making Cas glance at her directly for the first time. "He just wanted to use the bathroom and when he came back, I noticed the Zeppelin shirt and we got to talk. Sorry for keeping him back."

She smiles sheepishly, knowing fairly well that it'll be convincing enough. Dean throws a look over his shoulder and mouths thank you to her.

In the meantime, Cas' features gentled. "No need to apologize. I'm quite aware that Dean is capable of talking about his favorite bands for hours." He takes a step inside. "You have a beautiful shop, by the way."

His whole face brightens while watching the overwhelming amount of green around him and Lauren can't help picturing him being more than grateful for the things his boyfriend has planned for their backyard. He's gonna be thrilled, that's for sure.

And Lauren can't wait to help Dean with that.

"Well, thanks for the good talk," Dean says, clearing his throat. "Always love chatting about Zeppelin."

He winks and mouths I will be back, making sure that Cas is unable to witness their brief interaction.

"You're welcome," she answers, "I hope I'll see you soon."

She smiles as Dean takes Cas' hand like it's the most natural thing in the world, squeezes it tightly and whispers something into Cas' ear that makes the other man blush in the most endearing way ever. Dean seems quite proud of his accomplishment when he presses a quick kiss on his boyfriend's temple and finally turns around once more to yell, "See you soon!"

And true to his words Dean is standing right in front of Lauren less than twenty-four hours later.

With big plans for the future with the man he loves.