Flowers for the Wounded (Levi x Eren Fanfic)

Chapter 6: An Unconventional Approach

Part of me felt wrong to the point I made an effort to get away from people. Whenever I went somewhere, I found myself suddenly noticing Eren a lot more. There were times where it was subtle like he was mowing the grass or chilling on his porch. Other times, I found myself watching his every move when we just so happened to be shopping at the same time. I made no effort to hide my enamor with the guy. Two excruciating weeks passed for both myself and everyone around me. Farlan finally snapped on Friday night as he forcefully sat me down after our movie carefully leaving Isabel to sleep on the couch. His mom-friend side was coming out, and I could tell he was ready to go into full lecture mode.

"Levi, this has to stop," he stated grimly. No doubt, if he had a flip flop in his hand right now, he would be waving it threateningly in my face. "You've got a crush, and you're not doing anything about it."

"I don't need to right now," I retorted. Farlan shook his head.

"Big fish like Eren don't last long. Once he gets snatched, it will be over for you. You have to take the chance while you can. Listen, I'm going to lend you a hand here. Take this." He handed me a small blank business card with an address scribbled down on it.

"And this is?"

"A flower shop in downtown. The owner there does amazing work and knows a lot about the types of flowers. I know it seems tacky, but trust me. Isabel was the one that got me flowers when she first asked me out, and it was honestly one of the best things in my life. I cannot stand by as you let Eren get away. And besides, why live in mystery when you can obviously just have a clear acceptance or rejection. I expect to see some kind of result by next week. Good night, Levi."

Twisting on the balls of his feet, he turned away.

I was kind of shocked, but at the same time rather grateful for the new plan. Farlan woke Isabel up and they left leaving me to plan things. I wasn't doing much on Sunday, so I figured it would be a good time to check out this flower shop. The online reviews showed positive ratings and nice qualities. A few photos were available and from what I could see, the shop was kept in good condition and was quite clean. Passing the test, I set a reminder for Sunday and went to bed.

Sunday came quickly enough as Saturday's sunrise jumped to sunset in barely any time at all. I began the trek to downtown around noon. It was mildly busy, but I managed to get there in good time. The doorbell chimed and the door shut behind me. Immediately, I was hit with a pleasant scent of mint and lavender. Flowers of all sorts covered the walls and display shelves with a little table in the center with gardening tools and seed packets. Towards the back where the check out counter was. A small guy manned the counter and looked like he was observative. He looked up from a book he was reading and gave me a smile, blonde coconut hair swaying ever so slightly at the motion. I returned the gesture quickly before going off to browse the selections.

The issue became quickly apparent that I don't know what kind of flowers would be proper. Roses were a bit overdone, right? But, too much color could be seen as too desperate.

"Do you need any help?"

I turned around to find myself face to face with the clerk whose name tag read 'Armin.' I begrudgingly pushed down my ego and sense of pride wanting desperately to say I don't need help picking flowers of all things.

"Yes, actually. I'm in need of... um, fuck it, flowers for a man," I quickly said flustered at the moment. This Armin fellow seemed surprised and amused at the same time.

"Now that is something I can do. Give me just a moment here," he replied. With a sudden spring to his step, he began to gather a variety of flowers and made them into quite the bouquet. In the end, I was left with a combination of geraniums, foxgloves, meadowsweet yellow carnations, and orange lilies. It was actually quite pleasing to look at admittedly.

"Wow, this is quite the impression," I commented. Armin laughed a bit and shrugged.

"You'd be surprised at how often people ask for this kind of combination. Anyway, would you like to add a note or a ribbon? There's no additional fee for it, but some people like to make an impression," Armin asked. I shook my head.

"I think I'll be fine," I said. He nodded and proceeded to ring up the flowers. I thank him under my breath and waves me off. There's a glint in his eyes that leaves me a little confused as I leave, but it didn't matter I suppose.

Next stop: Eren's house.