The door opened with a jingle.
"Welcome to Les Fleurs. How can I help you?" Lucy looked up from the bouquet she was working on. It was for a wedding, but it could wait. The person who entered looked around curiously.
"Purple roses. Thirteen of them please." He answered.
Lucy hummed thoughtfully. "Aren't you a sweet secret admirer." The teen blushed. "Did you look up their meanings?"
"Yeah. I didn't want to look like an idiot by giving her something bad."
"If there's anything you need help with, I can always help you." Lucy replied honestly. Helping people was always satisfying after all.
"I'll take you up for that offer when I need it then." He laughed. Lucy handed him the roses. "Thanks."
"It's my pleasure. See you." She waved goodbye as the doors closed shut. Once he was out of eyesight from the windows, she went back to the bouquet. It was then that she realized-
"I didn't get his name."
He came back the next week. Lucy smiled when she saw who it was.
"Welcome to Les Fleurs. How can I help you?"
"A red rose is fine." He had his hands in his pocket in a nonchalant manner, yet his eyes kept looking back and forth from her to the ground.
"I'm assuming you're going to ask her out. Moving on from being a secret admirer?" Lucy asked as she cut the rose from the bush with expertise.
"So you actually remember me, huh?" His eyes stopped moving around so much and he grinned. Lucy chuckled.
"I have a great memory, believe it or not. Here you go." She leaned on the counter with a dreamy sigh. "Come back and tell me how it went."
"If you really want me to." He said.
"I do."
"Well if you insist." This time, he waved goodbye as he left. Again, Lucy watched him go. Again, she realized she didn't get his name.
Third time's the charm.
"That's so cute!" Lucy gushed when the frequent visitor told her of the confession. "The fact that both of you were so embarrassed makes it even cuter!"
"Stop." He muttered. "You're embarrassing me."
"But nobody else is around, so don't be like that, Natsu." She teased.
"That was unfair! How'd you find out my name is Natsu and I still don't know yours?" He asked, exasperated.
"A girl has her ways."
"Give me the real reason."
"I might have overheard a lady tell her friends a certain Natsu was the secret admirer who sent her thirteen lavender roses. I also might have overheard her say this Natsu confessed to her just the day before." Lucy twirled a strand of her hair and smirked.
"That Lisanna. . ."
"So her name is Lisanna! What a beautiful name."
"Yeah, wait- You need to tell me your name!" Natsu accusingly pointed at her.
"Why?"
"Because! I said so?" He followed up slowly.
"Hm, no."
"What! Why?"
"What's the point in telling you now? Let's keep the mystery going, don't you think?"
"One day." He vowed.
"One day." She promised.
"So? How'd your date go? You went to the amusement park, right?"
"Aren't you supposed to greet me with 'Welcome to Les Fleurs. How can I help you?'" Natus sighed as he entered the shop.
"You're a regular now. Familiarity is fine." She waved it off.
"Really?"
"No." He rolled his eyes. "But it's fine as long as nobody else knows."
"What would your boss say?"
"She'll let me off the hook. I'm the only worker she could hire."
"Why's that?"
"Terrible personality." She shrugged. "Tell me how the date went."
"We went to the amusement park." Natsu started.
"I know."
"Rollercoaster, teacup ride, Ferris Wheel."
"And?" Lucy leaned closer.
"Nothing else to say." He motioned zipping his lips.
"Boring. Come on, tell me the details." He shook his head. "Did you eat something?" He nodded.
"Did you share from the same food? Oh! Did you get something on your face and she cleaned it up? Or did she eat what she cleaned? Did you kiss? Is it your first kiss?!"
"Wha- No! What are you talking about! Where'd you get those ideas anyway? Shoujo manga?" Natsu spluttered.
"Maybe." He groaned. "Welcome to Les Fleurs. How can I help you?"
"Now you greet me?" Lucy gave a shrug. "Goldenrods."
"Encouragement?" She asked as she prepared the bouquet.
"My cousin just lost her foster family in an accident. I want her to know I'm there or her." Natsu answered.
"I see." Lucy tied the ribbon securely. "That's kind of you."
"We're family, it's the least I could do." Natsu took the bouquet from her gingerly.
"I hope she feels better soon." Lucy said quietly. "Losing family takes a while to heal from."
"Yeah." Natsu stared at the flowers in his hands. "It takes a while."
"Welcome to Les Fleurs. How can I-" Lucy gave a look of concern. "Are you okay?" She left her post and wiped a tear from his face. Natsu just sighed.
"We broke up." He said simply.
"What? But you guys sounded like the perfect couple." Lucy muttered.
"We just didn't feel that spark anymore, you know? Lisanna thought it was best if we broke up because of how that spark disappeared." Natsu explained in a weary voice.
"I don't get it. Even though I don't love her that way anymore, even though I know it's for the best. It hurts." he collapsed into her arms and sobbed. Lucy almost took a step back in surprise. She embraced him hesitantly.
"Hey, does your offer still stand?" Natsu murmured. "Even if it's not about flower language?"
"Of course." Lucy stroke his hair. "I'll always be willing to help you."
"Then please. Help me make this pain go away." She looked at him sadly.
"I'll try."
Every day he came, he was given a new flower. Every day he left, he kept them in a vase at home to preserve them.
"Do you know what a yellow rose means?" Lucy asked as she gave him said flower.
"It means friendship, right?" Natsu took it gratefully. Lucy hummed in approval.
"Right. Do you know what that means?"
"We're friends?" Natsu smiled. "You think of me as a friend?"
"I do." Lucy giggled. "I'd be glad if you considered me your friend as well."
"'Course I do. You've been helping me for a while now." Natsu shivered. "But still, it's been getting colder."
"Winter is coming after all." Lucy shifted to the side as she took out another ribbon. As she bent down, Natsu could see that there was a small pile of yellow roses, around twenty of them, tips brown with time.
"Hey, what's with that pile of wilted roses?"
"O-oh! Those? Those are flowers that have gone bad." Lucy stammered and quickly covered it from his view.
"But your flowers come fresh from the bushes." He pointed out.
"You got me there. Don't tell my boss, okay?" Lucy pleaded almost desperately.
"I won't. But I'm surprised. Why did they wilt so quickly?"
"I'm not sure," she sighed. "Maybe because winter is coming. A flower's life is fleeting after all."
"I guess. What are your favorite flowers?" Lucy smiled.
After making sure Natsu had left the shop and wasn't coming back, Lucy sighed and revealed a rose from under the counter.
"A yellow rose with red tips. Friendship, but can also mean falling in love." Lucy recited under her breath. She placed it in the pile. "Couldn't give it to him today either."
One day, she vowed.
"I like someone." Natsu said out of the blue.
"Really now?" Lucy replied. "Do tell, is she someone I am acquainted to?"
"What's with your speech pattern today? You know her well."
"Describe her."
"Well, she's beautiful. She's kind and helped me when I needed it the most. She's really smart and super fun to be around. I see her almost everyday, but I don't know her name."
"Don't know her name?"
"She never told me."
"What a mystery." Natsu laughed.
"Wouldn't you know."
"Oh, that's right." Lucy exclaimed as she recalled something. "the shops going to go through remodeling tomorrow. Probably won't be done until next week."
"So suddenly?"
"My boss didn't tell me until today." Lucy groaned. "What am I going to do with rent?"
"Find another job until then? Like, being a babysitter or something?" Lucy brightened at the idea.
"So you do come up with good ideas once in a while!"
"What do you mean, 'once in a while'?" Natsu huffed. "I'll have you know I can come up with the best ideas all the time." Lucy laughed.
"Whatever you say."
"And I say I'm right." Natsu insisted. Lucy rolled her eyes.
"Sure you are."
"You could've told me you took the job of looking after my cousin." Natsu sighed. "I needed that money."
Lucy smirked. "First come first serve. I received such a generous amount too. But you should have told me Wendy was your cousin. You guys are so different, I couldn't tell."
"Wendy is my cousin."
"Really?"
"That's similar to what you did when I asked for the goldenrods."
"Touché." Lucy admitted.
"She won't tell me what your name is, not even her parents!"
"A girl's going to have her secrets." Lucy winked and Natsu groaned.
"Anyway, the store is opening tomorrow, right?"
"Yep. What, you're going to buy flowers already?"
"Yeah." Natsu nodded. "I plan to confess tomorrow."
"I see." Lucy felt her heart break. Tomorrow, huh. "Natsu."
"What is it?" Lucy gave him the flower she had kept in her bag. "Flowers? This is-"
"A red carnation. It means admiration." Lucy explained. Natsu gave her a questioning look. "I admire your resolve. Confessing, especially after a heartbreak. It's tough."
"My heart aches." Natsu replied. Lucy gaped at him.
"What?"
"Another meaning for a red carnation is 'my heart aches'." Lucy sighed.
"That's right. It's because I. . . like you. But you already have someone else and-" Natsu kissed the petals of the flower. "What are you doing?"
"I'm returning this to you." Natsu reached out. "Admiration. I admire your strength to confess despite knowing I already like someone. Here's the twist. The one I like is you."
"Me?"
"Right. You're beautiful and kind. You helped me when I needed it most. You're really smart and fun to be around. I see you almost every single day and yet, I still don't know your name. It's a real mystery, because a girl's going to have her secrets. But I swore one day, I would figure it out, one way of another. She promised me too, that one day, I would know. So I'm waiting."
"Natsu, you. . ."
"Tomorrow, I'm going to confess to her." Lucy teared up.
"Yeah, I'll be waiting." She took the carnation happily.
The door opened with a jingle.
"Welcome to Les Fleurs. How can I help you?" Lucy looked up from the bouquet she was working on. It was for a wedding, but it could wait. The person who entered looked around curiously.
"This is new." He said after a thorough glance around the shop.
"We just finished remodeling, after all." Lucy replied. Natsu sighed.
"Still as small as ever though. Heliotrope."
"Quick, aren't you?" Lucy handed him the flowers with care. After a moment, he lifted them up.
"A flower's life is fleeting. A human's just as so. Before we depart from this world, I want to spend it with you. If you accept, I promise I'll show you how precious you are to me. If you decline, I'll still be the happiest man alive knowing I've confessed." Natsu exclaimed with practice. Lucy grinned.
"I accept." Before he could say anything, she continued. "My name is Lucy Heartfilia, and if you don't keep your promise, I won't make you the happiest man alive, so you better keep it!" Natsu smiled.
"Of course."
"What are your favorite flowers?"
"Heliotrope. Do you know what they stand for?" Natsu shook his head. "They mean 'eternal love'. Isn't that beautiful?"
"Not as beautiful as you," Natsu whispered.
"Oh, stop that." Lucy blushed. "One day, I want someone to confess using heliotrope. It's not a flower that's commonly requested."
"Who knows? Maybe there'll be someone, someday." Natsu replied.
Because that person might be me, and the person I'll confess to, is you.