a touching reunion – On a slow day, King hopes for more than he can bargain for. (in which King and Ban re-meet.)

King glanced at his watch for the twentieth time that hour. Five twenty. He stifled a groan.

It had been an incredibly slow day. He'd checked and watered all the plants, rearranged the flowers, organised the seed packets by both plant type and alphabetical order, and swept the floor for at least five times the last three times yielded no dust or dirt. At this point, it would be better if he closed early. Can't I get at least one customer today? he thought. Just so today isn't a complete waste.

Suddenly, the bell jingled. King looked up, hand still pressed into his cheek. A man with spiky blue hair strolled in, hands shoved into the pockets of his red leather jacket. His sharp eyes, a shade lighter than his jacket, bored into his own.

A knife twisted in King's gut. This wasn't gonna end well. Regardless, he did his best to school his expression.

"Hey. I wanna buy flowers," the customer finally announced.

King hoped his voice was as neutral as his face. "Sure. What's the occasion?"

"My girlfriend's been in a coma for a year," the man said bluntly.

The knife from before plunged deeper.

"I'm sorry," King said, still monotoned. "What was she like?"

This isn't professional. He should stop, while he still has the opportunity to, while his mask is still mostly intact. Seven more minutes, just seven more minutes. Tell him to buy roses. Or tulips. Or orchids. Don't drag this one for longer than it needs to be. Do your job. Sell him flowers. No need to pry.

"Who, Elaine? Only the purest and kindest soul ever. Had the cutest face. She's so tiny everyone thought I was a pedophile or some shit."

King regretted asking.

"I still don't know what she sees in me. I wish I could ask her." A snort.

"Sir, I don't—"

"But in bed? That's a whooooole other story. She's—"

"BAN!"

There was a pause. Then the man's face broke out into a grin. That shit-eating grin King knew only too well. His eyes danced with mischief.

"So you do remember me."

"It's very difficult to forget the person who killed my sister."

The grin slipped away. Shouldn't have gone there. Elaine would have killed him if she were here. "She's not dead. You of all people should know that," Ban said smoothly.

"You're just lying to make yourself feel better," King spat, unable to hold back the bitterness in his tone. "She hasn't opened her eyes in a year. That's the same as being dead." The silence between them hung heavy. "Anyway, there are many flowers you can get for her," he continued, trying to slip into a more professional persona. "Lilies mean restored innocence of the departed soul. Orchids mean eternal beauty, and they're appropriate as sympathy flowers. Many people get those, though they're a tad expensive." And I know you can't afford them.

Jesus, King, she's not dead. Stop trying to sell me flowers for the dead, Ban almost said, but held back. "But are lilies are orchids the best flowers to get her?" he asked instead.

"That's subjective." King hummed contemplatively. He was silent for a moment. "What's the first thing you think of when someone mentions Elaine?"

"The fuck?! I'm asking about flowers, dumbass."

"Answer the question, or I can't help you."

Ban shoved his hands deeper into his pockets, contemplative. King could almost see the memories flashing through his eyes as he mulled over them one by one.

"…On one of our dates, we ended up on a field of white daisies. She made flower crowns. It was really fucking windy. She lost her favourite hat, and she was pretty upset about it. I told her the hat only obscured her beauty anyway. Led to our first kiss."

King twitched. "There's your answer."

"Huh?"

"If Elaine makes you think of white daisies, get her white daisies. She'll appreciate the sentiment."

Ban cracked a smile. It may just be his eyes playing tricks on him, but this one seemed more genuine than the others. "Not bad, King. Not bad at all."

He ended up buying twenty white daisies. It was no cheaper than if he had bought five orchids. Admittedly, he looked rather silly with his arms full of daisies. On his way out, he stopped. King was about to ask what the matter was, but he beat him to it.

"You should visit her, too."

"What, now?" With his mind reeling, he grasped for an excuse. "But I still have another shift—"

(He didn't.)

"Not now. Just…visit." He craned his neck to the left slightly. Hooded eyes pierced into his soul. "Make up for the time you didn't spend with her when she was still here. She'd appreciate some quality time with her one and only brother."

He left, leaving King to ponder his words. His previous obsession with closing the shop and going home forgotten.

"Maybe."

Number of words: 825

First posted on: 1/1/2020

A/N: Suffice to say, I completely forgot to update this within two weeks, sorry. A lot of stuff happened irl so it just slipped my mind. (Shoutout to DianeGigant for reviewing and reminding me that this exists!)

I've mentioned this in another author's note on a different fic, but unfortunately all of my ongoing stuff will be on indefinite hiatus ;w; My laptop got stolen and I, for whatever reason, never backed up my data. I had like two more chapters for this fic, actually – one with Meliodas and another with actual Kiane fluff. I just haven't found the motivation to start writing again. That's not to say this series is discontinued... not at all. It'll just take a while for me to get back to where I was before.

Thank you for being so patient! And I'm so sorry you'll have to wait another how-many months for another 800-ish words ;; But I hope that when the time comes, it'll be worth it!

Until next time! ^^