'' Flower Shop Of New Feelings ,,

'' flower shop of new feelings ,,

[ 01: the cute florist ]

|| pairing : james "bucky" barnes x florist!reader

|| summary : When Clint's birthday comes sooner than Bucky realized, Steve forced him to go buy some gift for Hawkeye. Figuring that flowers were an easy enough gift, he takes a visit to the flower on the corner of the street..

There, he meets a cute florist, someone who seemed to melt his cold heart. How will Bucky navigate this modern world romance? Will he allow himself to fall in love? If so.. How will he keep this from the team? And how will you react to him being the Winter Soldier?

|| warning : this is a series that im writing on both ao3 , im js posting this on tumblr cz why not? yk? also, every part im not adding the summary, it's js for this !!

|| wc : 1.7k

“C’mon, Buck, you have to get him a gift. He’s your friend.”

“No, he’s your friend, I doubt any of your friends actually still want me around.”

“Sam likes y-”

“Sam doesn’t count.”

Bucky and Steve had been going at it for the past while, it was Clint’s birthday tomorrow and Steve really, really wanted Bucky to get more used to the team. After the whole fallout with the Sokovia Records, everyone was lucky that it was put aside. Bucky’s crimes were pardoned as well as the majority of Cap’s team, but it was still real tense.

It was a wonder Tony let them all still live in the Tower. I mean, not all of them lived there. Thor and Loki came and went, Clint lived with his family in god knows where, Peter lived with his aunt but visited VERY frequently, and Wanda and Vision moved out to live on their own. Which is.. Completely understandable.

“Clint likes.. He likes you, I mean he was on our side, remember?”

Bucky shot a wary look Steve’s way, his eyebrow twitching up before rolling his eyes. “If I were to get Barton something, what does he even like? I know nothin’ ‘bout your friends.”

“.. It’d be safe to get him flowers.” Steve shrugged and stood up from Bucky’s desk chair, before this, Steve barged into his best friend's room and started interrogating him about the birthday. “Though, you could check in with Romanoff.”

With a quiet grunt, Bucky nodded and flopped back in bed as Steve walked out. He hated this. Well, hate was a strong word. It was strange to him, having this much freedom. He had the freedom to try to get closer to people, yet he didn’t.. Know how to. He’d forgotten. He was better at this back in his day.

–

“Flowers?” Natasha quirked her eyebrow up before she hit the dummy with a hard kick. She’d been training for the past hour or so, blowing off some steam. “Clint likes the basics, roses, lilies, y’know.”

“And you’re sure it’s a good idea?”

“He likes flowers, I think he’d like something more practical, but he’s probably not expecting much from you,” She punched the dummy repeatedly, giving it no time to try and bounce back. After a few moments, and ine final blow, the dummy flew across the room and tumbled down. “No offense.”

“None taken.” Bucky mentally checked that off.. Roses, lilies.. Basic flowers. Something practical. “What other things does he like?”

Natasha hummed and walked over to the dummy, carrying it back to the original spot as she thought. “Laura,” She could practically feel Bucky ask, so she cut him off. “Barton’s wife mentioned he wanted to get into carving. Maybe get him a knife for that?”

“Oh.” He nodded slowly and checked that down. “Thank you, Romanoff.”

“Call me Natasha,” She spared him a sideways glance and lazy smile before she went back to beating the crap out of some training dummy.

–

With some research (asking F.R.I.D.A.Y), Bucky found a small flower shop with good ratings, but not too many, meaning it was smaller. He didn’t like going out in the public all too much just yet. Felt too.. Vulnerable? He didn’t know. He just hated people.

Well, thankfully, he found a more isolated shop. It was a 15 minute walk from the tower, it was a flower shop that served as a bookstore as well. A real cute scene. A scene where Bucky felt out of place.

The small bell on the top of the door rung as Bucky swung the door open. He had a baseball hat on, his red henley, and a jacket to try and.. Hide who he was. Didn’t want some poor old lady to get scared when seeing him. (He assumed that the owner was some little lady.)

“Just a minute!”

Bucky froze at the voice, okay, didn’t sound like an old lady. He pushed his hat closer to his head as he heard shuffling from the back.

Instead of a little lady, he found you. You popped out of the back door, stack of boxes in your arms, and a big smile on your face. Charming, cute almost.

“Welcome to the Flower Parlor! How can I help y’today?” You recited what you said to other customers most likely, as you put the boxes down on the ground, on the other side of the counter.

As Bucky watched you straighten yourself out, your shoulders stiffened as you looked up at him. Oh god, he looked real scary. Baseball hat, dark jacket, looks like he’s gonna rob the place! Ah, but he wouldn't get much from here.

“I need help with a birthday gift.”

Oh wow, his voice sent a shiver down your spine. His voice was as if.. Well, you didn’t know, but it was really nice! He had- yeah, he had a nice voice, god get a grip.

“Ooh! Alrighty, tell me ‘bout the birthday person and I’ll gladly make a bouquet for ‘em! And a nice book to go along with it too!” In a swift motion, you grabbed some semi-transparent paper you used to make bouquets and watched him expectantly.

“Uh, he..” God, what did Clint like? “Likes.. Bow ‘n arrows.”

You raised a brow at the factoid Bucky dropped but didn’t question, instead, you grabbed some Hyacinths and placed them neatly on the paper, making sure to make it look pretty.

This kept going, he’d drop a factoid of Clint, you’d grab a flower. Hyacinths because they represented Apollo, who was the god of Archery. White roses to represent loyalty, A few hydrangeas because Bucky said he was a ‘family man’ and a few baby’s breaths to fluff it up a bit more and you were done! The bouquet consisted of a more purple and white color palette, in turn, you made the ribbon that held it together a dark purple.

“Oh, uh, thank you.” Bucky muttered as you handed the bouqet of flowers to him. He hadn’t held one since.. Well, almost 80 years ago.

“And a book, whaddya think your birthday guy likes t’read?”

“Oh- uh-” Bucky took a sharp breath in and shrugged.

To that, you let out a small giggle, running your hand through your messy hair before you looked on your bookshelf, trying to find some good book. Oh, but Bucky wasn’t paying attention to what he could be getting Clint, no, he stopped the moment that laugh left your lips.

Didn’t know why, but that laugh just stopped his thinking. It was so light, gentle. Man, no one at the Tower was this soft, the- the opposite actually. Yet here you were, actually laughing at Bucky’s confusion.. It wasn’t condescending, more amused, actually. God! Get a grip, James, you’re not gonna see ‘em again after this.

“How ‘bout a classic? The Hobbit? Or maybe Their Eyes were Watching God?”

“I remember reading The Hobbit.”

“Yeah? How’dya like it?”

“.. Don’t like wizards all that much”

Again, you snorted and started to laugh at his disdain to wizards. Which was fair, he wasn’t the biggest fan of Dr. Strange, but he liked him better than.. Well, a whole heck of a lot of people.

“Then how ‘bout Their Eyes were Watching God?” You put the Hobbit back on the shelf and walked up to him, extending your hand and handing the book to him. Your fingers touched momentarily, his gloved hand met your soft ones and Bucky’s mind blanked for a moment. God! He was actin’ like a schoolboy back when he found out Daisy liked him back in grade school all those years ago.

“Yeah, okay, yeah.” With a hurrid nod, Bucky took the book and held everything in his left hand, fumbling for his wallet with his right. “How much do I owe you?”

“It’s on the house.”

“What?”

“Eh, you’re a much better customer than I usually get,” You shrugged and pushed your hands in the pockets of your apron. “Usually I get assholes who wanna buy flowers after cheating on their partners.. Ah, you’re here for a friend though! So.. Yeah, on the house”

“I can’t, lemme just-”

“Really, you’re fine-”

“I insist-”

The bell of the door jingled and cut you both off, you yelled out “Just a minute!” just like you did for Bucky. A small smile on your face as you turned back up to the man in front of you, who was still grabbing a $20 bill and shoved it to you.

“Oh-” You sighed before letting out a small snort. “Fine, you win this time, Mr..”

“James.”

“James.” You repeated and took the bill, pocketing it into your apron. Heart bearing as you nodded to him and backed away. “Well, I hope your friend has a good birthday. It was nice meeting you, James.”

Bucky gave a small smile and nodded as he walked to the door. The bell jingled again as he opened it. “Thank you.”

And with that he left.

–

Bucky’s heart was still racing as he got back to his room at the Tower, get a grip, soldier, can’t act like a fucking teenager. And as much as he hated it, he was an avenger! He can’t- oh god.

“Buck?” Steve’s voice was muffled as he knocked on Bucky’s door before opening it. His eyes flickering to the bouquet on his night stand and back to Bucky. “Hey, that’s real nice! Flowers, told you it was a good idea”

“Shut it, punk” He muttered and pushed his face into the mattress.

“Someone’s moody,” his best friend muttered. “What’s wrong?”

The second the question left Steve’s lips, Bucky shook his head and sat up, running a hand through his hair and his expression hardened. Get a fuckibg grip, Sargeant.

“Like I said, nothing.”

It was so clear that Steve didn’r believe it. But, with how things had recently been, he didn’t wanna push it.

“Well, how was getting the flowers?”

“Good..” Bucky glanced at the flowers and immediately remembered how gentle your hands were. Placing them down strategically and quickly, but with the elegance of a dancer. “Really good.”

“.. You’re acting weird” Steve huffed with a chuckle. “C’mon, let’s go on a run, you needa clear your head up.”

Bucky nodded and stood up from the bed. He was fine with being told what to do, it was easier than having his freedom.

Easier than thinking of the cute florist.

|| FIRST PART IS POSTED! after i post all the parts i've already made, ill post a masterlist of the parts :)

family: “why are you just sitting in ur room smiling at ur phone?”

me who’s been reading smut about fictional characters for the past 6 hours:

any Daedalus fans in chat

If you also go by that one bc of mac and pig being sworn siblings, i can only imagine her figuring out that mk is mac’s bio kid-

pif: why didn’t you tell me?!?

mac: i dIDN’T KNOW EITHER

Think of all the birthday she missed! (She would be one of those aunts who is more concerned about her nephew than her own actual son)

Thank you for joining the stream! Was a lot of fun ;)

Shadowpeach Bio Parent AU (PREV / FIRST / NEXT )

Me, in the summer heat, taking 2 points of fire damage every second: aeugh aeugh aeugh ough eough ough eaugh

@bubblinekiss I'm your secret santa for the @mlsecretsanta exchange!! 🎁 💕 Happy holidays, enjoy some sapphic lovesquare (feat. transfem adrien)!!

PEOPLE WHO HAVE SEEN THUNDERBOLTS* OR WILL SOON, PLEASE DO NOT SPOIL IT FOR THOSE WHO DID NOT SEE IT! PUT A SPOILER WARNING PLEASE I BEG! I CAN ONLY WATCH IT IN 2 WEEKS AND I DONT WANNA GET SPOILED BUT I STILL WANNA READ BUCKY FICS 😭😭😭🫶🫶🫶

'' flower shop of feelings ,,

[ 03 : distractions ]

|| pairing : james "bucky" barnes x florist!reader

|| warning : very VERY brief encounter with a gun , mission but barely talked abt

|| wc : 2.5k

The next couple of weeks went by like normal, or as normal as they coule. Both you and Bucky would text each other, sending small ‘good morning!’ texts as well as ‘goodnight’ ones. It made Bucky act as if he was a highschooler again, his heart all giddy every time a notification popped up on his phone- sure, he didn’t have a phone back when he was a teen but hush.

He really did enjoy texting you, it was definitely the highlight of his day.. But the more you texted, the more.. Attached, he's grown? Didn’t help that you’d both go out for coffee at least once a week. It was harder to hide himself from you, hide the fact he was living in the Avengers Tower, that he was.. Well, seen as the Winter Soldier.

You were just so sweet. Kind. He couldn’t tell you, his past was a literal nightmare. He’d done terrible things and-

“Hey, soldat, Steve, Sam and I are going to a museum, wanna join?”

“Why would I wanna go to a museum?”

“Maybe ‘cause you’re ancient,” Natasha snickered before shaking her head. “We’re going there ‘cause we got a tip that somethings going to go down. Might be big, wanna join?”

As much as Bucky wanted to say no and just lock himself in his room, he knew Steve would just try to drag him out. So, instead of fighting it, he nodded and sat up. Plus, maybe this could distract him from you.

–

In some “undercover” clothes, the four of them were walking around a museum, one that showed off arts and sculptures. Maybe in another life, Bucky would’ve found it interesting. But, they were just pretending to be enamored by the statuettes. No, they were on guard due to the fact they had gotten a warning from anonymous that some suspicious activity was going to go down. It could be some sort of drop-off of a weapon, magic shit, or maybe just stealing some art. Who knows?

Bucky stood besides Sam as they stared at some giant piece of art, it was a painting. A really well done one, actually. Oil painting of some sort of landscape with a bunch of people, the colors matched, the composition was wonderful, and the story behind it was deep.

“Think something’s actually gonna happen today, or just bad intel?” Sam kept his eyes ahead, as if analyzing the art in front of him.

“.. 10 bucks says something’s going to happen”

“10 bucks says it’s bad intel, I mean c’mon, it’s a Wednesday”

“What’s so not important about a Wednesday?”

“Why couldn’t it be on a Friday?”

“Maybe the bad guys were busy on Friday.”

Sam raised an eyebrow and just rolled his shoulder. “I’m gonna go over down the hall, check out the statues and make sure nothing’s going down.”

Bucky nodded and went back to looking up at the painting. Admiring the bumps and parts of the painting where the paint seemed to clump. Real pretty.

He turned from the painting and went the opposite direction of Sam. But the second he started to walk, he froze. Either this is a terrible coincidence or God wants to mess with him. Standing a few feet away from him was you. Shit shit shit! He can't be distracted by you. In a small panic, Bucky started to walk back, a few steps before he turned around and bumped into something.

Shit, all that ‘training’ went to shit, he bumped into a trashcan. Making a loud clatter noise, drawing everyone's attention, including yours. Now where was Sam in all this? That bitch was recording everything.

“James?”

Shit.

He turned slowly around, tugging at his hood and hiding his forehead. “Hey, [Name]..”

You just giggled at the strange coincidence that Bucky was here. In fact, you didn’t even mean to come to the museum today, a buddy of yours that worked there invited you to go, and since you didn’t have to open up shop today, you agreed! Funny how fate works! “What’re you doing here? You here with a friend?” You glanced around, it didn't seem anyone claimed to have gone along with Bucky.

“Admiring the art.” He let go of his hood before pushing his hands into his pockets. He couldn’t say that he was actually on some Avenger mission. You still didn’t know he was the Winter Soldier. And he wanted to keep it that way.. “What’re you doing here?”

“My friend just invited me, she works here, kinda just spur of the moment!” You scratched the back of your head as you looked up at the painting in front of you. “Plus, I didn’t have to open shop today.. Kinda a free day today.”

Bucky nodded and shifted in his spot. His eyes darted from you and back to the painting, just because the two of you have been texting for the last month didn’t mean he knew how to talk to you like a normal person. I mean, he was a good speaker back then right? He could.. He could try to act like that again, right?

“Hey! Since you’re alone.. And I’m alone, wanna.. Be alone together?” You shrugged, shifting your weight from your toes to your heels. Rocking front to back as you asked. “As cheesy as that is.”

The super soldier besides you looked over your face for a brief moment before looking around the hall. Looking for Sam, who was currently pretending to be interested in some sort of old statue. Bucky was sure he’s going to ask about who you were later, God, he’ll need to make up a lie.. That’s not even what he should be worried about, he should be worried about the damn mission they were on!

Your eyes softened as you looked up at his nervousness. Bucky was an.. Awkward person, but it was part of his charm, that’s why you like him. “Or, I could walk away, meet you back up later, and then pretend it’s a coincidence?” You cracked a small smile and kept your eyes on him.

Thankfully, the small joke you made seemed to make him visibly less like he’s about to explode on the spot. He gave a short nod before turning away and walked off. You didn’t mind, he was his own person, and you were yours, but man would it have been fun to be with him instead of alone.

–

The time passed by quickly, every other exhibit, you’d find yourself in the middle of a conversation with James. Though, he seemed to be on guard more and more each ‘coincident meeting.’ Again, you didn’t mind.

“Don’t get me wrong, I think it’s wonderful people are trying to be more- communicative with their mistakes with their partners, but seriously, I’ve gotten like 15 customers this week who wanted to buy a basic rose bouquet as a sorry present!” You tugged at your hair as you complained about work. Bucky didn’t mind, though, he’d rather listen to your voice than his. “I swear, if I get one more customer ask what’s the best type of flowers for apologizing to their partners for sleeping with their best friend, I’m gonna lose it!”

“It’s that common?”

“Uh, yeah, people are such assholes nowadays, can’t find a decent person to date, y’get desperate, then yeesh! You’re stuck with some asshole!” You waved your hand in the air as you brushed what you said aside. Truth be told, you hadn’t gotten into a relationship in the past.. Maybe 2 years? Even then, it was always casual. “That’s why I–”

RING! RING! EMERGENCY! EVACUATE TO THE NEAREST EXITS!

The blaring alarms cut you off as red lights danced in your vision. There were people screaming and guns firing, it seemed something bad did happen, and Sam owed Bucky 10 bucks. Bucky’s eyes darted towards the sound of the gunshots and started to run towards it, only to be tugged by your hand. Your eyes wide with worry and confusion as to why the hell your friend James was running towards the danger!

“James! What’re you doing?! C’mon, we hafta go!”

“I can’t–”

“Bucky, there’re 6 armed men near Sam and your location, Nat and I are taking care of the other 6” Steve’s voice came through into Bucky’s earpiece. “They’re trying to do a drop-off, some sort of Hydra weapon! Get the briefcase!”

“On my way.” Bucky replied as you stared up at him, your brows furrowed in even more confusion. What the hell was he doing?? “You need to get out of here, it’s not safe.”

“No, we have to get out of here! James, c’mon, you’re not some super he–”

You cut yourself off as your friend shucked his jacket off and blocked a bullet that was flying both your ways.. With his arm. A sleek, black metal arm. That’s when it hit you, that’s why he seemed so familiar. That’s why he was so secretive on where he stayed or not. He wasn’t just James. He was James Buchanan Barnes, the Winter Soldier.

“Holy shit.”

“Get out of here, I’ll-” James grabbed a gun from his holestor (Oh my god???) and shot at the ones who were shooting at the both of you. “I’ll find you outside.”

“.. Be careful” You muttered before turning away and running out to the closest exit. You didn’t know how to react, what to do with the newfound information. You felt so.. So stupid, not realizing that James was an Avenger. He lived in the Avenger tower- Oh my god, he was a super soldier.

With shallow breaths you turned a corner and your eyes locked to the nearest exit. You took a breath of fresh air as you felt the cold breeze hit your face, as if the museum was stuffed with smoke. It wasn’t, thank god, the people who arranged the attack didn’t seem to think to use fire power. It’s probably for the best.

As you stepped farther away from the door, a paramedic looked over you, you weren’t hurt, not shot, not even grazed. Thank god for.. James. You still couldn’t wrap your head around it. Whilst you sat on the edge of the sidewalk, waiting for the fight to die down, you pulled your phone out. You didn’t have many contacts, honestly you were.. Pretty alone. Parents? Only mom was left after dad passed. Siblings? An older, pretentious brother. Friends? You were pretty quiet in highschool, only the museum buddy of yours, who was Maria, she’s the one who gave you this death wish of an invite here. Then there was your other friend, who was in fact your neighbor, May and her nephew Peter. Nice bunch, you gave them flowers on their birthdays and they’d bring you some sort of baked good. Ah, but I digress.

Jeez. Maybe you’ll call up May, she’d probably know about this, plus, she told you Peter was an intern at Starks, right? Ah, but.. No, that wouldn’t do much good. He’s an intern, not some superhero. You kept scrolling through your phone for a few more minutes. You didn’t know how well of a promise James’ll keep, especially with him fighting people with.. Super weapons or something, but you stayed. Hoping he’ll keep to his word and try to find you.

After a long while, you heard claps and cheers from the citizens as the four of them brought all 12 of the villains out of the museum. They seemed hurt, but not to the brink of death, thankfully. The Cap was quick to hand them over to the police to take care of as the citizens slowly dispersed. People knew all about the hero's life, hearing it on the news and such, it was hard to be an Avenger. So, they needed space.

You waited as the crowds grew smaller before you took a few steps closer, holding your arms closely as you stood to the side. Watching as your friend's eyes darted around. It was amusing. Despite just saving a bunch of people, including yourself, he was still awkward.

“[Name].” He muttered, his voice light as a breath of fresh air as he spotted you. His shoulders seemed to sag in relief as he walked towards you. He should definitely be headed to the Avengers Tower, but right now he needed to make sure you were okay. “Are you hurt? They didn’t get you, right?”

“I’m fine, I’m fine, James, I-” You let out a small breath and placed your hands on your hips as you looked over at him. He had some blood on his jacket, some scratches on his face.. And that arm. Oh, wow, he.. Yup, he had a metal arm. “You.. Never told me you were an Avenger.” The corner of your lips tugged into a small smile as you chuckled.

He mirrored your smile, relieved at the fact you didn’t seem upset, or even the smallest bit scared. “You never asked.”

Your nose crinkled, “I asked what your job was, you said–”

“That I work as security.”

“Security for the whole world, James!” With that you started to laugh into your hand, this was unbelievable. This awkward man who’d stumbled into your flower shop looking for a gift for his friend was James “Bucky” Barnes.

“Sorry for keeping that from you, I just-” He shrugged and scratched the back of his neck. “I liked that you just knew.. Me.”

That made your heart melt. Everyone in the world knew James as “Bucky” or “The Winter Soldier.” The only people who knew him differently was Steve, only because he knew him back in the 40s and was his best friend and.. You. You knew him as James, and as much as the name felt weird, it felt right in your lips.

“Don’t apologize,” You hit your fist against his non-metal arm in a playful manner, an understanding smile on your face. “I get why you didn’t tell me. I’m not upset over it, if you’re worried.”

A small smile danced on Bucky’s lips and he nodded. “You’re too sweet.”

“Nah, I’m just a good friend.”

“Friend.” Bucky repeated to himself and nodded again. Oh he loved being your friend. He honestly thought the only friend he’d ever have would be from the Avenger Tower, and that’s only because they were Steve’s friends. “Ah, uh- I should probably-”

He pointed over to where Steve, Natasha and Sam were talking and you immediately understood.

“Oh! Yeah, no you go do that-”

“Thanks, uhm-” He stepped back and hesitated to turn away. “I’ll, uh, text you?”

“Yeah- Yeah!”

“Cool.” He nodded and turned away, the corners of his usually scowling lips quirked up as he repeated to himself. “Cool.”

He approached his team and just blended in nicely, no one seemed to notice him leaving and coming back. Perfect.

He spared you one last glance, as you walked away. Friend.

|| WOOO !! :3 FRIENDSHIP

im gonna need a 40 chapter long book of this thank you <3 /j

if you need ideas for the next part might i suggest easter? :3 /hj

a lovebirds bloom! (lets live in a christmas tree) pt.iii ☃️🎄

keigo t. x fem. reader | vryvery sweet sweeter than candy

pt.i of a lovebirds bloom , pt.ii of a lovebirds bloom

sneak peek ➸ in the midst of winter, a particular hero is feeling quite frosty this season from the absence your warmth, let’s see if you can fix that.

word count : whole ass book grab a cup of coffee to indulge in ts

As much as the flurries of winter trickling through the bustling cities with its angelic flakes were enchanting to see, it was hell to travel in. 

Every time your found your car’s battery to be frozen and glistening with ice, the walk to your flower shop almost always ended with you limping through the doors, a new bruise decorating your skin. 

Whatever lunatic conjured up the idea to attach the outside of your shop with a little set of stairs must’ve not been hugged as a child, you thought as you gripped onto the railing. 

After a particularly rough 6 a.m hike to the shop, you plopped your bag onto the counter, too exhausted to move it elsewhere. Instead, you opened your phone to say goodbye to your silly reels and tweets. 

But when you swiped your screen down to do a final time check, your eyes met with the text notification: 

hawks

6:14 A.M.

Hey. You at work? Picked up some hot coffee and wanted to see if I could share with another early bird. :-)

Your eyes stuck on the message like a sticker, and you couldn’t find yourself to rip them off your screen. It felt almost.. nice to be almostkindoffriendsbutkindofstrangers with Hawks, yet unreal. 

Ever since that night in the cafe, you thought back to it like a dream, a blur of warm glances and candles mixed with wafts of pumpkin. 

One thing you remembered from the little date was the exchanging of your numbers.. which was just a folded up post-it that Hawks had managed to stick in your coat pocket at the last second, freaking sneak, with little doodles dancing around the boldened digits.

After said date, the two of you would text consistently for a few days. Getting to know each other, sending each other relatable posts, y’know, the usual spiel of a talking stage.

The strange thing however—is after a week, you hadn’t come across the man for nearly two months. 

You understood fully though, of course! Work constantly pulled him away all the time. He was needed to serve, to help people continue their domestic routines. 

His missing presence just felt so unnatural, didn’t it? But perhaps his swarms of admirers were enough to keep him occupied.

How was he able to do it? You’d never know. Even a trip to unload the flowers from the wholesalers’ truck back and forth made you cry from the soreness you’d get in your legs, and he’s out here fighting damn kratos on the daily? Yikes.

But thinking about it, It stung a little to think about how empty he would feel after all those hours.

At times, you’d come home to your apartment, everything still left eerily the same as it was earlier—but a bittersweet lone feeling loomed over you. 

You didn’t want to picture how it’d feel for him. 

Especially in the mellow season, so close to Christmas. 

Reluctantly, you tapped the keys on your phone, quick to send out brief ‘yes, of course!!’ to his proposal, thumb shaking while it hovered over the ‘send’ button.

As you set your phone down, your heart undeniably throbbed to the thought of him walking through those doors, his warm presence lighting up the gloomy unlit store. 

It must’ve just been the mixture of sweet aromas making you feel that way. 

The ‘thump!’ of your head against the counter echoed embarrassingly through the room as your nerves began to jitter about. 

 ⋆⁺₊❅. 

Something that always struck out to you during wintertime was no matter what time of day it was, most other businesses in the vicinity had their christmas lights flickered on in the early morning, and in the dusk of night. 

Yourself and your coworkers didn’t skip this tradition, taking the opportunity as soon as you guys could to hang the golden twinkle string along the roofline.

Ever since, you kept the brightness of each bulb inside to a minimum as to not overwhelm your clients at the crack of dawn.

From the inside, the silhouettes that passed by were usually the ones on their way to the offices and occasional joggers. All too well accustomed to the ‘early bird’ lifestyle like yourself.

Speaking of early birds.

The subtle ‘whoosh’ that you only guessed were the wings of a certain hero faintly brushed the chill air.

You decided not to look up at the door yet, as you anticipated his arrival and wanted to capture the perfect best view of him walking in.

Absentmindedly staring at your nailbeds, the catchy chime jingled against the doorframe, a creak escaping from the door that was being pushed upon.

Finally looking up (pretending you didn’t notice him in the first place), Hawks’ clothed elbow pressed the black bar of the door, his signature black gloves carrying two coffee cups and a little frost glistened on the tips of his wings.

He huffed out as he entered, frigid vapor leaving his mouth as he was met with the relieving warm temperatures. His golden-amber eyes crossed to meet yours, his lower lids creasing upwards to the sight of you, a nervous smile rested upon his face.

“ ‘M telling ya, the universe was just waiting to pelt me in the face with all this wind. Nipping at my face ‘till it turned all red.”

If the pinkish-red spread across his sharp features didn’t stick out enough, the poor excuse he used was a bit obvious. Hawks really hoped you wouldn’t notice just how desperate he was to see you again.

You wondered if his wings were subtly trembling from the cold or his nerves.

He didn’t really expect you to text him back, in fact, he spent the last 2 months drifting off while on his shifts, thinking and thinking how to impress you but in a casual way.

Not desperate and too wanting, but at the same time reciprocating his feelings for you—

“Yeah, right? Nearly falling on my ass every time I come into work. Not much of an issue for you though, hm?”

Hawks let out a low chuckle, sniffling and bringing his hand to lightly rub his reddened nose.

“Fortunately not. But— anyway, sorry for just asking to come in on such short notice. I just wanted to .. talk to ‘ya.”

The faint scratch of raspiness in his voice indicated that he must’ve caught a small cold, presumably from the strengthening winter, but at the same time he sounded almost ashamed.

You shrugged, curving your lips into a dimpled smile, “No worries! Really, I actually need help with something, but we can come back to that after breakfast.”

A quirk of his eyebrow accompanied his half-hidden shock, a cute little expression of bewilderment.

“Oh? Are you sure? I know I’m the one usually expected to nag at my colleagues, but I really don’t want to drag you out from work.”

“Of course, don’t worry. I don’t actually have to start working until like 8.” You assured him sweetly, gesturing him forward with the hot drinks.

He nodded silently as he placed the cups down on the counter, pulling up a stool opposite from you. Additionally, he grabbed out a brown crumply bag that had been tucked under his arm.

Your eyes lit up when you read the imprinted, « 2 CHOC CROISSANT » on the sticker.

As you took your first few sips and bites, the silence only grew and resided in the air. You cleared your throat.

“Hey, I know we aren’t, y’know, that close, but if there’s something bothering you, I’m here to listen. You seem to be a little quiet.”

Black pupils flickered up to your face as he was mid-bite into his pastry. “Mm-h.. I kno. Is jsst.. ‘m nat mch ‘ff a mrng… “ he then swallowed rather hard, “I’m not much of a morning person.”

You laughed at his muffled response, sparking an adoring glint in Hawks’ eyes. He’d humiliate himself a thousand times more if it meant he could hear your laugh again.

He continued, setting down his croissant on his napkin below, “Honestly, I came here initially to see you, but I feel like I gotta apologize for leaving you with nothing from me the past months.”

You kept quiet, intrigued in what he wanted to say and let him continue.

“I haven’t.. I’ve never had this sort of frien—connection before. And, hah— it’s quite ironic how everyone describes me to be such a smooth-talker, but here I am, suddenly not knowing how to form a coherent sentence.”

He averted his gaze from your own, his leg bouncing nonstop.

“You’re just.. simply a fresh breath of air from the world i’m caged in. I.. can’t really explain it.”

“You don’t have to,” you comforted, “i find myself thinking about you too,” you confessed into your croissant, hesitant to let your voice exceed from your low volume.

Hawks’ breath hitched when he heard those words. He hadn’t felt this tense before, a foreign feeling churning in his stomach.

It wasn’t helping that you looked so alluring under the warm light. So sweet, so consoling. Although it was still dark out, your eyes managed to have that shiny gloss from the soft lights.

“I promise, if we had met under different circumstances, I wouldn’t be such a mess right now. ‘S not like my character,” he grinned with a hint of more confidence, tinkering with the golden ring on his middle finger.

“To me, it doesn’t matter what the rest of the world thinks of your character, I think your own sweet self is enough.”

Owlishly, he stared at you, speechless to your statement, as if you spoke a different language to him. He chewed at the last piece of his morning dessert, lost in thought (planning your future wedding).

“Guess theres some truth in there.”

You continued munching at your breakfast, your winged visitor patiently waiting until nothing but crumbs were left on the table.

 ⋆⁺₊❅. 

The consistent ticks of the antique rose-patterned clock hung on the wall became subtle background noise, a nice drumming in stark contrast to the awkward silence.

Swiping your palms against eachother, making sure your hands smeared off any stubborn crumbs in the crevices of your hand, you took note of the time displayed on the clock’s hands. 7:25

Your head turned anxiously back to Hawks, him peering towards you as you opened your mouth to say something, but nothing coming out.

“What’s going on in that peculiar little mind of yours?” asked the hero, propping his arms flat against his table to rest his head on them.

You hated the amount of questions he asked, it was practically violating—literally intentional to spill every secret out of you. He wanted to listen to every inconvenience you had.

Mumbling, you started, “It’s just that.. I feel a little guilty that I’m going to ask you for a favor like this when you could be out there, saving the day instead of being cooped up in here.”

Perking his head up in surprise, he argued without hesitation, “No no, I’d rather be held as hostage here for the rest of the day if it were up ‘ta me. There can’t be anything in this shop too rough for me.”

A godsend he was. Really, if he could choose, he’d spend the rest of his life in this wonderland of a shop you’ve decorated.

“Okay,” you breathed out, “I need help putting up the Christmas tree.”

“So that’s what was missing in this place, ‘swear it was on the tip of my tongue,” his smooth tone shifted quickly to be teasingly warm, drawing a smile out of you, “Let’s do it then.”

 ⋆⁺₊❅. 

Attaching all the hooks that resembled tree branches into the base and circling behind each other around the tree, twirling incandescent lights that swirled from top to bottom, the two of you stepped back to admire your hard work.

A delicate tree, but simple in all the right ways. It wouldn’t be too distracting yet would get the “Christmas” point across to all the customers.

Hawks nudged at your arm with his shoulder, a proud grin presented on his face, “This completes the holly and jollyness in this store. Feels like im in santa’s workshop now.”

His now vibrant and eager energy lifted the concerns pressing on your chest about him.

A tingling thought in the back of your head suspected he wasn’t grumbly only because he hates waking up so early.

Preciously gazing at the tree, you smiled shyly, “I know. I feel like this time of year goes by too fast, but it’s so beautiful.”

“Mhm,” the winged hero hummed out, his eyes lingering upon your figure as you went to adjust some of the crooked ornaments, “Very beautiful.”

Was there any reason why he suddenly felt so warm in his sweater? The heater couldn’t have been blasting that badly, right?

It’s not like he could have controlled the way he darted between each feature of your face, your hands, your style of apparel that just matched your personality perfectly.

He even worried that if he got too lost in your presence, his wings would begin to curl around you, cradling you into a soft cocoon-like embrace.

Yeah, he did not want to picture your weirded-out reaction—

His ringtone began beeping erratically from his pant pocket sending a walloping dread in his stomach, cursing under his breath.

Whipping your head back from the abrupt noise, you sighed, a reminder for you as well that your dozen hundred chores were about to commence.

Fumbling for his phone in a hurry to turn off the annoying sound, his other hand covered his lower-face, visibly cringing at the fact he had to actually clock in today.

He almost flinched when he felt your hands rubbing circles against his shoulder, consoling him, “Should’ve expected it sooner or later.”

“Hate that. All this, ‘have to move it later,’ ‘it’s getting late,’ ‘should’a known it had ‘ta end.’ I don’t think ‘s fair.”

“Me either, it really isn’t.”

Hawks’ hand slowly traced down to your wrist before gently grasping your fingers as his thumb reassuringly rubbed against your knuckles.

Widened eyes focused onto your face, his expression more serious and determined, “There’s no way I’m leaving making the same mistake as before, i can’t,” he paused, “promise I’ll respond to your texts and take you out on a proper date, with a whole bouquet of roses and everything.”

You smiled back up at him sweetly, awestruck at his commitment, almost like you were in a dream, “I think that sounds lovely. I can take care of the flowers, though.”

Shaking his head, he grinned back, “Maybe, but I wanna do this the right way. No more coming and going every season.” You nodded your head at that, completely giving in.

 ⋆⁺₊❅. 

The two of you made your way to the main doors, just a few minutes to 8:30. All bundled up, Hawks held a small wrapped bouquet of camellias, his large hands crumpling the wrapping paper.

“Bye, [name]. You’re a real sweet girl for putting up with my ridiculous antics.”

“Bye, Hawks, I try. Be safe! Don’t slip on your way out!” He rolled your eyes at you sheepishly as he was halfway out the door, when you stopped him, tugging at his arm.

“Ah. . . Wait,” you uttered, holding the material of his jacket with uncertainty in your body language. He hummed in confusion and faced you.

Stepping closer, a quick tilt of your head leaned toward his face, surprising him before you pecked his warm cheek and pushed him out the store, rushing into the back room.

Looking back, astonished, his rough fingers hovered over the spot where you kissed him, a blush fading onto his already hot cheeks.

He turned to the road, beginning to walk down until he reached the end of the sidewalk to take off to his agency, prying at his phone to pin your contact at the top of his messages.

a.n: keigo is so shy when hes flustered canon horikoshi told me so. i hope you guys liked this lmk what i should write nexttt have a lovely holiday y’all :33 🌷🎄

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