Competition/Challenge Block
Written for/Stacked with:
Monthly Challenges for All (Year 5)

MC4A: [pending]

Word Count: 1329


Author's Note: Have an AU or two with my OTS. It is No Powers!AU and Flowershop!AU because I am soooo original. Yes, I also am symbolic and stuff with flower language, colors, and types etc. to represent stuff. I am tired. I worked 50 something hours at my new job first week. I take care of 18 pets, it is fun, but gosh it is tiring. Anyway, I somehow managed to write a little here and there in my delirious state of sleep, food, and other kinds of deprivation so... enjoy?

No, Stori is not a mistake, I much much prefer that nickname over the fandoms more common Tori one like ew. It tastes weird saying it. Yuck. Yes, the title of this fic is utterly ridiculous, but who cares?


StoriTyme Flora

Astoria hummed cheerily as she flipped the door sign to Open for StoriTyme Flora. It was the first day of spring and she was excited to sell the fresh assortment of flowers from her greenhouse that morning.

She twirled around in her mint green sundress while heading back to the counter, taking in the smells of the room and the colors of the various petals of her flowers. It wasn't exactly what one would call an ordinary flower shop, but more of a mix with a bookstore. She chose her style to be more on the whimsical side, using more bold colors and architecture that had it look more like a Victorian style coffee shop if it weren't for all the flora, terracotta pots, soil bags, and botany books scattered around.

That gave her an idea.

She pulled a pad of paper from the drawer of the counter with a pencil and turned the page to find a blank one. She paused for a moment to examine a bird feeder planter combo she sketched to try and have her papa build for her to display in the front of the store for her. It was half colored in. She would have to finish it, but first, she wanted to draw. But before the thought could fully take her to dreamland, the chime of the door snapped her attention away from her doodle.

A young man with platinum-blond hair and pale silver eyes entered. He wore a simple grey suit with a blue vest underneath, making everything about him simply pop against skin as pale as hers and silver eyes that were flecked with the lightest blue she had ever seen.

Astoria had to close her mouth and blink to stop staring.

"Uh-um… Good morning, welcome to StoriTyme Flora. What may I be able to help you with today?" she said, trying to keep her stutter down to not embarrass herself.

The man smiled charmingly at her as he approached the counter, barely even glancing at the assortment of flowers around him to at least pretend to browse for something.

"Good morning, Miss," he said politely. "I am in need of an arrangement of flowers for my mother' birthday. It's a bit short notice, so I hope that won't be a problem?"

Astoria lightly bit her lip to stop herself from laughing at the urgency in his tone. He must've forgotten the date and is trying to do a last minute gift.

"That depends on the situation, really. Is it for a party or something more personal?" she asked, starting to click into business mode.

It was cute in a way that a son forgot his own mother's birthday. He also seemed the sort that knew it was a classic move to gift flowers, but she wasn't going to give him a standard arrangement if she could help it, those were boring and lacked personality.

"Ah, I'm sorry, it's just a single arrangement," he stammered. "Would you be able to have it ready this afternoon?"

"It shouldn't be a problem at all," Astoria said, smiling. "What do you have in mind?"

He opened his mouth to respond and promptly closed it, quickly looking around at the assortment of display bouquets and arrangements.

"Uh… any recommendations?"

Astoria had never had a customer ask for her personal opinion on their order. Oftentimes the customer was intent on their vision and only wanted her to make it a reality. It didn't matter if the flowers clashed with each other or the colors didn't mix. The deep meaning underneath the flowers and their colors meant nothing to them so long as it looked pretty and nevermind the message it was sending.

"Mm, do you know your mother's favorite flower?" Astoria asked, ripping out her drawing to use it for notes. "We can start there."

The man barely needed a moment's thought before replying. "She absolutely loves roses. She has several of them peppered around the garden of various colors. She isn't picky. " He ran a hand through his silky hair. "But I was hoping to be less obvious."

Astoria nodded, jotting down on the pad. "Okay. Any other preferences?"

"Orchids. She has a few snapdragons as well. I think even some dahlias."

She continued to scribble next to her unfinished flower doodle. Her handwriting was never as pretty as her sister's or mothers, but it wasn't chicken scratch like her papa's at least.

"You draw this?"

Astoria looked up, confused by the question. "Huh?"

He tapped on the paper pad next to her notes. "The unfinished Aster flower."

She glanced down and bit her lip, hoping she wasn't blushing. "Oh, yeah. It's nothing though."

She folded the torn out page and slid it to the side. "Anyway, I think a mix of pinks and purples will be a lovely combination. Usually the pink carnation is a staple of mother's day, but I think instead a light pink rose will be perfect. Mixed with a purple orchid and some white snapdragons, it will be a wonderful and lovely representation of beauty, elegance, grace, joy, and motherhood. I would add lilies, but it would make it too busy and crowd the others with their wide petals. I'm sure if your mother is good with her flower language she will certainly understand the meaning of this arrangement—"

Crap, she was rambling about flowers and their language and meaning to someone who probably didn't even care. It took a lot to not fumble over herself and plant her face in her hands.

"Um… what do you think?"

He was looking right at her, smiling. It touched his silver eyes and she felt her heart flutter. That may not be a good sign. She really didn't want a medical situation to happen because of a pretty face. Her heart wasn't in the best shape to begin with, but it wasn't his problem.

"It sounds like a beautiful display."

"Thank you. You're beautiful, too."

Astoria snapped her mouth closed, feeling her eyes widen and her cheeks flush at what she blurted out. Why did she have to do that?

"I-I mean, I think it will look beautiful, too," she said quickly, looking everywhere but him. She didn't notice him smiling at her unsolicited comment. "I will get started on it immediately and have it ready for you this afternoon. May I have a name for the order, please? And would you like a personalized card to go with that?" she asked, gesturing to the card stand nearby.

"Malfoy, Draco," he replied. "You mind if I look?"

"Of course."

She didn't notice him slipping her discarded doodle into his pocket while she drew up her notes onto a clean sheet. When he selected a card, Astoria offered a pen and showed some ribbons and vases for him to also choose from to tie it all together.

Once everything was said and done, Astoria gave him the order receipt providing the information on the transaction and pickup window time.

"Thank you for your order, Mr. Malfoy," she said.

"Please call me Draco, Miss…"

"Stori—Astoria," she corrected quickly. Brushing a strand of hair from her face. "Sorry, my nickname is Stori. Only my sister calls me that, really. It is part of the inspiration for my shop, though, so I guess I liked it enough to keep it."

She was oversharing and rambling at the same time.

"Stori… I like it."

Her childhood nickname sounded nice out of his mouth. She felt herself blushing again.

"A pleasure to meet you, Astoria. I cannot wait to gift your creation to my mother."

"Pleasure meeting you as well, Draco. Take care," she said as he started to leave.


It was quite the surprise for Astoria to find a small bouquet of red asters at the front door of her shop the following day with a simple card written in beautiful writing attached to it.

Thank you for your attention to detail. She loved it. ~Draco