Chiharu found herself alone in her flower shop as the day grew late and closing time drew nearer and nearer. She could always close early, after all she rarely ever got customers this late, however there were the occasional latecomers and she was determined to keep to schedule just in case.

As though proving her point, the door bell chimed as someone pushed their way into the shop, catching Chiharu's attention. The young woman looked up from where she was doing some minor pruning and immediately felt a smile form.

Standing just inside the shop, fidgeting somewhat nervously, was her best friend Sasaki Atsuko, or Acchan as Chiharu liked to call her.

"Acchan!" Chiharu called out to her elatedly, waving her arm wildly above her head.

The girl in question nervously shuffled her way over to Chiharu, her gaze never leaving her feet as she did so. Chiharu's brow furrowed as a frown marred her face, unsettled by her best friend's strange behaviour.

Acchan had always been a shy girl, and yet, after becoming friends with her, Chiharu had managed to break her out of her shell. Sure Acchan sometimes had relapses or simply moments where she simply wanted to be alone, but she hadn't seen her friend this bad in years. Something must have happened to her.

"Acchan what's wrong?" Chiharu, not one for subtlety, cut straight to the point.

The young woman in front of her startled, as if not expecting to be addressed, which was quite silly if you asked Chiharu. Acchan stared at her with wide eyes, wringing her hands together nervously before she seemed to realize what she was doing and forced herself to relax.

"Ah, um, hey Chichan." Acchan greeted her, a tremble clear in her voice.

"You didn't answer my question." Chiharu noted.

"Huh? Oh, sorry." Acchan apologized, "What was the question?"

"What's wrong?" Chiharu asked again, worried about her friend's lack of attention.

"Oh! Err, nothing's wrong!" Acchan quickly denied, her arms waving wildly in front of her.

Chiharu gave her a look that made it clear that she didn't believe a word that the girl had just said, and Acchan seemed to get the message.

"Really!" Acchan assured her, "Nothing's wrong, it's just… err…"

"It's just what?" Katarina questioned, trying to goad an answer out of her.

"It's just that I'm, well, I'm here for some flowers…" Acchan trailed off embarrassed, but Chiharu wasn't sure why.

"Okay?" Chiharu said questioningly, "What kind of flowers did you want?"

Acchan mumbled something that Chiharu didn't quite catch.

"What kind?"

"I said I want a bouquet of- of…" Acchan trailed off before finishing.

"C'mon, you know I can't help you if you don't tell me!"

"I said I want a bouquet of red carnations okay?!"

Chiharu jerked back in surprise at her friend's sudden outburst before the implications of what she said hit her. Her friend, Acchan, wanted red carnations! As a florist Chiharu was quite familiar with the meanings behind a lot of flowers and she knew that red carnations specifically were a symbol of deep love.

Acchan had fallen in love with someone and was trying to convey her feelings to them with flowers! A smile rose, unbidden, on her face as she imagined her friend happily spending time with whomever had caught her attention even as she felt a pang shoot through her chest, unsure of why.

"Oh?" Chiharu spoke up playfully, "And who's the lucky guy? Anyone I know?"

"Girl, actually." Acchan corrected, blushing as she averted her eyes.

Chiharu found herself surprised, not having expected that revelation. Then again maybe it shouldn't be that surprising considering how many books she read that featured friendships between… 'Oh my god those were romance novels all along!'

Chiharu felt embarrassed at having taken so long to realize that her best friend had read almost exclusively homosexual romance novels featuring women. She knew she was slow on the uptake, but this really took the cake!

Chiharu realized that she had been taking too long when she saw Acchan fidgeting nervously again, looking somewhat depressed at the lack of reaction.

"Ah, um, so who's the lucky girl?" Chiharu tried breaking the tension, "Do I know her?"

For a moment it seemed as though Acchan wouldn't respond, but then she gave a jerky nod in affirmation.

"Oooh! So it is someone I know?"

Chiharu got another jerky nod and then immediately set out trying to figure out who it was.

"Is it Mary?"

Acchan gave her a quick shake of the head.

"Selena?"

Another shake.

"Oooh! Is it that foriegn exchange student Maria?!"

Apparently that wasn't it either.

"Anne? Sienna? Joana?"

None of those appeared to be whom she was talking about either as she continued to shake her head in denial.

"Well I'm stumped. Who is it?"

"I, err, I'll tell you after I get the bouquet."

Nodding in understanding, Chiharu set out to quickly gather up a bouquet for her best friend, making sure to only choose the prettiest of flowers for her. Once done she made sure to wrap them as carefully as she could and carefully handed them to Acchan.

"Thanks. How much do I owe you?" Acchan questioned, reaching for her wallet before Chiharu waved her off.

"Don't worry about it, it's free!"

"Are you sure Chichan?" Acchan questioned, shocked.

"I'm sure. I couldn't possibly charge my best friend when she's about to go confess to the love of her life!" Chiharu exclaimed dramatically, "Now c'mon, tell me who it is!"

Acchan stared at her before looking down at the bouquet in her hands and then back up at her again. Her eyes hardened as she appeared to decide something and she took a deep breath to steady herself before suddenly bowing deeply, arms outstretched as she presented the bouquet in her hands to Chiharu.

"What?" Was all Chiharu could manage to get out as she blinked in surprise at Acchan's actions.

"I love you Chichan, please go out with me!"

"What?" Chiharu repeated dumbly.

"I know this is probably really weird, but I've loved you for a long time, Chichan, and I've always wanted to confess to you, but I never had the courage before!" Acchan explained, still presenting the carnations to her.

"And I know you probably only see me as a friend, and you'll probably reject me, but I had to at least try!" She continued, her voice growing hoarse with emotions, "I wouldn't be able to forgive myself if I never confessed to you before someone else came in and took you away forever!"

Chiharu found herself speechless amidst a torrent of different emotions. Shock at this sudden revelation, surprise that Acchan loved her of all people, and, most surprising of all, elated at having her feelings reciprocated.

And… oh. Wasn't that a surprise? Apparently Chiharu had, without even ever noticing, somehow managed to fall in love with her best friend and hadn't even realized. She was used to being slow on the uptake, but to not even realize her own feelings?

No, wait, she could think on that later. Right now her best friend was still right in front of her, waiting for her answer, and Chiharu didn't intend on making her wait any longer. Gently she took the bouquet from Acchan and brought the carnations against her chest.

As Acchan looked up towards Chiharu she gave her the brightest smile she could and answered.

"I would love to Acchan!"