GIFTS | S. HARUKA

White Roses

To (Y/n), White Roses meant more than just purity and innocence.

"Sakura-san, good afternoon." The girl smiles simply as the white and black haired boy shoots her a simple greeting back, and he goes to stand to the side as she continues dealing with the customer in front of her.

White Roses meant something a bit more, something that scratched her brain in the right way whenever she thought about how people used them. Whether it be in weddings, ceremonies, or even just used as a nice decoration idea for something small like making a cluttered desk look more inviting to clean, she pictured a different meaning in her mind behind the flowers.

"A-Are you sure these ones will really get the message across? I don't know much about flowers and their meanings, but I do know that I really wanna hit it off with Ms. Ayami." (Y/n) hums lightly as she holds the single rose in her hand, and she tilts her head to the side as her eyes wander back over to the man.

"Well, what is the message that you want to convey? I'll need to have a clear understanding in order to really pin down what you would like." The man nods at this, slightly impressed by her wording, and then he's slightly clearing his throat. His cheeks begin to color a red color as he began to blush, and then he began.

"W..Well...I wanted to...convey to her that I would always be there for her, you know? That even in tough times, I..I'll be right there to hold her hand and love her. She's always been so sweet to others, and she's given a guy like me a chance despite my, well...nature," She chuckles as he weakly snickers, but she quiets down as he continues.

"So..I hope that these flowers will let her know that I care about her a lot, and I'll never leave her side." (Y/n)'s eyes soft briefly as she lets his words set in, and then she's glancing over to the side. As expected, Sakura's love sensor had long set off, and he was facing the wall with a furious blush dusting his cheeks.

She found it adorable how embarrassed he'd grow in the presence of feelings, even when she herself would come close to him. It got worst after she confessed, and he would grow so mushy to the point he could barely even talk to her. It's a good thing he managed to get it a bit under control.

"Then, I would most definitely suggest these." (Y/n) moves away from the counter to lean down and grab a made bouquet of white roses. She cradles them gently in her hands as she makes her way back, and she places them on the counter softly. "White Roses are an amazing choice in regards of your feelings. They symbolize purity and beauty, both which lead to innocence. With how kindly you speak of Ms. Ayami and your relationship towards her, I believe these will be your best chance at doing that."

Reaching out, she grasped the man by the hand, taking both him and Sakura by surprise.

"Your feelings...are most certainly amazing, Mr. Yamada. To be able to try and communicate those feelings through a different language is admirable, and I am quite sure Ms. Ayami will definitely be grateful to have you gift these flowers to her. I hope everything goes well in the delivery."

Mr. Yamada couldn't help but feel grateful to know that the young girl was rooting him on, and seeing her reassure him that his nervousness was misplaced had him growing a bit more confident. "Why, thank you, (Y/n). I'm really glad you believe so. I'll, ah, take the white roses then. I sure hope this goes well.." He mutters, in which she chuckles and tells him once again it'll be fine.

After ringing him up and bidding him goodbye, the girl was sighing out in joy. "Ah, I really hope things go well with him. Don't you, too, Sakura-san?" The teenaged boy huffs as he pushes himself forward, and he comes strolling to the counter with a scowl, though she could tell by the slight softness in his eyes and the dark blush on his face still lingering that he did too.

"Whatever. I-It's not like I care or anything..." He puckers his lips a bit as he looks off to the side, and she gently smiles. Humming in thought, she glances up to the ceiling as a strange look in her eyes grew. "Say...do you want to know what else White Roses symbolize?" Her suddenness makes him glance over to her, and he lets out a noise of confusion in response.

She pays no mind to it as she looks back down, and leaning over, she grabs a single white rose out of another made bouquet, and she holds it up to her face as her eyes begin to shine a bit. "When I was telling Mr. Yamada about the meaning behind the roses, I left out one key word that's also being spoken through the flowers, because I knew if I had told him, he most likely would have been jumping to buy it." Sakura's eyebrows furrow.

"Then why hide it? If he would have still bought it, then why not just say it?"

"Because,"

She gently lets her eyes wander to connect with his own.

"He would have misunderstood the purpose of gifting them to Ms. Ayami. You see, the art of gifting is meant to be done in a manner that doesn't involve you overthinking your feelings about the one you're giving them to. For example, if I were planning to give you a box of chocolates on valentines day. I would think, I really like Sakura-san, so these chocolates will symbolize my feelings for him!." His cheeks deepen into another blush as he chokes.

"Wh-What?!"

She continues.

"However, if I was told by someone else that gifting chocolates to someone meant something entirely different than what I thought, then I would begin to think just more than before. Will these properly serve as a way to convey my feelings to Sakura-san? Or should I also add something else to the chocolates to represent my feelings more?." She leans on the counter as her eyelids lower and she's soon closing her eyes.

"If I had told him the actual meaning, he would have been rushing in without the actual intention of telling her his right feelings. I didn't want to ruin it for him, you know?" She then smiles at him sheepishly, and she then brightens. "But anyways, I also wanted to give you one of these today. I wasn't expecting someone to come in and order a bouquet of them, but luckily I make them myself." Sakura grumbles, cheeks still flamed with a blush.

"You seriously piss me off..."

"Ah! Here we are!"

Sakura fixes himself so that he could take the bouquet of flowers, however he finds himself staring at the girl with somewhat wide eyes as she holds them to her chest, soft eyes staring down at them with admiration held in her eyes.

"Purity, innocence...and loyalty. These flowers...are great at being symbolic of my flowers for you, Sakura-san."

Sakura Haruka's heart begins pounding in his chest the longer she looked the way she did, and he quickly snatched the flowers away from her when she finally held them out for him to take. He immediately turned towards the door and began making his way out, stomping as he loudly shouted in embarrassment.

"Y-You really need to learn how to talk about something else! Just repeating your feelings for me ain't gonna make me do shit!"

She was, at first, surprised by this, before she's happily cupping her hands over her mouth.

"Then let's go out after school tomorrow! It'll be really fun, won't it? Hahaha!"

Sakura shoots her a look, and then he's stomping off. They both knew he would be coming back the next day regardless of his reactions.