Author's Note:

This is my first story! Sorry for any spelling errors or if the storyline feels at all rushed or too OOC. This is a Destiel flower shop AU. I got all my information about flower meanings from a website called "Language of Flowers" so I'm sorry if any of the meanings are wrong, but go check it out, it's got tons of flowers and plants on it!

Disclaimer: I do not own Supernatural or any of the characters.

Castiel Novak sighed. It had been a long day, and it still wasn't over. His mother's birthday was today and his brother Jimmy had threatened to kill him if he didn't show up to the party tonight. He sighed again. Jimmy could be so exhausting. I have absolutely no idea what to get her, Castiel thought gloomily. He had considered, for a brief moment, not getting her anything. But he knew he couldn't do that to his mother. She didn't deserve that.

He wandered aimlessly down the main street of the small town where he worked, peering into the display windows of the small boutiques. She doesn't really wear jewelry, and I would have no idea where to even begin shopping for clothing, he thought with a frown.

He was about to give up and head to the larger town a few minutes drive away, when a tiny flower shop tucked in between two much larger buildings caught his eye.

Perfect, he thought with a smile.

Dean Winchester had been working in the flower shop for about a year now. It wasn't his ideal job, but it paid for college. He also liked the small town it was located in, and rent was cheaper here than it was in a college town.

He glanced at the clock on the wall as he wiped down the counter.

Only five more minutes until I can close the shop for the day, he thought with a smile.

The bell above the door chimed and his smile wilted for a brief moment. He sighed, and plastered on his customer smile. "Hi, welcome to Vinny's Flower Shop! Can I help you find anything?" He called out.

A smooth voice replied, but Dean couldn't see who it belonged to. "Yes, do you have any pale pink roses?"

Dean moved around the counter, tapping his chin. "Hmmm, let me check the back."

"I would greatly appreciate that," the stranger's voice called back.

Dean wandered into the back room. He glanced around, and spotted several buckets filled with several shades of pink roses. Damn, I'll have to create a custom arrangement for this guy. Not that Dean really minded; he was good with flowers, it would just take some time, and he had really wanted to close up shop and get home.

He grabbed the bucket and hauled it out to the counter. A man was waiting there. Dean looked up and found himself staring into the bluest eyes he had ever seen. After what felt like a lifetime, he broke eye contact, only to find the man belonging to the eyes was quite good looking. He was tall and wore a nice suit with a blue tie that matched his eyes. He was also wearing... a tan trench coat? His dark hair was perfectly messy and he was sporting what looked to be a permanent 5 o'clock shadow.

Damn, that is one fine looking man. Dean swallowed and finally found his voice. "So, uh, this is what we had in the back. If you like any of these, I can make an arrangement for you."

The man looked at the flowers with a critical eye. "Yes, I believe some of these will work nicely, but only the lighter pink ones."

Dean tilted his head to one side. "Why only the light pink ones?"

The man looked up at him curiously. "Oh, well this is for a gift, and I want to convey admiration."

"Light pink roses will convey admiration?" Dean was confused.

The man nodded. "Yes. Light pink roses convey admiration, whereas the dark pink ones are to show appreciation."

"Huh," Dean replied, a thoughtful expression on his face. "I never knew that."

"You mean to tell me you work in a flower shop and you don't even know basic floriography?" The man asked with a good natured laugh.

Dean chuckled as well. "Hey man, I'm not an expert, I just work here to pay the bills, okay?"

"Fair enough," the man said with a smile. "So, you do know how to arrange flowers, right?" His smile was teasing.

Dean replied with mock indignation. "You wound me sir, of course I do."

"Then prove it." The man's challenge was mocking, and a wide smile stretched his lips.

"Alright, you're on, pick your flowers."

Once the flowers were picked, Dean started putting together the arrangement.

"So, Vinny's Flower Shop, huh? Am I to presume you're Vinny, then?" the man asked.

Dean shook his head. "Nah, I'm Dean. Vinny owns the shop, but I work on his days off and when he's on vacation."

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Dean, I'm Castiel."

Dean looked up at the man and tilted his head. "Not to be rude or anything, but what kind of name is that?"

The man, Castiel, threw his head back in a laugh. "Honestly I have no idea. My identical twin brother's name is James, I usually call him Jimmy, and my older brothers are Michael and Gabriel."

Dean joined in on his laughter. "It seems to me like you got the short end of the stick, Cas." The shortened version of the difficult name slipped out of his mouth without a thought. His eyes widened and Dean wished he could take it back. He looked back down at his work to hide his embarrassment.

But Castiel was smiling. "Yes, it does seem so, doesn't it? And my name can be quite the mouthful," he finished with a laugh.

Dean looked up to see Castiel was still smiling and didn't seem troubled about a man he had just met spontaneously giving him a nickname. He returned the smile tentatively.

"So what about you Dean, any siblings?" Castiel prompted.

Dean grinned. "Yeah, I got a younger brother, Sam. Love him to death, but he's a handful. Wants to be a lawyer," Dean replied proudly.

Castiel nodded. "That takes ambition. Where does he go to school?"

"Harvard Law," Dean's entire being was so full of love and pride as he talked about his baby brother.

"Very impressive, that's a hard school to get into."

They continued chatting about school and work and family while Dean arranged the flowers to Castiel's liking. When they were finished, Dean went to ring them up, but Cas stopped him with a small request.

"Add a single one of the dark pink ones as well, please."

Dean complied, and finished ringing up the flowers. He handed him the bouquet along with the single flower. Castiel looked at it for a moment, then handed Dean back the dark pink rose.

Dean looked confused for a moment, before Castiel clarified his intention.

"To show my appreciation for the beautiful bouquet."

That was when Dean remembered their earlier conversation about flower meanings. He grinned.

"Any time, Cas."