A/N: This has been sitting on my AO3 since october, and I'm not quite sure why I've been procrastinating posting it here.

first impressions — It all started with a bouquet of hydrangeas. (in which King and Diane meet for the first time.)

BAN
You said you know a good florist?

Yeah
Ban sent a location.

Thanks!

"I guess this is it," Diane muttered, checking her phone once more. The shop looked more well-kempt than the photos had shown. Its brick walls were crumbling under the grey slate roof, but the glass windows were so clean she almost couldn't tell if there was any glass in the first place. Tulips planted in oblong wooden planters were situated on either side of the door, standing tall and proud in the hot sun.

A silver bell above the door rang out as she stepped in. Upon closer inspection, it was far bigger than the outside had implied. An array of flowers, ranging from romantic roses to dainty daisies, were arranged neatly in buckets or water. On the right side were gardening tools. A cash register stood at the far end of the shop. She saw a rack of seed packets next to it, likely for customers making last-minute purchases.

Only the cash register was unattended...and there were no other customers around.

Diane cocked her head to the side. Was this shop even open? Did she just wander into a shop that was closed? No, it was unlocked; of course it was open! Then why was nobody on duty right now?

"Hello?" she called. "I want to buy some flowers?"

No reply. She frowned, and headed for the door. So much for getting flowers for Matrona. Maybe she'd appreciate some fruit…

Slam!

"Hello, I'm sorry! I was processing some lilies and it's just me today and—"

She spun on her heel. A boy about a head shorter stumbled out of the door behind the cash register, clumsy fingers fumbling with his apron.

"—the shop is usually pretty empty so I thought it would be okay to leave it unattended for a while but it took longer than expected—"

Amber met amethyst. Even from afar, the panic in his eyes was evident. The air was suddenly very dense. She took the opportunity to study his appearance.

His hair was a soft ginger colour, sticking up in two or three directions. Short bangs, along with beads of sweat, clung to his forehead. Underneath the black apron was a simple white shirt and blue jeans. His sneakers appeared worn with age. His hands were still behind his back seemingly holding the ribbons of his apron, suspended by time.

"It's okay," she replied, slightly dazed.

Silence fell between them once more until he cleared his throat.

"L-Let's start over, shall we?" he suggested, fixing his posture. A smile replaced his previous expression. A welcoming change. "Welcome to The Sacred Tree! How may I assist you?"

She couldn't help smiling back.

"My friend is currently hospitalised, and I thought some flowers would cheer her up. What do you suggest?"/p

She spent about ten minutes looking over flowers with him. He had explained how different flowers had different meanings, and pulled out a small book entitled 'The Language of Flowers'. "It's not always necessary," he added, blushing slightly, "but I always found it cute." She found it difficult to wrap her head around the idea. Then why did it matter as long as it looked good? She voiced this line of thought.

His arms fell to his side. "Do you think these flowers are pretty?" he asked, gesturing to the bucket of flowers her eyes were so fixated on.

She looked up from the orange lilies, confused. "Yes?"

"Well, they mean hatred and disdain." He smiled sheepishly. "Wouldn't want that in a bouquet, would you?"/p

"Oh."

They eventually settled on a small bouquet of hydrangeas ("They mean perseverance!"), their petals a deep periwinkle. He attached tubes of water to the ends of the stalks, carefully wrapped brown paper around them and secured everything with a white ribbon.

"That'll be thirty-two dollars," he said, punching buttons on the cash register. She handed him a fifty. "Your change is eighteen dollars." He slid a small packet of white powder across the counter. "This is flower food. Add it to the vase water to make the flowers last longer. Thank you, and have a nice day!"

"Thank you for helping me." She smiled, clutching the bouquet closer to her chest.

"He averted his eyes, hands deep within his apron pockets. "Just doing my job," he mumbled. Her heart skipped a beat.

"I guess I'll see you later." Without waiting for a response, she made a beeline for the door.

"See you later?" When was she ever going to step foot into that shop again? What was wrong with her today? He was just doing his job. And yet…

The way his shirt collar had been slightly messed up. The way his amber eyes had focused on his shoes. The way he had struggled to tie his apron when they first met. His friendly demeanour. His little upturned nose. His pink-dusted cheeks when he admitted his interest in flower language.

She didn't know exactly what was it about him that made him cling to her memory like honey, but she knew that she already wanted to see him again.

Number of words: 854

First posted on: 27/10/2019

A/N: Welcome to another self-indulgent series! I first started nnt back in april 2019, and just fell in love. It's one of my favorites now (even if i refuse to watch season 3 because i know the shit that's gonna happen and i don't wanna re-experience watching my favorite characters suffer. i'm a loser).

Kiane is good. Flowershop AU's are good. So kiane flowershop AU? Peak goodness.

Next two chapters will be up soon! And then this'll be stagnant for a while because I need to rewrite the future chapters *sobs*

Notes:
- In case you were confused, the little convo between Diane and Ban took place in text! It's harder to format that, but I hope it was clear enough. I might change how i format texting in the future if it wasn't.
- Other characters will appear! It isn't a NNT AU if they didn't~ i'm just setting the... setting... right now.

That's all for now! See you soon :)