the twink in black tights - hank x connor

Violet

SUMMARY: Hank seeks out the help of an old friend to get a fitting Christmas gift for Connor.

Hank got home and crashed on the couch, paper cup in hand. Sumo walked over to him and put his head in Hank's lap, waiting expectantly. Hank sighed fondly and pet the dog's head as he let his mind drift. He had to get a Christmas present for Connor, and he had to do it fast. He had lost track of time entirely and now it was Christmas Eve, and he only had that day to get Connor a present.

Realistically, he knew Connor wouldn't expect anything, and wouldn't be wounded if he didn't receive a present from Hank. Hank's therapist reminded him that Connor was grateful to have him in his life too; he'd said that much when they were decorating the cafe. Even though Hank knew he wasn't obligated to buy Connor anything, he wanted to. He wanted to see Connor's face light up in surprise. Connor had done so much for Hank, he felt like it was only fair that Hank got him at least something as a thank you.

Hank finished off his coffee, looking dreamily at the way Connor wrote his name and spending extra time looking at the perfect heart he had put next to it. He got his coat back on, putting on a beanie to keep his ears from freezing off. He got into his car and put an address into his GPS, hoping it was the right one. It'd been a while. The route was all too familiar, though, as he drove down the winter-ridden streets of Detroit. He stopped at the flower shop past it's prime, the building in its entirety seeming a lot more lackluster than Hank remembered. He walked in, hearing the quiet ding that would ring out every time someone walked in, which he remembered all too well. He heard a gasp.

"Hank?!" It was Violet, the owner of the flower shop. She hurriedly made her way over to the front of the shop, looking at Hank in bewildered confusion. "Didn't she-"

"Yeah. It's not her," Hank interrupted.

"Oh, that's... that's wonderful, Hank." Violet said, smiling.

"He is," Hank said vaguely. "Wonderful, I mean." He added. Violet looked surprised when Hank said 'he', but bounced back fast.

"That's great. I haven't seen you in years." She turned to a door where she kept more flowers, and Hank followed, enjoying the familiar smell of fresh flowers.

Violet was a friend of Hank's from high school. He'd known her for a pretty damn long time. He hadn't seen her in a while, though. Not since he married his ex-wife. He did end up telling her about Cole and the divorce, though, back when they were still in touch. He stopped his train of thought as it headed into darker territory. He didn't want to think about that.

"Gimme like, the bluest flower you can find," Hank said, and Violet smiled.

"I think I have just the thing." She said confidently, her greying blonde hair falling into her face when she turned to him.

"Oh, really?"

"Mmmhmm." Violet hummed, motioning for him to follow her into the back room where she always kept most of the flowers that weren't on display. "His favorite color blue?" She asked, winding her way around all the floral arrangements on the tables.

"Yep." Hank simply said and watched as she took out a bouquet she had behind an arrangement of pink and yellow flowers. It contained several different flowers, all different shades of blue. Hank grinned.

"It's perfect, Violet. When did you put this together?" He asked, holding the bouquet gently as though it were made of glass.

"Well, I don't get business that often, so I have a lot of time on my hands," She confessed. He looked back up at her and set the bouquet down. He picked up a red and yellow bouquet and pretended to be observing it, but actually slipping $100 in it. He handed the bouquet to her and grabbed the blue bouquet, beginning to walk out. He stopped.

"Keep the change. Try using that to put yourself out there," He advised and walked out of the room.

"Hank, yo-" She was saying, but the door had closed behind him, bells jingling quietly, and he was leaving the small flower shop.

He got home and had the keep the flowers out of an excited Sumo's mouth-range. When he carefully set them down on the table, he decided to take the over-energized dog on a walk.

As he walked the dog, he got lost in thought. He fantasized about being Connor's boyfriend.

Boyfriend... The term seemed too childish to describe what they would be, how he felt for Connor.

As he went back now, with Sumo at his side, he thought about it more, though nothing seemed to fit. He set a mental note to think about it later because when he arrived home it was 4:37 and he didn't for the life of him want to be late.

He grabbed the yoga mat he'd gotten to buying rather than continuing to borrow from Connor, tied up his hair, put on his coat, and left for his private lessons.