AN: Hello again! This time the prompt was for a Florist / Bookshop AU, with the twist that the person who worked in the florist was new and didn't know much about flowers, and the person who worked in the bookshop was so well read that they did. I really loved writing this!

It was supposed to be a relaxing job. A simple, back-to-nature gig with her childhood best friend in her hometown, away from the make it or break it that had been Sakura's corporate life for the last five years.

Working as a florist was anything but relaxing. And though she was sure she'd never go back to spreadsheets and meetings about meetings, Sakura felt rather overwhelmed by the sheer breadth of skill required to make it in her new line of work. At least she was finally competent enough after a fortnight that Ino could have a lunch break: it had doused her righteous fire when Ino had claimed she was too green for the greenery.

"Stick to the counter, Forehead," the blonde said, not unkindly, and so stick to it like a burr Sakura had.

Hand on her chin, the pink-haired apprentice leaned on the polished wood of Yamanaka Flowers' counter, admiring the fresh flowers she'd placed in their jars that morning. The shop was on the luxe end of artistry, exotic blooms placed strategically in jars where patrons could wander around and choose their bouquets with purpose, or simply leave it up to Ino's famous recommendations and pick a ready-made bunch. It was a far cry from the homey little shop Sakura had known in their school days, but she loved the place all the same.

Lost in thought, she missed the tinkling of the bell above the door, not realising there was a customer in the shop until he'd stood directly in front of the counter for an embarrassingly long time.

"Excuse me," a deep male voice said, "I'm looking for two bouquets."

His voice was delicious enough, but it was the man's face that made Sakura's elbow slide off the counter, causing her to bite her tongue as she slipped.

"Oh, thit," she wailed, and then blushed crimson as he raised a dark eyebrow at her. He was the kind of customer she and Ino had dreamed about coming to sweep them off their feet in their teens: aristocratic good looks, expensive clothes, black mussed-up hair and a hint of rebelliousness in his pierced ear.

Gorgeous, but still: she hadn't expected to make quite such a fool of herself after years in the city.

"Sorry," she started again, raising herself to her full height and lamenting that it was still far below his, "how can I help you?"

"I need flowers," he repeated.

So he was choosing to ignore her blunder; Sakura breathed a sigh of relief before paling again at the request. She had no idea how to put a bouquet together and since he hadn't picked up any from the ready-made selection, it looked like the handsome stranger wanted her to make something specific.

"Ah, uh… I'm so sorry, the florist is actually away for lunch at the moment. Would you like to come back in a while?"

He frowned at her before looking down at his watch. "I can't leave the shop too long," he said, and Sakura realised he must be the owner of the new bookshop that had recently opened in the next street. Viva la small town rumours: she'd heard talk he was handsome but it was grossly underestimated. "I'll just pick some. I don't really care if they're arranged."

That was a demand, then. Sakura smiled nervously at him before extending a hand towards the blooms. However, he was already reeling off a few flower names, making no move to get them himself.

She recognised the first few - yellow chrysanthemum, blue anemones - but he quickly veered into territory that Sakura hadn't quite conquered yet, and so she simply stood miserably until he trailed off, looking confused.

"You don't know what the flowers are called?" he queried, sounding disbelieving.

"I'm… quite new," Sakura admitted. "I'm very sorry."

"Hn," he muttered, and she didn't know if that was good or bad, but he did pick up her spare pair of gloves off the table, walking to pick out what he'd requested. It didn't take him long at all; soon there was a sizeable pile of flowers on the counter, which he'd even neatly divided into two bundles.

"Ah… since you did all the work yourself, I'll give you a discount," Sakura mumbled, tying them together and wrapping the flowers with Ino's second-best paper. She'd take it out of her own pocket to save the humiliation.

"It's fine," he rebutted, placing down a crisp note.

She nodded, miserable, and wondered what she'd done to deserve messing up a meeting with a beautiful stranger like this. He turned to walk out, bundles cradled in one arm, and then threw her off completely by asking-

"What time do you finish?"

What? "Uh… six."

The man nodded. "I'm still open then. Come via Uchiha Books, next to the teashop - I've got books on botany and flowers."

Because of course he wasn't asking her out. Sakura simply stared after him as he left, and spent the rest of the day in such agonies of whether or not to go that Ino sent her off early, thinking she had a cold.

She goes. It would be rude not to, Sakura supposed, and the neighbourhood is small enough that bad blood between businesses would cause all sorts of headaches. That was what she told herself, anyway, and by the time she opened the door to his bookshop the florist almost believed it.

"Um," she said into the quiet. The store looks nothing like any bookshop she'd ever seen: it's light and airy and stacked with tomes in a way that's not overwhelming. The fateful flowers from earlier are placed tactfully on the windowsill and desk, behind which the proprietor sat, sorting through a small pile of books.

He acknowledges her with a look, setting aside a book which she can see is printed with a flower on the cover.

"You're early," he observed, and for some reason it makes Sakura feel like she's on a first date.

"Y-yes - is that alright?"

He shrugs, standing up and coming around the desk, hand outstretched.

"Uchiha Sasuke," he introduced, and when Sakura took his hand she was glad she'd washed off the dirt from the shop before coming round.

"Haruno Sakura," she said, watching his eyebrows rise in surprise. "With a name like that, you'd expect me to know a little more about flowers, right?"

Sasuke smiled, just a touch, and she can tell she'd read his mind. He didn't say anything, just held out a hand towards the small pile accumulating on his desk.

"These are just the basics," he started. "Names of flowers, some basic botany, traditional floral meanings: that kind of thing."

It didn't look like an imposing pile to start with, and it was certainly better than listening to Ino's distracted rambling as they prepped for the day. Yes: if there was one thing Sakura was good at it was taking in new information. And she really, truly wanted to be able to make beautiful bouquets full of meaning for people.

"I'll take them," she said decisively. "How much do I owe you?"

There was a moment of silence as the bookseller deliberated, and she tried not to shift from foot to foot in anticipation. She'd given up her corporate job and money wasn't quite what it used to-

"How about," he suggested slowly, "you bring me the results of your practice?"

Sakura blinked green eyes, surprised. "You mean, flowers I've put together?"

Sasuke tilted his head to the side questioningly. "Twice a week, I think."

So she'd be popping round to rendezvous in Uchiha Books twice a week with the handsome stranger; it did sound appealing. And from the slowly spreading smirk across her new acquaintance's face, Sakura thought that was, rather, the point.

AN: P.S... I think that's me almost completely caught up with the AU's I've written recently, so there might be more of a delay between chapters as I work on prompts. Let me know what you think! This was inspired by the small neighbourhoods of Kyoto. I could never get away from the gossip!