Hello, everyone! Thanks for the interest in my story, it made me very motivated to write! Before we get started, I had to clarify how Asagao's name was pronounced for a friend of mine, so I though other's might be wondering the same. It's Ah-Sah-Guy-Oh. With that out of the way, hope you enjoy!

Though her daydreams certainly hadn't, Asa was pretty convinced she had all but forgotten about the day her celebrity crush had stood in her flower shop two weeks ago. It had been a complete coincidence (and a complete honor, like, wow), but it had happened and now it was done.

She'd freaked out over it, talked with her best friend Hana about it, fantasized about him coming back to ask for her number, and moved on.

There was only one question she didn't let herself linger on: who were the flowers for?

Every time the thought popped into her head, her heart stung and she pushed it aside. Why did she care? It didn't matter that he was getting flowers for someone. Pink flowers. Pretty pink flowers. For someone. Probably a pretty someone.

Asa shook her head and groaned. This was bad. 'Focus, Asa, focus! Get over this stupid crush. None of this matters.'

...but what if the magazines were right?

'Nope,' she told herself as she tried to read over the same client email for the fiftieth time. 'Bad Asa. We are not going down this rabbit trail again. Go put your flowers together and distract yourself. But his eyes—'

"Wow, you're really out of it, aren't you, Asa-chan?"

Asa spun around. "Hana-chan!"

Her best friend had her arms crossed and eyes narrowed as she walked up to the counter. "You haven't said whether you're coming tonight or not," Hana accused. "Figured I'd stop by and make you give me an answer."

Asa gave a guilty smile. "Sorry, you know how this season is, multiple weddings every weekend, and—"

"And superheroes you're expecting to pop back up again?" Hana finished. When the florist's eyes flickered down, she sighed. "I thought you were getting over him, Asa-chan. Come on, a night out would do you some good— get you out of this shop for once."

Asa grumbled, "I'm not always in the shop, you know."

Hana rolled her eyes. "Your apartment doesn't count."

The two stared at each other in a stand off. At least there weren't any customers in right now. The last thing Asa needed was for any of them to hear about all this.

She hadn't told anyone other than Hana about what had happened. How could she? Something about blabbing just…rubbed her the wrong way. She wanted to be respectful of him. Hero or not, he was a human, too. Deku deserved privacy, and she wasn't about to go gossiping about how he was in her shop.

Hana's blazing green eyes were still striking daggers into her heart, though, and Asa groaned, "Fine, when and where?"

"That new American restaurant down the road," Hana replied, a frustratingly pleased twinkle in her eyes. "Six o'clock. Hideaki-kun will be there. He's been asking about you."

Asa snorted. "Sure he has."

The amused look on Hana's face melted a little. "Asa-chan, you're a great catch. And he's a good guy! I know you two had that weird thing, but you were second years. He really has been bugging me to get you to come. I think he's serious this time."

The shopkeeper let out a sigh. "Yeah, yeah. I'll be there, okay? I'll just be late— shop closes at six, you know."

Hana grinned. "I'll save you a seat next to me. Want me to bring that cute jacket?"

Despite herself, Asa perked up. "The one with the cherry blossom print?"

"Yup."

"Deal."

After giving Asa some directions to the restaurant, Hana made her way out of the shop, though not without threatening Asa if she didn't show up, of course. Asa shook her head. Hana was just doing what she thought was best, after all. She knew Asa had been driving herself a bit crazy lately with the business. It was hard not to, honestly. For once in her life, Asa felt like she truly had a purpose…it's just that sometimes that amazing feeling made her overwork herself.

Reuniting with old friends from high school would be good, though. It would bring back some fond, pre-Deku-crush memories (ah, of course he popped into her brain again). And maybe seeing Hideaki wouldn't be so bad. Maybe a little awkward at first, but she could handle it.

Asa took in a deep breath, then let it out slowly. She could handle it. She had always been capable of handling things.

Well, except for obsessive thoughts about a certain green-haired hero, but nope, not today. She had a bride-to-be coming in for an appointment in two minutes, and she was not going to let herself be distracted.

"Off in la la land again?"

Asa jumped and spun around to see her other employee, Meiko, giving her a fond look. "Are you getting enough sleep, Na-chan?" she questioned.

The florist fought the urge to roll her eyes at the cutesy nickname. "I think you forget I'm older than you sometimes," she replied dryly.

"Two years," Meiko shrugged. "And I think you forget to take care of yourself sometimes. Go grab something to eat in the back. I'll greet Tanaka-san."

Whatever she did to deserve such wonderful employees, Asa would never know. But alas, she did as she was told. It was only eleven in the morning, and her quirk already felt a little drained from an order of bouquets for an exceptionally large wedding.

And thus the day went on. Arrangements, clients, and pick ups blurred together in their typical frenzy. Asagao smiled through each and every moment, her work finally distracting her from any thought of the handsome hero that had burst into her life two weeks ago. It was a welcome feeling after all the nights she'd been cursed with insomnia, her overactive imagination refusing to let her sleep.

But even with her work, she felt the ever present question tickling the back of her mind: who were the flowers for?

She had no right to know, no reason to know. It didn't matter. It shouldn't matter. Why did she feel like it mattered?

As Asagao began clearing away materials from her client table, she found herself wondering if she could slap herself hard enough to knock all these thoughts about Deku out of her head. Surely there had to be some foolproof way to get over a celebrity crush, right? Maybe she'd look it up online later. Then again, knowing her, she'd just wind up scrolling through his hashtag for hours.

'Why am I like this?' she internally groaned. Stupid hopeless crushes. Maybe Hana was right. Maybe tonight would be really good for her. She and Hideaki had kinda worked…sort of. And she'd had a big crush on him for a long time. Maybe now that they were older, they would be more mature and would have a better chance this time around. Yeah, that actually sounded kind of—

Was that a Chargebolt jacket?

Asa had barely caught sight of the bright yellow bomber out of the corner of her eyes, but when she realized who was wearing it, she swore her heart stopped beating altogether.

It was him.

He hadn't made it to the door yet, but he was unmistakable. It was like some sort of heavenly aura was surrounding him…and, well, how could she not notice him in that jacket? The yellow with the black lighting bolt was hard to miss. She'd had her eyes on it for a while, but hadn't gotten around to buying it— wait a second, Deku was about to enter her store again! Crap!

Asa made quick work of clearing off the rest of the table, almost spilling a glass of water as she did so, and stuffed the catalogs beneath the counter just as he finished crossing the street.

The sound of laughter from her flowers filled her ears as she smoothed her hair down, but Asa ignored it. Deku's hand was on the door now, after all. She'd reprimand them for their behavior later.

He entered. His eyes landed on her. They lit up like a brilliant green firework. "Hey! I'm so glad I caught you— sorry for coming in at the last minute again, but this time, I know exactly what I want!"

And there she was, caught in a daze just like two weeks ago. He was all smiles as he walked up to her counter, a skip in his step.

When he reached her, Deku pulled his phone out of his pocket. "I spent some time researching flower language this week so I'd be more prepared. I have my order written down and everything!" He turned his phone toward her to see.

Asa blinked before she stared at the screen in silence. He indeed did have a list in his notes app.

Asters. Carnations. Tulips.

She missed how he bit his lip nervously. "Did I get it right? They're all supposed to be about love, I think. I read almost every website I could to figure it out."

The florist took a few more seconds to look over his request before she quirked an eyebrow at him. "You're about half right, although I would like to know what king I'm potentially making this for." At the hero's confused look, Asa grinned. "Purple tulips stand for royalty. You didn't specify."

Deku froze. She watched, her heart squeezing a little because gosh he was so cute when he was flustered, as his cheeks turned pink and he slapped a hand to his face. "The colors mean different things, don't they," he mumbled.

An even bigger grin was fighting its way onto her lips. "Yeah, yeah they do."

His hand slid down his face. "I can't believe I forgot that," Deku admitted with a sigh. "I spent every chance I had looking it up, and I thought I'd make this easy for you so I didn't waste your time—"

"It's fine," Asa laughed. "I'm honestly impressed. Most men walk in here looking like they're lost."

Deku chuckled. "Sort of like I did a couple weeks ago."

She shrugged dismissively, but he was still looking so embarrassed and didn't he know that this was already hard enough for her like why did he have to look so cute right now it was entirely infuriating and honestly she didn't know how she'd already gotten this far in their conversation.

Asa glanced down at his phone one more time, memorizing the list quickly. "I don't have asters right now, but I'll sub those out for something else— and make sure to get the right colors for love," she added on and wow, was her voice teasing? Was she teasing Deku? Oh my gosh, she was.

And he seemed okay with it. He was laughing a bit, and (she held back a sigh) what a beautiful sound that was. "I swear I'll get it right next time," he promised.

Next time.

Wow, she couldn't breathe.

No readily available responses would come to her, so Asa settled for a (probably super awkward) two finger salute and headed into the back storeroom.

'Okay,' she told herself. 'Deep breath. Deku flower bouquet number two. It's no big deal. Screw it, yes it is a big deal. Flowers. Distract yourself with the flowers.'

Carnations and tulips, plus something else that needed to symbolize love. Asagao wandered over toward the carnations as she mentally ran through her options. Plenty of the colors meant love, but they were all different kinds of love. Maybe she should ask for clarification?

No, that might be rude. She didn't want to seem prying. Plus, if he responded with any sort of romantic love, her heart would die a little bit. She'd just play it safe.

'White carnations would be good,' she decided. 'Pure love and good luck. Very Deku-esque.' Ugh, if he ever found out how much of a fangirl she really was, he'd think she was so creepy.

Asagao made her way to her group of white carnations. "Hello, little ones," she greeted softly. The white carnations were always a bit more on the sensitive side. "I have someone lovely who would like you."

A few reached out to her tentatively, and she began humming to assuage their fears. She picked her favorites and held them against her heart as she began looking for what else she would put in the bouquet. As she walked, she felt her precious carnations begin to relax. They sighed happily, flooding her with a feeling of gratefulness. Asa ran her fingers over their petals in response.

What next? Asa's eyes glided over her selection. She could do chrysanthemums again, seeing as how red ones symbolized love, but those were out of stock. And they were for romantic love anyways, and she just didn't have enough details…hmm, something like Deku though?

She snapped her fingers. Sunflowers! Adoration and loyalty were definitely traits she saw in Deku. That would fit him perfectly!

Asagao wound through the greenhouse rows to a section in the back. Her sunflowers were practically buzzing with excitement by the time she reached them, and she laughed. "You bunch are always so thrilled to be taken home," she teased. "Makes me feel like you don't like me as much!"

The sunflowers were quick to send her a feeling that denied her joke. Asa just shook her head and smiled. They were always eager when she came near— they liked spreading their joy just as much as she liked running the shop.

She gathered a few into her bundle, then sighed.

And now for the tulips.

Perhaps the most difficult one, because there just wasn't any particular color that seemed to be accurate. Once she had walked over to her tulips, she stared down at them for what felt like an eternity.

The red tulips were vying for her attention, wishing she would pick one of them up so they could express the true depths of their love for her. The yellow tulips were mimicking the same feelings as the sunflowers, which honestly was starting to get a little overwhelming. The white tulips were looking up at her sadly, apologizing that they weren't what she needed. She hummed a little tune just for them.

Asa sighed. None of this was fitting…unless…

She turned to the purple tulips, unsurprised to find them regarding her with their usual humility.

Her eyes flitted back to the flowers in her arms. Pure love. Good luck. Adoration. Loyalty. Maybe it was her sixth sense speaking, but something was telling her that the royalty of the purple tulips would fit right in.

"Royalty," she murmured. "Meant for someone you esteem highly."

Even if the bouquet wasn't going to be a traditional form of love, she couldn't help but feel that it was a deep, layered sort of love, the kind that everyone wanted to experience at some point in their life.

A minute later, Asa finished trimming the stems and set about wrapping them in the newest paper she'd gotten in. When she finished tying the bow, she stepped back to evaluate.

Asagao almost laughed out loud looking at it. The bouquet wasn't elegant or striking or even resembled anything like what she usually did. And yet, it was beautiful all the same. It wasn't classically arranged, but it was what he wanted, and…well honestly, it was adorable. It looked like the kind of flower bouquet a kid would put together, just a random collection of whatever garden flower they liked best. She supposed it sort of was like that, in a way. The meaning meant more to him than the style.

And it really was full of meaning. As she gathered the bouquet in her arms, a sensation akin to a warm hug radiated off her flowers. Yeah, yeah this was right. This was the kind of love she imagined Deku would give.

Oh. Right. She had to go back out there and give them to him now.

Asa stared down the door and took in a calming breath. She did this once, she could do it again.

To avoid her trouble from last time, Asagao began humming as she walked through the door. Deku was near the front windows, staring at a few frames she had on the wall. She was almost grateful that he immediately didn't notice her return. Her heart always skipped a beat when those bright eyes caught hers.

One more soothing breath later, she cleared her throat. Deku jumped and whirled around to blink at her. She grinned apologetically. "Those were for some of my first clients," she told him. "I like to keep the pictures as a reminder of where I began."

He looked back to the photos. "They're really beautiful! So unique, and— oh wow!" he gasped, having done a double-take. Deku rushed back up to the counter, his mouth dropped open. She tried to ignore how her heart was pounding.

"I love sunflowers!" he said. She wished she had a camera so she could capture the sparkle in his eyes. His gaze flicked up from the bouquet to her. "How'd you know?"

Asa shrugged (in a manner that conveyed far more neutrality than she currently possessed, she realized proudly). "Call it a florist's intuition."

Deku nodded excitedly. His eyes wandered over the flowers she picked, falling on the purple tulips with a bit of amusement. He must have recalled her previous joke. "Can you tell me about them? What they all stand for?"

With a strange sense of ease, she walked him through an explanation of each one, all the while letting her fingers drift over the petals. Asa had to admit, this particular bouquet was going to be hard to let go. It was just so sweet and sincere. But alas, when she was done, she hummed a final little tune before placing it in his awaiting hands.

Deku stood there for a moment, staring down at the flowers in a daze. Her head tilted. He almost seemed…entranced by them. She'd often seen people excited by her flowers, but this was something different. His eyes held a reverence that she couldn't understand, and possibly never would.

A few more moments passed before he looked up at her, eyes shining. "It's perfect," he smiled. "Thank you so much."

The joke popped out before she could stop it: "They aren't free, you know."

"Ah! Right!" Deku startled. Asagao held back a laugh as he (just like last time, hilariously enough) fumbled around for his wallet. He held his credit card out. Her fingers accidentally brushed his as she took it.

'Nope, nope, don't think about it,' Asa told herself. She ran the transaction quicker than normal and was extra careful when she handed the card back over.

He grinned widely. "Same amount of time for these? About two weeks?"

Asa nodded, "Yup, and if they don't last that long, let me know. It's rare that they don't last as long as I promise, but a promise is a promise, and I've had to do refunds before in special cases."

"I'm sure they'll be fine," Deku shook his head good naturedly. "The other ones only just started wilting, but I was just so excited to get more. And she— well, I, it was, ah, really nice to have fresh flowers."

She.

There seemed to be some unspoken agreement to not mention his slip up. Even so, Asa couldn't deny how her heart had stopped.

Deku's smile turned a little sheepish, and he scratched the back of his head. "Anyways, I should get out of your way. I kept you open late again."

All she could do was say, "It's okay."

He laughed, "Right."

There was a pause, during which the two just looked at each other. Then he started toward the exit. Asa blinked. Did their eyes connect just a bit longer than what could be considered normal? Was she breathing? Had that been awkward? Did he feel weird now?

All these questions and more swirled around her head so violently that she barely noticed him walk to the door. Until the bell above it rang, of course. She startled back to reality.

"Thanks, again, Nakano-san!" Deku called from the half-open door. Another cheerful wave and a flash of that absurdly bright jacket later, he was gone.

…what just happened?

Asagao sighed. Something told her she wasn't going to be able to fall asleep easily tonight.

She set about closing the shop in a dazed leisurely pace, her mind spinning with curiosity.

There was one thing for certain: these flowers really were for someone special. That much was obvious. His entire bouquet was filled with love. He'd specifically asked for love.

And yet there wasn't a single rose.

Roses were classic. Asa went through more of them than she could count each week. Boyfriends and husbands and fiancés came in to grab them all the time, each of them always wearing a bashful grin on their face.

But Deku didn't buy roses.

Well, he could have. She could have thrown them in the bouquet, but he hadn't requested them in his original idea in the first place.

Not only that, but he came in right at closing time again. Asagao wasn't an idiot— she could figure it out pretty easily. A celebrity like him coming to get flowers was prime material for any gossip magazine, not to mention arriving at a time like that lessened the likelihood that he'd run into any of her other customers. Seemed all the tabloids were right when they said Deku liked privacy.

She would keep it that way, Asa decided. Perhaps she would consider telling Meiko and Akari, so they wouldn't have a heart attack in case Deku ever showed up at a different time. But for now, she'd keep it on the down low, especially given how weird he acted after letting that certain detail slip. It was his life, and he deserved to not have anyone butting in on it.

'Hm, should I tell Hana-chan about him stopping in again?' Asa wondered as she took off her apron. 'Meh, I'll think on it.'

Asagao flicked off the shop lights, locked the doors, and stepped out onto the street where Deku had been not too long ago. Huh, that was a weird thought. He'd just been here. She swore she still felt some sort of energy in the air, that enthusiastic optimism he always carried with him.

And then, Asa took out her phone. That was a mistake.

Hana: Did you bail? I brought the jacket just for you! You're gonna break Hideaki-kun's heart!

Asa squinted at the text. A second later, her eyes finally drifted to the time.

6:22pm

Hana was going to kill her.

Asa began speed walking toward the restaurant at breakneck speed.

Asa: Had a last minute customer— pretty please order me a large salad? You know what I like. You're the best!

Hana: You're lucky I'm a good friend. I'll order it with extra celery.

The florist laughed out loud at her friend's text. Being on time had never been a strong suit of Asa's, anyways— something that Hana was far too familiar with at this point to get mad. Still, Asa had to admit Hana was right. She was very lucky for a friend like her.

The restaurant wasn't far. Asa had her lucky stars to thank for that (as well as another visit from Deku, seriously, what was happening lately?!).

No surprise, Hana was waiting at the door with the promised jacket in hand when Asa arrived.

"Thanks," Asa sighed, slipping it over her plain black jeans and white shirt. At least she now looked semi-cute for this random high school reunion.

"Salad will be out soon," Hana said, shaking her head as she lead Asa over to the group table. "Everyone else already has their food. Don't you have a clock on the wall in your shop?"

Asa smiled guiltily. "Yeah, I just got distracted. The person had a custom order, and it took longer than usual. You know I can't turn people away."

"You're too nice," Hana claimed with an eye roll. If only she knew who Asa had been with twenty minutes ago.

"Hey! You made it!"

Asa snapped to attention. Funny how she hadn't heard his voice in forever, and yet it still stuck out in the crowd.

Hideaki was waving at her from the table. Black hair, broad shoulders, and a kind smile on a face that she supposed was attractive. He hadn't changed a bit.

Hana not so subtly nudged her toward the empty seat next to him. It was the only spot left, so honestly she had no choice. This would be okay. It couldn't get too awkward, right?

"You look great," Hideaki said as she sat down. "Hana-chan said the shop drives you crazy, but you sure don't show it!"

Asa smiled politely. "I'll take crazy because it means paying the bills. What are you up to these days?"

He leaned back in his chair. "Oh, you know, taking over the family business from my dad," Hideaki shrugged. "Not exactly what I had in mind for life, but I'll get my own adventure one day. It's weird how much time has passed, isn't it? Sometimes I swear we're all still sixteen."

A waiter sat her salad down in front of her, and for the third time in only the last five minutes, Asa again thanked her lucky stars. This small talk was already more than she felt like dealing with. Maybe refueling her quirk would help.

And as it turned out, it only continued to get more uncomfortable. She barely got a word in to any of her other old high school friends, what with how Hideaki seemed far too determined to catch up on the last five years of their lives. Worst of all, Hana was too busy chatting with everyone else to notice Asa's subtle looks for help.

As Hideaki walked her home (he'd insisted since it was getting dark out), Asagao couldn't help but internally sigh. It wasn't his fault, after all. Hideaki was a genuinely nice guy. But his hair didn't have green tips, and his eyes were dull brown instead of brilliant emerald. And his smile was nice, but it didn't light up a room. Not to mention, she just…didn't really feel attracted to him that way anymore. He didn't draw her in, not like a different certain someone.

A billboard with Deku's face plastered on it came up on the horizon when they took a turn toward her apartment building. 'Speak of the devil,' Asa groaned. Why couldn't she get him out of her head?

Actually, she found she didn't mind Deku invading her brain right now. It was a welcome distraction from the increasingly awkward silence between the exes. At least they were almost to her building.

"So Asa-chan," Hideaki started. Weird. Even hearing her first name from his lips didn't give her the same reaction as Deku's formal usage. "I've been thinking about things lately, and well…"

She raised an eyebrow at him. "Things?"

"You and me," he clarified, then coughed. "Looking back, I can't really figure out why we didn't work. I still think a lot of you, so…I was wondering if maybe you wanted to go out some time?"

They stopped in front of her building door. She stared up at him, her head tilted.

When the silence went on for too long, Hideaki laughed, "I know, that kinda came out of nowhere. Would you be willing to give it a shot?"

Asa blinked. "I…" I'm in love with a person who's way out of my reach. A person that no one could ever compare to. You're a great guy. You deserve someone who's actually going to pay attention to you instead of obsessing over someone else. Please don't be upset with me. "I'm so sorry, Hideaki-kun. I'm just too busy with the shop right now for something like that."

The disappointment on his face was clear as day. "That's what Hana-chan said you'd say," he sighed.

Asa smiled sadly. "You deserve someone who can give you the time of day, not someone who shows up to dinners super late."

"I didn't mind," Hideaki shrugged.

She frowned. "Hideaki—"

"I know, I know," he shook his head. "Just figured I should give it a try. See you around?"

"Yeah," Asa nodded. "See you."

Hideaki turned and walked away without another word. The slump in his shoulders told her everything she needed to know, but even then, she couldn't convince herself that she'd made the wrong choice. She knew how messy her heart was right now. Stringing him along would only make things worse.

'Yup, that's me, saying no to a great guy while the guy I actually want is buying flowers for some mystery girl,' she grumbled as she walked up the stairs. At least it was already time to go to bed. Hideaki had chatted her ears off for three hours at the restaurant, and she was dead tired.

Asa's prediction from before was right. Even with her quirk begging her for some shut eye, she couldn't fall asleep.

"The other ones only just started wilting, but I was just so excited to get more. And she— well, I, it was, ah, really nice to have fresh flowers."

She.

Who was she?

Someone Deku loved.

Someone who was definitely not her.

Asa sighed and rolled over in bed. She wondered what it would be like to receive a bouquet filled with so much love from Deku…or even just anyone, for that matter.

Yeah, she really needed to move on.

'Just go to sleep and try to forget about it again,' she told herself. 'You'll drive yourself crazy if you don't get it out of your head.'

Deep breath in, deep breath out. Sleep sounded good right now. Just…fall…asleep…

"I swear I'll get it right next time."

Asa's eyes flashed open. Next time. Oh my gosh, he was going to be back.

The florist groaned and slapped a hand to her face. She was going to spend the next two weeks in hell, wasn't she?

Please leave a review! I am planning on getting on a consistent update schedule with this story, so look forward to more angst, fluff, and mystery next week!