Sehun sees him everyday through the window's thick glass. He watches him as his stained fingertips arrange colorful and exotic flowers in a wooden vase, occasionally tearing apart dry and damaged petals. He watches him as he tries to reach that one box of decorations because the perfect ribbon for his last creation happens to be in there, fingers barely brushing the shelf and sighs of defeat escaping from his lips. He watches him as he talks with his colleagues and customers, quickly writing down details about their order with his bangs covering his eyes. He watches him as he laughs loudly at what must have been a corny joke, and when Sehun is about to take out his cellphone to take a picture, Kyungsoo yells at him to get his bony up and start working on their last wedding cake, because the icing doesn't really make itself and it's already noon. Sehun peels his eyes off the florist's oh so sweet traits and grabs a piece of white fondant from the block. He starts molding small roses, since Jongdae had patted his shoulder and told him that he'd take care of the icing. It's better that way.

The truth is that Sehun is extremely good with his hands but not so much with machines. He can create masterpieces with just a few things in a short amount of time, and customers always fall in love with whatever his skilled hands give birth to. He adores decorating wedding cakes, sprinkling silver glitter that looks like stardust on top of them, making little tufts of silky whipped cream with a pastry bag on the edges, writing letters with a smooth movement of his hand and finishing everything by adding a touch of color here and there. He's also good at making pretty much everything else, from peppermint cookies to the crunchiest almond brittle in the whole world, from the classic Saint-Honoré cake to spicy chocolate truffles, from fruity tarts to pastel-colored meringue. The last time he used the electric whisk, though, custard reached the ceiling and then fell on top of Kyungsoo's pure white chef's hat. Later, when he went home, Sehun found some custard underneath his t-shirt too. The morning after he had to whisk egg whites but Jongdae pointed at a piece of paper saying 'no electric whisk for Oh Sehun', so he suffered from hand cramps all day because the old whisk was so hard to use. Sehun still tries to forget the awful moment when he seriously thought about cutting his own hand off to make the pain go away.

Sehun dips the tiny tip of his brush into a cup of water to attach the petals to the stem and his eyes wander quickly towards the window. Flower boy is there as always, with dirt smudged on his left cheek and a flower wreath in his hands. Sehun looks at him and the boy casually lifts his head, eyes meeting Sehun's gaze and lips slightly opening in awe. Time seems to stop for a second because he's been caught and then the other smiles, waving lightly like it wasn't a big deal. After spending half an hour just staring at nothing, Sehun waves back and waves at his own reflection since his flower boy has already disappeared somewhere behind enormous plants and hordes of sunflowers.

Several ages later, after Jongdae had stopped rolling on the ground laughing covered in flour and after Sehun had made approximately hundreds of smooth white roses, the cake is finally finished. Kyungsoo had also written a note to himself: pay them half their salary and buy a pair of thick curtains.

Luhan sees him everyday through the window's thick glass as well. He watches him as he ties a white apron around his thin waist, checking the orders on the notice board with sleepy eyes and messy hair. He watches him as he hums happily surrounded by towers of sponge-cake, cutting them into shape. He watches his pale hands kneading the dough, pressing and twisting and rolling until it's soft and completely round. He watches him and sighs deeply, lowering his head and trying to focus on his work. He still needs to prepare three bouquets for three different weddings and he's not even sure Baekhyun has finished cutting the leaves that he needs. Luhan reads the orders for the tenth time in the past two minutes and runs a hand through his hair. Jongin gently taps his shoulder and hands him a cup of steaming espresso, glancing at that same window for a few seconds before quickly walking away with a shy smile. Luhan furrows his eyebrows and follows Jongin's gaze, seeing a short guy wearing a chef's hat as tall as a skyscraper; his dark circles make a strong contrast against his pale skin and to be honest he doesn't seem in a good mood. He's stirring something in a pot and Luhan can't help but imagine him as a wizard. He's about to tell Baekhyun to hurry up with those leaves when he hears the doorbell ringing loudly in the shop.

Customers aren't always easy to satisfy. Luhan knows it better that anybody else in this world; he writes down another custom order and bows politely at the couple, wishing them a good day. When he comes back into the laboratory, a sweet smell of freshly baked croissants lingers in the air and he has to wipe some drool away from his chin. His coffee has gotten cold, Baekhyun is nowhere to be seen and Luhan is so hungry that he could swallow a whole bonsai. He quickly grabs his wallet and takes out a couple of bills, thinking about buying something at the pastry shop where the wizard works. Automatically his eyes travel towards the glass and he sees him, with flour on his nose, washing the table with a sponge. Embarrassed, he asks Jongin to go buy him a sandwich at the mini market instead.

Luhan gets back to work and chooses some flowers for the bouquets, occasionally stealing glances towards his little crush. When he gets caught -and it's not even the first time-, though, he raises a hand and waves, feeling his smile widen when the other waves back from the pastry shop window. The cute boy usually just stares back before Luhan runs away from the window super embarrassed, so getting a little wave in return is good. It's not much, but it's enough for today.

- 

Sehun realizes he's in deep when he checks the calendar and it's already february 10th. He blinks and pinches himself and when february doesn't transform itself into june magically, horror starts to turn his bones into liquid. He can barely contain his anxiety when on the evening of the 13th Kyungsoo doesn't feel well and Jongdae has to take him to the hospital, leaving Sehun all alone before the big day.

It's eight o'clock and the pastry shop is closed to the public but the light in the laboratory is still on. Sehun puts on some music on the stereo, hoping it relaxes him a bit; he arranges tons of trays everywhere and puts massive chocolate blocks on the stove to melt. As he minces the spices to put into the chocolate, the light in the flower shop switches on and Sehun wonders why they're still open at that hour. He sees his flower boy carrying red roses and golden ribbons, glitter wapping paper and delicate white flowers; he starts wrapping single roses and Sehun understands that Valentine's Day will be hard for him too, but somehow his company makes everything less dramatic. Flower boy opens the window and Sehun does the same. They wave at each other but nothing more that that; work is work and feelings can wait.

The clock hits eleven o'clock and sleep starts to kick in, but the cookies are still in the oven and the bouquets aren't finished yet. Sehun rubs his eyes and wanders around to find the coffee maker Kyungsoo bought recently to fight sleepiness in the morning and tiredness in the evenings. He finds it in a cabinet and in five minutes a mug of hot coffee is already on the marble table next to a pie. He glances over the window and flower boy is this far from collapsing somewhere, so he sticks his head out the window to catch his attention.

"I made coffee, you want some?"

And that's pretty much everything it takes to make Luhan knock on the shop's door, thanking Sehun until they are both sitting on stools, drinking coffee silently. 

Sehun finds out that Luhan is obsessed with coffee right after he gulps down the fifth cup. His fingertips are stained with red and there's still some dirt on his cheeks, but Sehun thinks he has never seen a creature more beautiful than the one in front of him. 

"Do you need a band-aid for those?"

Luhan shakes his head and stands up.

"It's ok, I'm used to thorns. Thank you for the coffee by the way." 

Sehun shakes his head and mentally thanks his boss for that coffee maker. Luhan sticks a hand into the pocket of his green apron and takes out a bunch of pretty violet petals, placing them somewhere on the marble table. He says he really doesn't need them anymore and hopes Sehun will find them useful somehow, and Sehun nods with a smile, already thinking about baking some blueberry and violet muffins for tomorrow.

The night goes on smoothly. Everything is ready for Valentine's Day: cookies and chocolates are sealed in heart-shaped boxes, cakes are in the fridge and each rose is wrapped nicely with a golden bow. If Sehun thinks about giving chocolates to Luhan, well, he doesn't. He shakes his head and switches the light off. If Luhan wonders about giving a rose to Sehun, well, he doesn't either and closes the flower shop with 'there's always next year' stuck in his mind.

-

Valentine's Day is a total mess and people don't stop coming and Jongin can't tear away his eyes from the window. When it's dark outside and there's no one left on the streets, Jongin mumbles something about going somewhere to confess something to someone and grabs a red rose from the counter. Baekhyun watches everything quietly and when his friend comes back, they both stare at the window to see Kyungsoo literally destroying the flower so its petals can become the decoration of a wedding cake. 

"He's feeding your love to his clients!" Baekhyun screams, shaking him by the shoulders. Jongin just sighs and little hearts appear in his eyes. Baekhyun stops molesting him when a gentle 'he's so cute' escapes from the younger boy's lips. 

"Luhan, I think we lost Jongin."

Luhan is about to say something when Bakehyun interrupts him right away.

"Wait, did you know that they started making muffins using our violets?"

And maybe, when Luhan goes home with a smile as bright as the sun and flaming cheeks, Baekhyun realizes that Jongin isn't the only one that is in love with someone.

-

Half of the world's population likes to get married in spring. The weather is not too hot nor too cold, the most beautiful flowers start to blossom, days get longer and everything seems prettier somehow. 

Weddings equal wedding cakes, and wedding cakes equal extra-work for Sehun. He's spreading some Chantilly cream on a layer of sponge-cake when Kyungsoo places a rigid piece of paper next to his spatula. 

"Mr. Park's wedding is this Sunday, and since you made his wedding cake I think it's right for you to go instead of me."

Sehun cleans his fingers on his white apron and quickly reads the address and the time on the silky blue card. Kyungsoo pats his shoulder and something doesn't really seem alright, but Sehun accepts anyway. He put a lot of effort in that cake and for that occasion he got to use the airbrush for the first time, creating elegant shades of indigo. He still remembers Park Chanyeol's face when he first saw that cake; his eyes literally sparkled and he seemed genuinely happy about the result. Maybe going to the wedding could be fun. Plus, you know, free food. Free food always adds bonus points. 

"Why can't you