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More than fashion and making clothes, Mine loved flowers. If fate had been tweaked just a little differently, she probably would have worked at a florist, happily creating beautiful bouquets for weddings and celebrations and gifts. As it was, in the small apartment above the clothing shop, she made sure to have fresh flowers positioned in the kitchen window every day. That small vase of flowers was a comfort to see, sunny day or not.
But today - the apartment was flooded with the overwhelming scent of flowers.
When Mine awoke, blinking to clear her eyes, she had to stop in the doorway of her bedroom. The prospect of making a nice cup of tea fled from her head. All the living space around her was filled to the brink with flowers of all shapes, sizes, and colors. There were countless bouquets, vases, even centerpieces shaped like hearts.
And in the midst of it all sat Ayame Sohma, who beamed at her as she stood in her nightgown, her mouth agape.
Thank goodness it was a cute nightgown she was wearing. Otherwise, she would have just been mortified.
“Boss,” she said, still adjusting her eyes to the sight before her, “I don’t understand-”
“Now, now, Mine-san, you must realize what today is,” Ayame said, standing from the settee and clapping his hands together as if he were commencing a grand celebration. She noticed he had his silver hair braided over his shoulder, and she couldn’t help wondering what his hair might look like with flowers tucked into the strands. Ayame could easily look like a regal monarch from a storybook, with the right adornments.
“Today?” She scrambled to remember some important event, perhaps a wedding party that had special-ordered clothing designs and flower arrangements, but her mind drew a blank.
“Mine-san,” Ayame said, “please don’t tell me you’ve forgotten.”
Mine was still coming up with a blank, no matter how she raced through possibilities in her mind. “I’m sorry, Boss,” she said, “but it must have slipped my mind, whatever it is.”
This time, Ayame stepped forward, grasping her hands in his. “How could you have forgotten?” he asked, and he looked so much like a child who needed comforting. “Mine-san, you’ve been working at the shop for three months already. It’s your special anniversary!”
Anniversary. Since when did someone celebrate such a small milestone? Mine certainly didn’t think it was worth the attention - and so many flowers? Where would they all go? She couldn’t even make her way to the kitchen cabinets to prepare her morning tea.
Then again, Ayame Sohma wasn’t an ordinary someone. She was learning just how extravagant he could be. Though she found his personality endearing, she knew that others might think he was...a bit much.
When Mine didn’t respond straightaway, Ayame frowned - which, on any other person’s face, would have been closer to a pout. “You don’t like them?”
Mine stared into those gray eyes, so filled with the beginnings of hurt. “No! I - I love them. Really, I do.” She squeezed his hands encouragingly, even though a part of her felt a little strange trying to console her boss. “But why would you do this?” Why would you do this for me?
Ayame cocked his head, as if she had asked a strange question. “Because you deserve the very best, Mine-san. What other reason would there be?”
Mine felt her heart trip a little in her chest. She was reminded of the day she had first found Ayame’s shop; it had been a rainy day, and she had ducked under the shop’s awning to wait out the summer storm. But then she had glanced at the display window behind her - and she had fallen in love with the peach-colored dress on its mannequin. Then her eyes had flitted to the “Help Wanted” sign on the door. She hadn’t even thought twice before she had gone inside to retrieve an application.
Ayame, strange man that he could be, had hired her on the spot.
Three months ago, already, and it had all felt like a blink of time.
Mine felt a swell of emotion push up to her throat. She ducked her head, trying to hide the blush she felt heating her face. “I - Boss, I mean - well, thank you. So much.”
Ayame’s hands let go of hers, only for him to place a finger under her chin to tilt her head until she was looking up at him. “You make all the other girls who come to the shop feel like princesses,” he said, “so why shouldn’t you have someone to treat you like one too?”
Instead of answering the question outright, she laughed. “Oh, Boss, really, where do you come up with this stuff?”
But Ayame was looking at her quite seriously - especially for him, with how outright outrageous he could be at times. “I misspoke,” he said. “You should be a queen.”
Mine thought she might just laugh in response again, but something stopped her. Perhaps it was the serious gaze, so rare, upon Ayame’s face - or maybe she was just besotted in spite of herself. She saw the way the customers looked at Ayame - he was beautiful, unequivocally, no matter if a man or a woman was doing the looking - but she had never thought he could be anyone’s. Who could possess a man like Ayame? That would be like trying to bottle up a whirlwind.
“Mine-san,” he said, and she realized she had been leaning in, close enough to feel his warmth. But she didn’t dare touch him. Ayame often shied away from touch, she had noticed, unless he was the one to make the first move. But he had never seemed to have trouble in her proximity. Their hands sometimes brushed as they were cutting fabric for new designs. She had thought it was just coincidence, but…
It was a mystery to her later who exactly had moved first. One moment she was staring up at Ayame, and the next moment their mouths had met as if there had been no other recourse. His kiss wasn’t a flurry of movement, far from it, and it was such a removal from how she would have imagined Ayame Sohma would kiss. This man kissing her may as well have been a stranger, because Ayame didn’t kiss the way he talked; he drank her in, so slowly, that her head spun with the wonder of it.
Then his lips brushed against her cheek, each touch measured, almost as if he were afraid he might break her - or spook her, like she was an animal to be approached cautiously. If she had been more practiced, she might have taken that moment to embrace him, but something held her back. All she could feel was Ayame’s soft kisses down her neck. She had never felt so cherished in her life.
But then she remembered herself. This was her boss of all people. Not a random guy she met at a mixer. After this kiss, they would work together every day - and then what would happen? What would happen after?
She gently steadied her hands on his shoulders, and that must have been a sign to Ayame. He leaned away, looking her in the eyes, and she knew her face was aflame with a blush. “Boss, I - um-”
Mine didn’t know quite what to say after that.
Ayame looked regretful. A soft sigh trembled out of his lips. “I’ve ruined things, haven’t I?”
She shook her head quickly. “No, I just - isn’t it time to open the shop?”
Ayame’s frown returned, as if he hadn’t heard her right. “The shop?”
Mine couldn’t help laughing. “The shop opens at 8 AM, and we’re - we’re late.”
He just stared at her. “Mine-san, are you trying to distract me?”
“No! I just think we have a lot to discuss, but that has to wait because - because of the shop, you know-”
Ayame’s eyebrows rose. “So then we will discuss this later? You’re not going to run away or quit on me?”
“Now why would I do that?” she asked. “This is the best job I’ve ever had.”
A faint smile came to Ayame’s face. “Does that mean I’m the best boss you’ve had too?”
She pretended to think about it for a few moments. “We’ll see,” she said at last. “It depends on how you treat me from here on out.” As a boss and...other things.
Ayame shook his head. “I think I’ve met my match,” he said in a soft voice.
Mine pretended she hadn’t heard as she began gathering up vases to take downstairs to decorate the shop. She would allow Ayame his ego - for the time being - and they had a long day ahead of them. The conversation regarding their kiss - well, that would be dealt with in time too.