taron egerton ~ oneshots

flower shop

A twenty dollar bill is slapped down onto the counter. I look up to see a very angry looking man's face staring down at me. He inhales deeply in and out, but he can't seem to control his anger. 

"How do I passive-aggressively say 'fuck you' in flower?"

I stare at him incredulously, taking him in. "Well, you would need a whole bouquet, so twenty isn't going to cover that." 

He reaches into his pocket and starts pulling out all the cash he has, ten dollar bills, random change, and pushes it towards me. "Will this be enough?" He looks desperate for this bouquet. I almost want to ask what happened for him to need this but then again, no. 

I smile at him. "Yep." 

For the first time, he looks almost relieved. "I need them as soon as possible."

"I can do it for you right now." 

I walk to the greenhouse and gesture for him to follow me. The scent of every kind of flower known to man fills the room, and the air is humid and wet from those just growing. I gather the basics, leaves and whatnot, and hand it to him in standard plastic wrapping, ready for me to add the flowers. 

"Let's see.." I mumble to myself. 

The sound of me snipping flowers from their stem fills the silence. The man seems to have controlled his breathing finally, and he stands solemnly watching me. Once there are a large number of flowers sitting in the middle of the table I swivel on my heels to face him. 

"Each of these flowers signifies something, I'm going to tell you them, and you tell me if that is good enough as a fuck you. Okay?" 

He nods. 

"Okay." I pick up some geraniums. "These signify stupidity. Do you want them?" 

He nods quickly, and I hand them to him. 

"Foxglove: Insincerity. Yes or no?"

"Yes definitely." 

I add them too. 

"Uselessness." I say, showing off the meadowsweets. 

"One hundred per cent." He says amused. 

I hold up yellow carnations and smirk. "These mean 'you have disappointed me'."

"Hell yes." He chuckles. 

I give him some orange lilies without even asking if he wants them. He cocks his head at me. 

"Hatred." I explain and he nods passionately. 

I arrange the flowers while he watches, his hands stuffed into his pockets. When I'm done I hand them to him and take off my apron.

He accepts them wordlessly but doesn't leave. Instead, he clears his throat nervously and rocks on his feet, staring at the ground. "It was pretty impressive how much you know about flowers." 

"Well," I start. "I've been doing this a while. But you're the first I've been able to use that knowledge for. Most people don't know that when they give their wife a bouquet of orange lilies they are expressing hatred. Or white roses mean death." 

He nods, smiling, but doesn't fill the silence that ensues. Raindrops from outside start to drop against the window, and as the dark clouds block the sun the room gets darker. 

I clear my throat. "What's your name?" 

"Taron." He grins. 

"I'm-"

"Y/n" He finishes, pointing to my name badge I forgot I had. 

I laugh nervously, glad for the dark room that hides my blush. "Right."

"Do I have to sign anything? A receipt maybe?" 

I sort his cash into the register. "No I don't think so."

"Are you sure? Because I really don't mind." He leans forward on the counter and raises his eyebrows. 

"Really, it's fine." I shrug nonchalantly. 

He reaches forward for the pen peeking out of my shirt pocket. "Please, I really think it would be the best idea. For your business." He adds. 

I sigh. "Okay then." I print one out and hand it to him. 

With one hand he writes, the other he hides what he is writing from me. When he finishes, he folds it up and hands it to me with a simpering smile. "Well, see you later then." 

Before I can say anything else he is gone, the bell tinkling softly over the door in his wake. 

I stare down at the paper I hold, unfolding it and gaping at what I see. He didn't even sign it, he wrote a message on it. 

y/n, thanks for the flowers. Now I know what not to get you if you call me. 

He includes his number underneath in messy scrawl. 

I pocket the paper, enjoying the warmth that spreads over my face at his words. 

I most definitely will be calling.