A Sunflower Can Never Be A Rose

When she had inherited the flower shop after her father's retirement, Natalie never expected someone like Lucifer would come into her shop. It had started off like any other day. Natalie had been rearranging a few corsages in the refrigerators just in time for the prom season. She was completely startled when the entrance slammed open. It was about one in the afternoon, so it was going to be slow for the next few hours. What surprised Natalie even more was who came to her little shop. His black hair was slicked back from his tan face, making his molten gold eyes stand out even more. She didn't even care that he was covered in many tribal-looking tattoos, just that his toned arms were made even more obvious by the tight-white t-shirt. Natalie blushed at her thoughts, her face turning even redder when those stunning eyes turned to look at her.

The man practically stalked towards her, taking out his wallet. He slapped a $20 bill on the counter. "How do I passive-aggressively say 'fuck you' in flower?"

Natalie blinked. Then blinked again. "Well, I've never heard it put quite like that," she said with a laugh. "Give me a moment to grab some flowers for your bouquet." She moved over to the back room to grab five different kinds of flowers: ruby geraniums, yellow carnations, violet foxglove, orange lilies, and some meadowsweet. She laid them out on the counter in front of her customer. "This bouquet will look beautiful to them, but you will know its true meaning," Natalie told him, smiling at his raised eyebrow. "The geraniums mean stupidity, carnations mean 'I am disappointed in you', foxglove is insincerity, lilies mean hatred, and meadowsweet stands for uselessness." As she explained their meaning, Natalie pointed to each individual flower. "Are you happy with the message?" she asked innocently.

The man nodded, looking a little impressed. "If I had known that flowers could say this before now, I would have spent so much money on them," he mused.

Natalie smiled. "My mother always called it 'The Enemy's Compliment'. They look nice on the outside, but are full of satisfying anger on the inside." She earned a pleased hum from her customer. "If you don't mind me asking, who are these for?"

"My brother ," he sighed. "It's his birthday today, and according to my baby brother, I have to 'get him something pretty'." Natalie laughed when he used air quotations. "Don't laugh at me, girl. This is bullshit, and you know it."

"Well, I don't hold the same animosity towards my brother that you seem to," Natalie replied, smirking.

His lips tilted in response. "Lucky you." They stared at each other, only realizing what they were doing when his phone went off. Natalie looked away with a rather pronounced blush staining her cheek and neck. "Well, it looks like I'm off," he said, sounding disappointed with the thought of leaving. "Thanks for the flowers, Miss..."

It took her a moment to recover from the embarrassment at ogling her very attractive customer. "Natalie McAllister. And if you ever need another bouquet like that, don't hesitate to burst down my doors, Mr..."

"Lucifer Morningstar, and I may have to take you up on that real soon, Natalie ," Lucifer said, practically purring her name. "I'll see you soon, girl." With that, he exited as quickly as he had entered. Only now Natalie's heart was pounding with the thought of seeing him again.

~~~~

Fortunately, she didn't have to wait long. The next night, Lucifer showed up just as she was closing up with a single sunflower. She raised an eyebrow at him. "Did you have fun reading through Google's 'flower meaning' search?" Natalie asked with a cheeky smile.

Lucifer rolled his eyes, but Natalie was rewarded for her jab by the faintest of blushes on his cheekbones. "A rose can never be a sunflower, and a sunflower can never be a rose. All flowers are beautiful in their own way, and that's like women too," he quoted. "I was hoping maybe you were free tonight. Movie and dinner on me?"

Natalie pretended to consider his offer, taking the sunflower from his hand. "Dinner on you, movie on me?" she asked. Lucifer grinned, causing her to smile as well. Natalie had never believed her father when he spoke of finding one's other half, but as lucifer held his arm out for her to take, Natalie couldn't help but feel hope that this would last.