Hey guys, its me again Mrs. Portgas D. Ace! I'll start this off like a TV show then. Last time on The Man Amidst Flowers/ Fragrant Flowers Kris had touched cough sexually harassed cough Tao out of reflex and both are frustrated and confused about how they feel about each other + embarrassed! As you all should know, Tao loves Gucci and comments are the Prada to his Gucci so PLEASE LEAVE SOME! Love~ Mrs. Portgas D. Ace 3

Too soon the alarm started to buzz off, forcing Tao out of his blissless sleep. He hadn't been able to get much rest in. His mind was too bothered by pestering and confusing thoughts. He rolled over to the other side of his bed, yawning into his soft pillow. He didn't feel like going to work, he just wanted to stay in bed and think. Sighing, he finally forced himself out of bed. In the restroom, he finger combed his hair a bit, washed his face, and brushed his teeth. Looking in the mirror, he lazily retraced the path where Kris brushed against it yesterday. He could still remember the feel of those fingertips. He shook his head, trying to push the thought out of his mind.

Tao sifted through his wardrobe and grabbed some black skinny jeans and a red three-quarter-sleeve shirt. He grabbed a snapback as well and placed it on his head on his way out. As he drove out the parking lot to work, the radio started to play his favorite song and he grinned. Tao started tapping his hands against the steering wheel, singing along and belting out the lyrics. Suddenly, Tao realized that he forgot to grab himself breakfast. As if on cue, his stomach let out a large growl. He looked around and spotted a Starbucks. Swerving the wheel slowly, he passed through the drive through and ordered a caramel mocha with three shots caramel and whipped cream. The rest of the way to work he sipped the coffee out of his drink. It tasted good.

The bell above the door jangled as he walked in, the breeze blowing against Tao's sleepy face. His brow furrowed as he threw his bag down under the counter. He did a quick check of the back storeroom and swept the floor of the front before turning the sign to signify the start of another day. As the customers started to trickle in, he realized that he wouldn't be here to meet Kris for lunch as they usually did. Part of him was a little disappointed that he wouldn't get to see him today, but another part was a little relieved after what happened yesterday. Tao decided to leave him a text saying that he wouldn't be here during the noon hour.

TO: KRIS FROM: TAO 9:10 AM

I'm not going to be here for lunch I have other plans sorry :(

Tao wondered how Kris would react. Would he not care? Would he be a little upset? He was shaken out from his thoughts when his phone vibrated in his hand.

FROM: KRIS TO: TAO 9:12 AM

Okay

Tao stared at the phone screen for a long time. What the hell did that mean? Was he upset or did he not really care?

Kris did care, a bit too much even. He was on a short break when his phone vibrated in his pocket. Silently he prayed that it was Tao. His prayers were answered, but his heart fell when he saw the contents of the message. Toa wasn't' going to meet him for lunch today. Maybe it was because of what happened yesterday. Kris so desperately wanted to kick himself at his obvious stupidity. Tao probably felt really uncomfortable about the situation and didn't want to see Kris. Maybe Tao didn't want to see Kris ever again!

"Okay, calm down Kris," He murmured to himself, "Don't' start jumping to conclusions.

He replied right away, just saying oaky. He didn't want to give away his embarrassing worry and wanted to just to play it off cool. He doubted that he'd be able to stop thinking about it for the rest of the day. Maybe he'd go try to see Tao after work. But Tao usually closed up shop around 6 , so it'd be awkward and rude to ask him to stay late two days in a row. Toa probably jut wanted to go home and rest. Kris continued to argue with himself the rest of the day.

If only Tao knew what Kris was really thinking. Instead, he worried over how Kris felt. The older's open-ended reply left him to think up the worst possible scenarios. Before he knew it, he had worried himself for an hour. Toa didn't' even notice Suho walk into the store. He had his head in his hands as he puzzled over the situation at hand. Suho grinned at his friend's ridiculously funny expression.

"Tao," Suho said, tapping his arm gently.

Toa jumped, looking up in surprise. Suho laughed.

"You scared me Suho!" Tao said, getting up from his seat to give Suho a hug.

"What were you so deeply thinking about?" Suho asked jokingly.

Tao didn't answer asked first since he was busy locking the store up behind him and turning the open sign to close.

"What?" Tao asked, not paying much attention.

"What were you so deeply thinking about when I came in?" Suho asked again, his face reflecting concern.

"Oh, I'll talk about that later," Tao said with a shrug, "that amongst other things"

"I'm all ears," Suho said, jokingly cupping his ears to make them look bigger.

Tao laughed. The two got into Suho's car, a blue minivan and drove off. Tao gave the directions, guiding Suho through the east side of the city to one of his favorite restaurants, alongside Casa Blanca Café of course.
"This side of the city is nice," Suho commented, "Where I live everyone's all uptight"

Tao chuckled, " I like this side too"

"Is your apartment nearby?" Suho inquired.

"It's just a couple minutes away from the flower shop," Toa replied.

"Have you been eating properly?" Suho asked, "You've lost weight"

"I have hyung," Tao said, laughing at Suho's motherly complex, "You don't' need to worry"

Suho had a little frown on his face. Toa laughed and poked his cheek, trying to get him to cheer up.

"How's your job been hyung?" Tao asked, trying to change the subject.

"Boring to be honest, Suho replied with a pout of his lips, "All the employees just keep to themselves and we don't talk much"

"Awww," Tao said, rubbing Suho's arm comfortingly.

"So where are we going to eat again?" Suho asked.

"Oh, this really good western place called Burger B!" Tao said excitedly, "They have really good burgers and tasty drinks!"

Suho sighed jokingly, "You and your love for western food"

"It's good!" Tao argued, pouting slightly.

Suho just laughed.

The restaurant was on the corner of the street. The lights inside were dim and smooth music was playing from the speakers outside. The sign was lit up with red lights and in block lettering spelt Burger B. Suho had to admit that it looked like an impressive place.

"Hurry up and park somewhere hyung, I'm starving!" Tao whined, staring out the window at the restaurant.

"Okay okay Tao," Suho said, chuckling under his breath.

Once he car was parked, Tao practically flew towards the entrance of the restaurant. Suho could only follow behind and laugh. They told the stewardess a table for two please and she lead them to a cozy corner table near the window. They thanked before sitting down and flipping open their menus. Toa already knew what to order, his favorite burger, the Tavern Classic. He ordered a glass of iced tea on the side and waited patiently for Suho to make up his mind.

"What should I get Tao?" Suho asked.

Déjà vu hit Tao as he scanned over the menu, searching for something that would fit Suho's tastes.

"How about the pretzel burger?" Tao said, showing Suho where on the menu the item was.

"Okay, sounds good," Suho said with a smile, "I'll have just water with that"

"So healthy hyung," Tao said jokingly.

"You're the one drinking zero calorie iced tea," Suho retaliated.

Tao just laughed.

"So what did you want to talk about?" Suho asked, his eyes trained on Tao's face, watching for any sort of reaction.

Tao's brow immediately furrowed at Suho's words. Kris's face immediately surface into his mind. His smile, his frown, his pout, Tao remembered all of those. Tao sighed and dropped his head into his hands.

"What's wrong Tao?" Suho pried gently, concerned.

"I'll tell you the story first, then I'll tell you the problem," Tao sighed finally, not meeting Suho's eyes.

"I'm listening," Suho replied.

"It all started a couple of weeks ago when I was helping this customer out with their purchase. We met and I helped them find some flowers. We meet again at the restaurant where they worked, took a couple selcas. After that, we'd meet up every day for lunch. We became closer and closer, getting to know each other. Yesterday they came over after work and suddenly they brush my cheek. Lately I can't stop thinking about them at the strangest times." Tao said, sighing into his hands.

Suho listened to Tao carefully, taking in each and every word. He bit his lip before giving his opinion. Suho believed that Tao was in the first stages of falling in love. He'd never seen Tao so frustrated or so confused before. No one had ever plagued Tao's thoughts to this intensity. Suho was worried that he'd offend Tao if he said anything.

Tao went on, "Like they'll just pop into my thoughts in the middle of the day! I odnt' get it and it's frustrating me!"

"Tao, do you want to hear the truth?" Suho asked gently.

Tao looked up and nodded, his eyes a little worried.

"I think you're falling in love," Suho said, watching Tao's reaction carefully.

Tao's mouth flung wide open. Did he just hear Suho right?! Tao, Huang Zitao, was FALLING IN LOVE!? With a guy nonetheless! He couldn't believe it. He looked away from Suho, trying to process all the information and try to figure it out in his mind. He didn't want to believe it. HE was afraid to believe it.

"Y-you really think so," Tao mumbled, his eyes still opened so wide.

Suho wasn't sure what to say, Tao looked so shocked. He was worried that he'd said the wrong thing. Gently, he squeezed Tao's shoulder, trying to bring him back to Earth. The waitress brought their orders but Tao didn't pay any attention. He was too deep in thought. Suho started to worry. He'd never seen Tao this way.

"I'm sorry Tao, just forget what I said," He said gently, shaking his arm.

Tao said nothing, taking sip from his iced tea and picking at his burger, no longer interested in the meal. Suho was getting really anxious. He didn't like seeing Tao in such a state.

"Look, there's nothing wrong with falling in love! It's completely normal and healthy Tao!" Suho said, starting to ramble, "You shouldn't be worrying about this!"

"Why shouldn't I be worried hyung!" Tao suddenly exclaimed, "They're a male!"

It was Suho's turn to have his mouth flung open in pure shock.

"W-what?" Suho asked again, unsure if he heard right.

He knew what Tao said was true just by looking at his expression. Tao's face was so desperately confused. His brow was furrowed and his eyes gazed off into the distance despite facing the table while his hands combed through his hair furiously.

"Come on Tao, please calm down," Suho begged gently.

"I can't hyung," Tao mumbled, his eyes still lost and far away.

Suho sighed. Staying here wasn't' going to do Tao any good. Suho asked the waitress for a box to bring home the leftovers and paid the bill. Gently, he stood Tao up from the table and walked him out to the car. Toa was silent the entire time. He didn't' fight nor did he offer any consent.

"I'm going to take us home okay?" Suho said. Out of the corner of his eye he saw Tao nod.

The car ride started out silently. Suho frowned. He didn't want their day out together to end up sour like this. They rarely ever got to hang out.

"Tao, listen," He said.

Tao looked up blankly.

"Hey, it's not like I know what's going on inside your head, it's you who knows if you're really in love or not," Suho explained slowly, "So I just said what I thought, you might not be in love at all and just a bit confused"

Tao nodded his head slowly, his eyes brightening up a bit.

"Do you want your burger now? I took it with us," Suho said.

Tao shook his head and gazed out the window instead. Silently he felt bad for ruining their hang out day, but he just couldn't pretend to have fun when he might be in love with a GUY. Suddenly, everything began to make sense. Hwy he constantly thought about Kris, why Kris's touch sent shivers down his spine, everything. Toa gasped as his mind slowly accepted it. Tao was in love with Kris. He almost couldn't believe it. Tears started to form in eyes, fighting to fall. Kris could never like him back; Tao was a guy after all.

"Thanks for helping me out today hyung," Tao said, looking over at Suho and smiling.

"No problem," Suho said smiling back, "What are friends for right?"

Tao nodded. He felt a little better now, knowing what these feelings meant. At least now he wasn't confused or frustrated anymore, but now talking with Kris would be strange. Tao decided to just act like he normally did, he didn't want to ruin their friendship. Before he knew it, they were back at the flower shop. Tao grabbed the bag with the left overs and the two walked into the store to continue their conversation. As Tao reached for the keys to the shop, he heard echoing footsteps coming towards them and looked up. His heart caught in his throat when he saw Kris running towards him.

"Kris!" Tao exclaimed, stepping towards him with a questioning look in his eyes, "What are you doing here?"

"I was a little worried when you said we weren't going to meet for lunch that's all," Kris replied, his face red from either embarrassment or running, Tao wasn't sure.

Tao's face flushed a pink at the comment. Suddenly, he realized that Kris didn't know who Suho was.

"Ah Kris, this is my good friend and hyung, Suho," Toa said, indicating Suho to Kris with his hands.

Kris extended his hand to Suho and smiled, introducing himself.

"It's nice to meet you Suho, I'm Kris," he said, "Tao's mentioned you to me a couple times in our conversations"

"I hope he doesn't tell you anything embarrassing about me," Suho said with a laugh, "It's nice to meet you too Kris"

"Does Tao not talk about me?" Kris said with a fake little pout.

Tao's face turned instantly red as he lightly hit Kris's arm with his fist, unable to face him.

"Don't say stuff like that to hyung!" Tao said, his arms trembling as his face turned an even deeper shade of red.

Suho stared a Tao's expression, hocked. He'd never seen Tao so embarrassed or blushing such a deep red around someone before. He couldn't believe it, this man was the person Tao was in love with. He had to be!

"I'll be inside," Suho said, wanting to leave the two of them alone.

Tao's heart almost stopped when Suho left. He was scared to be left all alone with Kris. What if he said something stupid?

"So, were you and Suho just hanging out?" Kris asked, a glint of curiosity in his eyes.

"Yeah, he lives on the other side of the city," Tao explained, "So I just showed him this really great restaurant and we just hung out"

"Oh, what restaurant?" Kris asked.

"Burger B," Tao replied, "I kinda didn't eat so I brought my burger home"

Kris's brow furrowed, "Why not? Did something happen?"

Tao started to panic, remembering why he didn't eat, "N-no, I just didn't feel like eating at the time really, t-that's all!"

Kris continued to frown, very sure that Tao was lying to him. Sighing, he let the subject drop.

"How has your shop been?" He asked.

"There are lot's of customers," Tao said, beaming proudly.

"That's good," Kris said, "Is it tiring?"

"Not really," Tao replied with a shrug and a smile, "I like meeting all these people!"

"You're not ever shy around them?" Kris asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Sometimes," Tao admitted, "You kind of scared me at first"

Tao laughed at Kris's reaction. Kris's eyes had flown wide open and he gaped at Tao.

"Am I really scary looking?" Kris asked, his lip slightly pouting.

"You only intimidated me because you were taller than me!" Tao explained, "I rarely ever meet people who are taller than me!"

Kris kept pouting, laughing on the inside. He liked teasing Tao.

"I'm sorry Kris," Tao said, shaking his arm gently, honestly apologetic," Don't worry, you're not scary looking, you're very handsome!"

Kris's face blushed at Tao's compliment and smiled. Tao was starting to get flustered, his face pink as he showered Kris with compliments about his looks so to make up for their first meeting. Kris found Tao's flustered expression to be just so damn adorable. He wanted to pinch Tao's cheeks and tease him some more. Tao noticed Kris's smile and stopped with the embarrassing compliments.

"Are you still mad?" He asked, his eyes big and on the verge of crying.

Kris chuckled before ruffling Tao's hair affectionately.

"No, you just look super cute when you're flustered so I decided to tease you for a bit," Kris laughed.

Tao's face couldn't have been any redder as he hit Kris's chest with his fists, hiding his face. Why did Kris always have to tease him? Suddenly he realized that the older had called him cute. The blood in ears started to pound and the heat rose up to the ends of the hairs on his neck, each and every tuff standing straight up. Toa didn't know how to react, his heart was beating so loudly that anyone within a mile-radius could have heard it. Thump. Thump. Thump. Thump. He wanted to runaway and hide and silence his heartbeat. Kris couldn't possibly not hear it from this distance.

Tao's heart was so happy that it was ridiculous how fast it was going.

"I'm sorry for teasing you Tao," Kris said sheepishly, noticing that the younger had frozen up.

Tao glared up at Kris, his face still red and stomped into the store. He slammed the door behind him and almost tripped on the way inside. Suho was chuckling behind the counter but Toa didn't care. He stormed past his hyung and into the storeroom, not even caring that he'd left Kris gaping on the sidewalk.

I'm sorry you guys, I just love writing about cute, adorable, flustered Tao 3 Now that it's been made official that Tao is head over heels in love with Kris, what shall he do? What will Kris do? WHAT THE HELL WILL I DO?! Write fluff. Remember that comments are the fuel for faster updates so leave some! Thanks for reading and I'll do my best to update soon! ~Mrs. Portgas D. Ace

P.S. Lol notice that Kris replied to Tao's text like right away hue hue hue hue