Disclaimer: I don't own Hetalia.

NedFra: Inspiration

Francis traced the pencil over the page, before he scrawled over the page, ruining the careful work he had done. He huffed, before crumpling the page and throwing it in the bin, where about a dozen of its fellow crumpled papers were. He groaned as he buried his hands in his hair. The winter season was dealt with, and now he needed to think of something for the spring season. People expected something astonishing from Bonnefoy Fashions.

Someone knocked on the door, and Francis lifted his head as his assistant poked his head in the room.

"It's almost time for lunch," Matthew said. "Do you want me to…?"

"I don't need lunch!" Francis snapped. "I need designs for the spring season, but I have no idea what to do! It's finally happened: I have lost all of my flair. I have become… drab!"

Matthew stared at Francis for a long time before he looked outside.

"Why don't you take a few hours off, sir?" Matthew asked. "Perhaps you can go for a walk. Go to areas you've never been to before. Go to a park or something. Perhaps the fresh air would do you good."

Francis wanted to chide Matthew for his naïve ideas, but when he turned to look at the bin, he decided that it might be a good idea. It wasn't as though he was getting work done, anyway.

"Very well," Francis said. "If anyone calls, tell them that I'm in a meeting with a new fabric supplier."

"Oh, that reminds me," Matthew said, "there actually is someone that called about that. The meeting is arranged for next week. And if that excuse has run its course, I could say that you're at a photo shoot, in search of new talent. That should buy you a few hours."

"I don't know what I did to get such a wonderful assistant. I promise, I will buy you something. Bonne journée!"

Francis grabbed his things and left his office. No one else even glanced up, too busy trying to look as though they were too absorbed in their work. No one stopped Francis as he left the building, which he was grateful for. He didn't really want anyone else to know that he was having designer's block.

Once in his car, he pondered for a moment where he should go. He tried to think of all Matthew's suggestions, but the only one that sounded truly appealing at that moment was going somewhere he hadn't been before. And so he started his car and made his way downtown.

He searched for a good place to park his car and managed to find a street that looked decent. He lingered in his car for a few seconds more. Perhaps he should have had lunch first. He regretted snapping at Matthew. He looked over to the side, seeing the building in front of which he parked. It looked fairly cheerful, with flowers all around.

"A florist?" Francis muttered, intrigued.

Of course, flowers were among the first things that people thought about when it came to spring. He was surprised that he hadn't even thought about it before. Was it cliché? Was that why he didn't go with something so obvious?

Francis got out of the car and locked it, before he made his way to the florist. He might as well look around, and he could arrange for something for Matthew, to thank him for his help.

The building was larger and brighter on the inside. Francis's nose tickled as the scents of a myriad different flowers reached him. His eyes were assaulted by all sorts of colours, some arranged in ways that he had never tried before, but which worked surprisingly well.

"Good afternoon," a man said, startling Francis. "How may I help?"

Francis spun to the man. He looked intimidating, except for the fact that he was wearing an apron. The only reason why he would be wearing an apron in a flower shop was…

"Sorry," Francis said. "Are you… the florist?"

The man nodded.

"Lars van Riet," the florist said. "Do you need flowers for a special occasion or a special someone?"

"Ah, no," Francis said. "My name is Francis Bonnefoy." To his surprise, Lars didn't seem to react to the name. "I'm a designer. And my ideas have run a bit dry, I'm afraid."

"Ah, so it's inspiration that you're after. Well, if you'd like, I could perhaps help out."

Francis's eyes scanned Lars. Asides from the apron, he didn't look like a fashion disaster. His jeans were classic, and so were his boots. His shirt appeared to be of a cut that complemented him perfectly, especially with the sleeves rolled up. And the scarf around his neck looked elegant, yet simple.

It wouldn't be too bad to get some help from this man.

"It's for the spring season," Francis explained. "And so far, I don't have any ideas."

"Spring?" Lars asked. "But, winter barely began."

"That's unfortunately how it works. We need to get the designs ready, then we need to acquire the fabrics, then we need to find models and cut each piece of fabric into sections according to the models' measurements, then they need to be sewn, and all adjustments made. And during that time, we need to find the venue, organise the event, which requires publicity, music, food…"

"Okay, I get it. There's a lot of work to do, and you're stuck at the first step, correct?"

Francis sighed and nodded.

"So, are you thinking of theming it around flowers?" Lars asked.

"I don't know," Francis said, before he looked around. His eyes fell on one of the bouquets, and he came closer. "The colour coordination here is unlike anything I've ever seen before. They work wonderfully, and I've never even thought about it."

"Oh, that one is our 'love letter' bouquet. Are you familiar with the language of flowers?"

"I think I've heard of it before."

"Well, that one is as follows: the iris means 'I send a message'. The red tulip is 'I declare my love'. The honeysuckle is 'devoted affection'. The red carnation is 'my heart aches for you'. And the apple blossom is 'I prefer you above all'."

For some reason, hearing Lars say all those things made Francis blush.

"Did you base it on a love letter you wrote in the past?" Francis asked.

Lars cleared his throat and looked away. Francis couldn't help but smile.

But this talk about flower language gave Francis an idea.

"Perhaps we can theme it around living bouquets," Francis mused.

Francis looked around at the flowers. While floral-themed clothes were certainly not something new, he could give it his own spin. It was easy to imagine a dress that resembled a rose, but there were smaller flowers at well. The smaller flowers were placed with the larger flowers, and instead of being dwarfed, they softened the larger flowers.

Francis could work with that.

"Which flowers do you think work best with spring?" Francis asked.

"Flowers that thrive especially well in spring," Lars said, frowning a bit. "There are flowers that can't survive in the climates of winter or summer, so they only really bloom during spring."

"And… what about flowers saying what spring is about? Like rebirth, or a new start?"

Lars cocked his head, but he seemed to be thinking of it.

"I may need to do a bit more research on that," Lars said. "Tell you what: If you can come up with a list, then I'll see if I can get those flowers for you."

"I would appreciate it," Francis said. "And… could I perhaps get something to thank my assistant? If not for him, I would still be in the office, drowning in my lack of inspiration."

Lars nodded, before he started to gather some flowers. Francis looked around. Living bouquets… it was a good idea. And he wouldn't mind spending some more time with Lars. He was handsome, and he was stylish. And if he continued on this route, then he and Lars would certainly spend some time together.

The prompt is: 'Person A is a well-known high-end fashion designer who goes downtown looking for inspiration. They encounter Person B, a florist, working at their small flower shop. Person A decides that they simply must know more about the fashionable florist. BONUS: Person B has no clue who Person A is.'

I found a site for the flower language, though it is specifically more focused on Victorian flowers.