Stupid, stupid, stupid.

The mantra repeated itself over and over again in his head. When did it come to this? For him to wish his sweet little brother pain? He couldn't deny it, envy was swallowing his insides.

"See? Now why don't you put the rose by the gentian?" The redhead was peeved, listening to Omi's sickeningly sweet voice giving Ken compliments and suggestions. Ran unconsciously began tapping the end of his pencil against the marble counter, cursing under his breath every so often.

It was a sunny morning, and noon was right around the corner. It had been a week since Ken was hired, and he was learning fast. The shop had been very busy lately and it was a huge help to have gentle, kind Ken lend a hand with the flower arranging and bookkeeping. Ran often noted that the brunette gave special care to the flowers and wasn't to keen on working the cash register.

When, Ran thought and his grip on the pencil tightened, did I start watching him so intently?

"Ran!" Ken called out to his older co-worker, hearing the pencil suddenly snap in half. The redhead was obviously lost in his thoughts. "Are you okay?"

He snapped back to reality. "Yes, I'm fine."

"You have me worried. You keep zoning out and stuff…Are you sure you're okay?"

It was typical of Ken to question his well being so adamantly. Ran tried to disregard the look of genuine look of concern on the boy's face. "I'm fine. Get back to work. Now."

Ken shot him a hurt look, sighed, and went back to making a bouquet.

"By the way," Ran muttered, trying to rid his guilty conscious. "You've been doing well with the flowers. Where is Omi?" Ken promptly blushed at the half-hearted compliment and pointed toward the shop's double doors.

"He's outside."

Ran averted his eyes from the boy and hastily untied his apron, threw it on the apron rack, and walked out to check on Omi.

The breeze tickled Ran's hair, causing it to get in his eyes. "Omi, what are you doing out here?" His voice was gentle; it was a voice he once only used for two people, Omi and Ran's long deceased sister, Aya.

"Just enjoying the weather," Omi smiled and stood up from his seat on the side walk. He gave Ran a toothy smile. "It's not usual for the weather to be so cool this time of year… Y'know, Ran, I see the way you look at Ken."

Ran froze and gave Omi a look that said I wish I didn't know what you're talking about. Omi giggled as he saw Ran cringe at the mention of Ken.

"I'm not that stupid. What do you say if we play a game? For keeps."

"Omi," Ran warned, his eyes flashing.

The blonde gave another laugh and looked pointedly at his brother. "I like Ken." He went inside after making his point clear.

Ran huffed and went in after him, retreating to his room with only one thought on his mind.


Ken.

A/N: Yes, I'm quite aware this chapter is short, and the story is cliché and rather boring. I don't know if I really want to continue this…I'm working on another cliché RanKen story XD. Hm, so stay tuned, I might bother with updating this thing again.

Adieu.