Day 3: Modern AU - Flower Shop

I have a long list of AU scenarios saved on my cloud for future reference and a friend picked "flower shop" :) Enjoy!

Alina knew she shouldn't be looking forward to Wednesdays, but she just couldn't help herself. Running her own flower shop with her best friend Mal was the dream they had both shared ever since the early days of their childhood, ever since they had picked the flowers off the field in front of their orphanage, braided them into increasingly gorgeous flower crowns or presented them as bouquets to Ana Kuya, the only person even remotely resembling a mother figure in their pitiful lives. Yet even though the flower shop was her dream come true, Wednesdays were Alina's favourite day of the week and that was all because of a single customer.

"Waiting for the handsome cheat?" Mal asked, teasing her as he always did. It had taken him a few weeks to notice the blush on Alina's cheeks, the nervous stutter in her voice when a certain regular walked in, but once he had caught on, Mal hadn't stopped pestering her about it.

"Shut up," Alina replied, trying to sound stern, but really, she couldn't help but smile a little at the thought of the customers. That didn't stop her from ramming her elbow into Mal's side, however.

He saw the blow coming and avoided it by stepping out of her path.

"He buys flowers for his wife every single week," Mal argued sternly, his brows furrowed in a line of concern and worry. "And yet he flirts with you every chance he gets."

"Why does it bother you? Are you jealous?" Alina quipped, but in her heart, she knew that Mal was right. Which was why she had enjoyed the flirtation, taken it as a compliment, but never let it go further than that. There was nothing wrong with enjoying compliments from a very handsome man, was there?

"You're my little sister," Mal went on.

"Not biologically-"

"You're as good as my sister," he said and placed his hands on her shoulders, looking right into her eyes. "I'm going to hate any man who might potentially hurt you, whether he's a punk rocker, a banker or a freaking prince. But when a married man makes eyes at you, it's my solemn duty to be worried about you."

At last, Alina's features softened and she smiled at Mal. "I know," she replied, nodding gently. "And I'm not going to fall for him. It's just-"

She paused, trying to put her feelings into words.

"Most of the customers we get are married, about to get married or buying flowers for funerals. And you know as well as I do that I rarely get out otherwise. I just… I need a compliment every now and then," she confessed and her smile turned into a grin. "It feeds my ego."

Mal chuckled in return and then placed a swift kiss on her forehead. "Fine," he groaned, but the amusement was audible in his voice. "But if he oversteps his boundaries, you let me know and his face won't look as pretty next Wednesday."

Alina smiled sincerely. "I will," she said and then pinched his biceps. "Now use those muscles for the Mayer delivery. They're not going to tip us if you're late."

Mal gave a mock salute, reached for the prepared flower boxes and vanished out of the door. Alina sighed audible, feeling just a little jittery. Any minute now, her favourite customer would show up.

The clock ticked on and in her empty shop, surrounded by flowers, Alina kept glancing at towards the hands and numbers and she realised that her handsome customer was running late. He hadn't missed a single Wednesday since he first started coming here and he always walked in at ten past five, so punctual that she could have used him to tell the time. Now that he was already fifteen minutes overdue, Alina was beginning to worry. Had something happened to him? Was he ill? Had he maybe fought with his wife and she was going to have to go without flowers this week?

She scolded herself for that last thought because as soon as she had processed it, a glimmer of hope sparked in her heart. Alina mustn't think like that because if she did, she wasn't sure she would be able to resist him.

A sudden sound tore her out of her thoughts and Alina looked up and realised that it had been the little bell above the door, announcing a customer. Her favourite customer.

He walked in like he always did, shoulders square, head held high, his long, black winter coat flowing around his ankles. Alina's heart somersaulted in her chest regardless of her best intentions. He had been coming into her shop for almost a year now and still, Alina wasn't sure how it was possible that the universe had bestowed so much beauty on a single person. Today, however, his dark, usually perfect hair was a windswept mess and she noticed a couple more lines on his forehead that gave him an almost troubled look. Still, the sight of him made her knees grow weak. It was as if something in her brain just short-circuited when he walked through the door and Alina cursed her hormones for that.

"Hello," he greeted her in a friendly manner, but today, he didn't quite muster a smile. "I'll have-"

"The usual?" Alina interrupted him nervously and then almost bit her own tongue. Then, she decided to finish her sentence now that he had already made a perfectly ordinary greeting awkward. "White roses?"

A hint of a smile appeared on the man's face. "You remember my order?"

Alina smiled at him in return. Any excuse to hide the red that had crept into her cheeks. "You've been coming here for almost a year now. It's the same every week. White roses. If you'd like, you could place a standing order and I'd have the bouquet ready when you arrive."

Alina wanted to slap herself. Not only was she rambling like a nervous idiot, but she was also about to ruin the only chance she had of spending time with him. Why couldn't she just keep her silly mouth shut?

"It's been exactly a year," the man replied, but there was a hint of sadness in his voice. As nervous as she was, it made Alina a little angry. If he remembered the exact day he had first set foot in this shop, that meant he really had an eye on her. She had a sudden feeling that Mal was right about him and that he was a dirty cheat who was buying flowers for his wife and trying to hit on the florist at the same time. It was unbelievable.

Trying to hide her nervousness and anger and confusion, Alina turned towards the flowers on display. "White roses coming up," she said, trying to sound neutral, but her voice still trembled a little.

Up until now, Alina had tried to tell herself that his flirting as was innocent as her enjoying it, but if the man was actually trying to go through with it, she wanted nothing more to do with him – regardless of how damn handsome he looked. Above all, she hated the fact that Mal had been right about him. Maybe she should tell him to adorn the man's face with a nice, little bruise.

Alina was so wrapped up in her anger and frustration that she hadn't noticed the man follow her around the shop until she turned around and found herself face to face with him. He was standing so close that she could feel the heat emitting from his chest, so close she was able to catch a whiff of his perfume. She wasn't sure whether she wanted to close her eyes and sink into the sensation or tell him off, but he seemed to have caught on without her saying a single word and stepped back.

"I'm sorry," he said. His voice sounded sincere. "I owe you an apology."

Alina frowned at him for a moment, then decided she was still standing a little too close and hurried off behind the counter before her feelings got the better of her.

"Whatever for?" she mumbled and focused her attention on the flowers instead of the handsome married man in her shop. She reached for the pruners and began to clip the ends, keeping her eyes on the peduncles.

Still, she heard the man shuffle his feet in front of her desk and she resisted the urge to look at him as best as he could.

"Well, I don't know if you've noticed, but I've been sort of trying to flirt with you over the last couple of months."

Alina's heart skipped a beat and she really, really wished it would stop doing that. Her life was a mess without her falling for a married man.

"I wanted to apologise for that. You're not interested and I should have stopped trying. I'm sorry if I made you feel uncomfortable. If you want, I'll find a different flower shop and I won't bother you again."

At last, Alina looked up and glared at him. She didn't know what to say. On one hand, he was making the gentlemanly gesture of offering her space, on the other, he completely ignored the fact that he had tried to cheat on his wife, the same wife he was buying flowers for every single week. Mal was right. This man was a cheat and a complete arsehole.

"It's just that, well, your shop is closest to my office and you do sell the prettiest flowers," he said and offered her an apologetic smile. "But if you want me to stay away, I will."

Alina opened her mouth and the words escaped her before she could stop herself. "So you can cheat on your wife with a different florist?"

Now that the words were out, there was no way to take them back, yet Alina wished that she could as soon as she noticed the expression on the man's face. At first, it was one of bewilderment, confusion, then she noticed the sadness creep back into it like a dark shadow. For a moment, the man didn't react at all and the silence that had spread over her shop seemed like a calm before a massive storm. Then, he merely reached into his pocket, threw a bill on the counter and turned around to head towards the exit.

Alina racked her brain, unsure of what to do. If she let him go now, she knew that she was never going to see him again and for some strange reason, she suddenly knew that she had made a mistake.

"Don't leave!" she called after him. "I'm sorry!"

There was a brief moment where she believed he would leave regardless of her apology, but just as he was about to reach for the door handle, the man stopped and turned back around. Alina followed after him and stopped only an arm's length away from him.

"I'm sorry," she repeated. "I don't know why I said that. It was stupid."

The man didn't reply at first and merely nodded instead. "You're right, it was stupid," he agreed eventually. "Because my wife died almost a decade ago."

The truth felt like a slap in the face and Alina suddenly wished she could rewind time. If she had the chance to do this day over again, she wouldn't be so stupid. Mal had been wrong about him and the fact that the man's intention had been nice and sincere all this time only made the blow worse.

"I'm sorry," Alina apologised again. She couldn't say it often enough. "You were buying the same flowers every week and I just jumped to conclusions. Now I feel like an idiot."

Unable to look at him, she lowered her gaze to her feet. If a hole opened up to swallow her, she would welcome it.

"Well, you're twice the idiot, because the flowers are for my mother who passed away twelve months ago," the man said. Alina wasn't brave enough to look at him yet, but she imagined that she heard a hint of amusement in his voice. "we had a somewhat difficult relationship and I feel like if I don't appease her spirit with weekly flowers on her grave, she will send down a lightning strike to kill me."

At last, Alina's head shot up and just in time to see the man laugh. She was reluctant at first, but his laughter seemed so genuine that she allowed herself a weak smile in return. It lifted her spirits a little, but it didn't make her feel any less like an idiot. Only then, she remembered that the man had forgotten the roses and that they were still lying on the counter where she had left them.

"You shouldn't forget the flowers, then," she said and nodded towards the bouquet on the counter. "Can't risk a lightning strike."

Alina hurried back to fetch them and handed them over to her customer, fully aware that this was probably the very last time she was going to see him. After the way she had acted, there was no chance he was ever going to come back into her shop.

"Thank you," he said with a smile, gave her one last nod and then headed out of the door, leaving Alina alone in her shop, still feeling like the idiot of the century.

Next time, she was not going to listen to Mal, no matter what he said. Next time, she was going to be brave and take her chance. But what was she thinking? There wasn't going to be a next time because her favourite customer was never going to come back.

Before the surge of bravery left her, Alina darted out of the door and followed after him. At first, she couldn't find him anywhere among the pedestrians. Was he gone already? Had he jumped into the nearest car and gotten away? Then, at last, she spotted his long, black coat.

"I did notice!" she called after him, running to catch up.

His pace slowed, but he didn't stop as if he wasn't sure whether he was the one being spoken to.

"I did notice that you were trying to flirt with me!" Alina admitted breathlessly. She had now caught him with him and she was glad to see him pause because she needed to catch her breath. "And my friend kept teasing me about it."

The man raised his eyebrow at her, his expression amused. "And why did he do that?" he asked.

"Because I was enjoying it," Alina admitted. If he was never coming back to her shop, she had nothing to lose. She had already made a fool out of herself, so what harm was being honest now? "Because I kept looking forward to your visits."

He smiled. "Well, in that case," he said and started walking away from her again, backwards, his face turned towards her. Alina wasn't sure how he avoided running into everything, but he was just that good. "I guess I'll see you next Wednesday."

Grinning at her, he vanished as the crowd swallowed him. Alina stood there for a moment longer, unsure of whether she was happy, excited or about to perish of out sheer embarrassment. But she consoled herself with the idea that he was going to come back in a week and until then, she had time to practice asking him out for a coffee.