ROSES | 𝐃𝐑𝐀𝐑𝐑𝐘

T W O

PEONY

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"common peony meanings include romance, prosperity, good fortune, a happy marriage, riches, honor, and compassion. but! peonies are also used to express bashfulness."

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Harry wasn't quite sure why, but he took an extra ten minutes to get ready that day. Appearance was never something the boy had thought much about before that day, but the brunet had been left pondering all morning. Should he wear a white shirt or a blue one? Should he wear this cologne or none at all? Does anyone really care about what shoes he was wearing?

When he eventually arrived at the store, Neville wasn't there again this morning. Instead of him, a letter was written on the door letting Harry know of his absence and his thanks to him for keeping up with everything.

   When Harry turned the paper over he laughed- in big capitalized letters Neville had written, "AND DO NOT OVERWATER THE SUCCULENTS AGAIN!"

    Jesus Christ, you kill one houseplant and it stays with you for life.

The day had passed fairly quickly, and before Harry knew it, it was his last hour of work. There hadn't been much activity in the shop today, so Harry mostly cleaned and replaced some old plants with new ones.

   The store gave off an intimate atmosphere that Harry had always appreciated. It was mostly made out of old brick, and hardwood floors that creaked in more areas than not. The flowers were definitely the center of attention! Their bright colors welcomed every customer as soon as they came in, captivating them from their pots or vases. Harry had endless respect for Neville to be able to maintain such beautiful things all the time.

Harry was often curious about the customers, wondering what their occasion was. Seeing as flowers could be used for anything from funerals to weddings, it always spiked curiosity within Harry. It was kind of a personal question to ask though, and he himself wouldn't want people asking him what his occasion was, so he just never did. Instead, he liked to theorize about people. Just once a day though, because he's not rude enough to do it all the time. Today, for instance, a tall man had come in and bought a bouquet of daisies, and though the flowers looked like they were meant for a younger child, Harry would like to think that he was taking them home for himself. A big scary guy came in to buy himself daisies, and that was the theory he was going with for that day. 

He was lost in thought about the Daisy Man when heard the familiar chime of the door. When he turned and looked, in waltzed none other than the blond boy from yesterday. He looked even more lovely than he had last time he saw him if that was even possible. Today, his blond hair appeared to be a bit tousled, and his white t-shirt, even as plain as it was, made him look beautiful. If the boy came in wearing nothing but rags, Harry was sure he could still be beautiful to him.

Draco smirked when he caught sight of Harry, and he greeted him with a quick wave, before walking straight for the peonies set up in the corner. Harry observed the boy and watched him as he did the day before pick up only a single pretty and pink flower from the hundreds that were offered. He didn't even stop to look at any of the others but had a look of certainty on his face that said this flower was the one.

Draco walked to the register, and Harry ignored the way his stomach did flips until the boy was right in front of him. Like the day before, Draco gave Harry way too much money for the small flower but insisted that he keep all of it, no matter how much the stammering brunet tried to offer him his change.

Harry handed the boy his pink flower in defeat, and watched him, same as before, twirl it between two fingers, and lean against the counter as he spoke.

       "Do you know what this peony means, darling?"

Harry sighed, "No, I do not, in fact, know what that peony means."

Draco smiled at the little flower, and explained, "Peonies can represent many things, so you have to be careful in explaining which one you mean it to be. For instance, they represent romance, prosperity, good fortune, a happy marriage, riches, honor, and compassion." He counted all of the reasons off on his fingers, "They can also mean bashfulness."

Harry hummed, "I think that you're weird."

Draco laughed; a beautiful sound that made everything else seem unworthy of hearing it.

       "And I think that you're a bit boring and capricious, yet I still think you're much more interested than you let on."

Harry's cheeks burned into peony pink, yet he still managed to scoff and reply, "Well, don't look for any redeeming qualities because I don't have any."

Draco shook his head and reached a hand out to push the round glasses back on the brunet's nose, making him turn five shades pinker. "I don't believe that."

Now it was Harry's turn to repeat what had been said the day before, "Believe what you want, Draco. Or, should I say, Sir?"

Draco laughed, and once again offered the small flower to Harry, not even bothering to hide his smirk. No matter how cool Harry tried to act, he still couldn't help the small smile that crept it's way onto his face, as he accepted the flower in his right hand.

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