Yellow Freesia symbolize joy and friendship

It had been an incredibly slow day at Just Flowers and Seokjin was going crazy. Both Jungkook and Taehyung were at their respective schools so he was all by himself. After cleaning up the back area twice and washing all the windows, Seokjin found himself scrolling through his phone. Hoping that something would entertain him.

All two of his adult friends were at work, Jimin taking care of fifteen little children and Hoseok teaching idols a new routine. So when Seokjin’s phone let out a ding he was successfully startled. He raised a brow when he saw Hoseok’s name pop up asking him to meet up at some bakery for “Wedding Stuff”.

Biting his lip, Jin surveyed the empty store. He had only helped one woman get flowers for her mothers birthday. Other than that he had a few people look around and leave shortly after. Technically he should still be open for the next three hours according to his sign, but it wouldn’t hurt him to close early.

Who was buying flowers on a Monday afternoon?

After typing out a quick response that he was on his way, Seokjin began closing up the shop. He flipped the open sign and wrote out another text. This one explained that Taehyung would have to reopen when he got out of class in an hour and pick up Jungkook if he wasn’t back by then.

With a little extra pep in his step, Seokjin made his way down the street. He hadn’t ever taken a day off since he opened Just Flowers, other than Sunday when the shop was closed. At first the shop was just a distraction from the loss of his husband. Then it turned into his little way of making the world a more beautiful place. His shop was something he was very proud of and had worked very hard to get it as popular as it was.

Just Flowers, in addition to raising Jungkook almost single handedly, had kept Seokjin very busy. Which he was eternally thankful for. After Namjoon he could have easily fallen and never gotten back up. However, he had gotten so caught up in his responsibilities that he hadn’t really let himself have fun. He got married right after college and had a child right after that. Seokjin’s childhood wasn’t filled with the same days in the sun as most. It probably was when he was incredibly young, but those memories were fuzzy at best.

So the chance to play hooky and have fun with people his age was making Seokjin buzz with excitement. After seeing that the bakery wasn’t all that far from his shop he had opted to walk. He spent so much time indoors, much to Jungkook’s chagrin, because he felt it safer and easier to keep an eye on the child.

Jin closed his eyes for just a second longer than a normal blink as he enjoyed the spring sun on his face. The weather was perfect. When summer came it would become unbearable and his little family would almost sweat to death in their shop/home. Over summers Taehyung would stay with Seokjin rather than return to his home in Busan. He said that Seoul was “Where it was at” which Seokjin knew not to ask what Taehyung even meant by that. He was just glad that his only employee wouldn’t disappear for three months.

As the bakery wasn’t all that far, Seokjin found himself staring into the glass door within the hour. He could see Jimin and Hoseok sitting very closely, the teacher practically on his fiance's lap. A worker was furiously writing something down on a pad and paper as Hoseok spoke quickly. Across from the couple was an at first unfamiliar figure.

It took Jin a second to recognize Yoongi. He wore a baggy flannel and his mop of black hair was covered by a beanie, which is what made it so difficult to figure out who it was at first. Seokjin looked down in horror as he realized he was still wearing his apron and was covered in dirt. He was so excited to get out of the house that he hadn’t even cleaned up.

Before Seokjin could turn back and flee, Jimin noticed him. Even through the door Seokjin could hear Jimin begin shouting to him. He felt his blood rush to his cheeks when Yoongi turned to look at him. The shorter man looked him up and down, then raised a brow. Cringing a little, Seokjin opened the door and was firstly welcomed by air conditioning, then the alluring smell of many different cakes.

“Seokjin-hyung! You’ve finally made it!” Jimin had kicked Hoseok as he clambered out of his chair.

“Sorry I took so long. I decided to walk rather than pollute.” Seokjin felt the air get forced out of his lungs when Jimin wrapped him up in a tight hug.

“Oh, I wasn’t complaining. I’m just so happy that you could make it. We invited you last minute and all. I thought you were gonna be busy.” Jimin trailed off with a pout. After years of knowing him, Seokjin knew Jimin was just putting on a show.

“I can take a day or two off for my best friend's wedding.”

“Awwww Hyung, you are such a charmer.” Jimin lets out a trill of laughter and they make their way to the table. Both Yoongi and Hoseok had been watching the interaction, but they both held very different looks. Hoseok was watching with fondness playing all over his face. He was smiling with all of his teeth on display. He cheeks pulled up, causing his eyes to crinkle.

Yoongi on the other hand had an almost perfectly neutral face, he almost looked bored. The only thing that signified he was conscious were his eyes. They stared at Seokjin with mild interest. Taking in every little movement from the greeting and analyzing it. It was almost like Jimin wasn’t walking right next to him with how intensely Yoongi was staring at Seokjin.

“Nice to see you again, Yoongi-shi.” Seokjin smiled, fighting the urge to shrink in on himself. He felt like a lamb before a mighty wolf under Yoongi’s gaze.

“Was the shop busy?”

“N-Not really. Why?” Seokjin was a little taken back with the lack of greeting on Yoongi’s part.

“Your apron is covered in dirt and petals.” There was that blush again. This time Seokjin felt it spread to his neck. He tried to offer an explanation, but the words got caught up in his throat.

“Hey! Yoongi be nice! I’m so sorry, Seokjin-hyung. Sometimes Yoongi forgets how to talk to people after locking himself away for so long.” Hoseok scolded. It was almost comical to see how quickly Yoongi retreated back in on himself. He offered a small, sheepish smile to Seokjin as an apology and then turned to stare at the table.

After clearing his throat Jin finally offered his response to Yoongi’s question, “It’s actually been super slow today so I’ve just been cleaning a whole bunch. That’s why I’m such a mess. I’ve just been cleaning everything over and over.”

“You aren’t a mess, hyung. You are still as handsome as ever.” Jimin added a cheeky wink and Jin blew a kiss back in response. Hoseok lets out a squawk of indifference and hugs Jimin tight to him. The two begin to play fight and Jin feels left out. Until he hears a soft voice speak up next to him.

“You really do still look nice.”

“That’s very sweet to say, Yoongi-shi, but you don’t have to just agree. I know I’m a mess.” Seokjin lets out a small laugh to try and hide how his voice almost broke.

“But-”

“Ooooo~ Cake!” Seokjin is thankful for Jimin’s cries of excitement.

The table is covered in all different types of treats. Seokjin can feel himself beginning to salvate as he takes in the buffet before him. He doesn’t even want to know how much Jimin and Hoseok are paying for this appointment, but it must be a small fortune.

“Be honest with your opinions. I don’t want a cake only I enjoy at my wedding.”

“But it’s supposed to be your day, Jimin.” Yoongi says, his fork already reaching for a devil’s food cake.

Incidentally, Jin was reaching for the same cake. Both of the men were so focused on Jimin talking that their hands bumped while going for the same cake. Seokjin let out a squeal of surprise and dropped his fork. He pulled his hand back to his chest as if he had been burned. On the other hand, Yoongi’s every muscle locked up and he froze with his fork half way into the slice of cake. The engaged couple mimicked each other’s looks by cocking an eyebrow at the two.

Seokjin let out a breathy laugh when as he rubbed his hand. Even though he hadn’t actually been burned, his hand felt a lot warmer than the rest of him. Well other than his face, as his face was heating up in embarrassment again. He wanted to smack a hand over his face, because Yoongi surely thought that he was just naturally red like a tomato.

“Sorry. You scared me.” Seokjin apologized as he quickly snatched up his fork.

Without even waiting for a response he began to dig into the closest cake to him. His nose scrunched up when he realized what he was consuming.

“Wow. I thought you hated cheesecake, hyung.” Hoseok was trying to hold back his laughter at the sour expression that twisted Jin’s lips.

“Just checking if I still did.” Seokjin spoke around a mouthful of cake.

Out of the corner of his eye, Seokjin saw that Yoongi had began to move again. Slowly he continued to push his fork into the devil’s food cake and brought a piece to his mouth. Once the quiet man got passed the first bite he was moving at a much more normal pace. Methodically trying each of the different flavors with reasonable bites.

Well if Yoongi could be so blase about the situation then obviously Seokjin was overreacting. Who was Yoongi anyways? Why did he make Seokjin so flustered? Seokjin decided that it didn’t matter how embarrassed he felt. He wasn’t going to act reserved on his first time getting out of the house in years.

~&~

Yoongi watched as Seokjin practically inhaled all the slices of cake. It was an impressive feat to say the least. They had yet to make eye contact again, even though Yoongi was staring quiet intently. A small part of him was thankful, because who knew what dumb thing he would say to the handsome man next. However, a much larger part of him so desperately wanted to meet his gaze again.  

The natural blush that seemed to permanently be dusted on Seokjin’s cheeks were far to endearing. Yoongi had been so blown away when Seokjin had first entered that his brain had short circuited. Then he put his foot in mouth, not just once, but twice. However, he was hoping that the complement would have gone over better. Yoongi was trying to nice, which didn’t come as naturally to him as it did others.

It’s not Yoongi’s fault that Seokjin was like a walking Adonis. His rose pink lips were puckered as he munched away, and they looked so much fuller than usual. It made Yoongi wonder how they would feel pressed to his own thin ones. His big eyes darted around the table searching for his next victim. Even though Seokjin was the oldest one at the table, he was acting like the youngest.

“Sooooo, which one was everyone thinking?” Hoseok asked, he was looking between Yoongi and Seokjin with a knowing smile. Was Yoongi being obvious with his gawking? Probably. Plus it Hoseok had known Yoongi for years, it was so easy for him to see when Yoongi was smitten.

“The Devil’s Food Cake.” Seokjin and Yoongi had said at the same time.

Yoongi felt like cheering when Seokjin turned to him in surprise. Personally, the shorter man didn’t really care which cake they went with. He wasn’t big on sweets and would have to suffer through whatever the choice was. However, he had noticed that Seokjin had inhaled that cake more than the others, plus it was the one that he had gone to first.

Since he was able to guess correctly, Yoongi was rewarded with Seokjin’s undivided attention. In response to Seokjin’s surprised face, Yoongi sent a gummy smile back at him. This caused Seokjin’s blush to deepen and his large eyes began to blink rapidly. In his mind he was doing a victory dance until Jimin spoke up.

“You guys are so cute!” the youngest smushed his palms on his cheeks, squishing them together.

“W-What?” Jin looked scared, and Yoongi felt his own mood drop. Was it so terrible to be seen as cute together?

“Well it’s just cute that you guys picked the same thing without even talking about it. Being the best men and all.” Hoseok offered an explanation, silencing whatever Jimin was about to say.

“Whatever.” Yoongi didn’t even try to hide his pouting. His mood soured like milk in the sun with Seokjin’s reaction.

“Well how about we put in the order for the cake and then head to the tux store.” Hoseok spoke up again. Both he and Jimin went up to the counter, leaving Yoongi and Seokjin to stand awkwardly next to the table of most eaten cakes. The only sounds were the small scuffs of their shoes on the floor as they adjusted their stances.

“So-”

Whatever awkward thing Yoongi was about to say was cut off by Jin’s phone ringing. Both were thankful for the distraction.

“Tae? What’s going on?”

Yoongi perked up at the mention of the man who had threatened him. The overprotective puppy seemed to always get in the way. Even if he really wasn’t disturbing anything right now. Other than some intense awkward silence.

“You can’t get out of it?”

Seokjin didn’t sound angry nor sad. More like he was expecting all this. Was this planned to get out of being away from home for so long?

“I never get to- I know, Tae, but- Yeah, fine. I get it. You better get an A on that test.”

There was the irritation Yoongi had been expecting. However, was he acting? He didn’t know the flower shop owner well enough to know whether he was being genuine or not.

“Yeah, yeah, yeah. Oh I expect you to. Mhm. Okay. Love you. Yes I do! Oh shut up, if you have so much time to talk on the phone then you can pick Jungkook up… Yeah that's what I thought. Okay. Bye.” Jin closed the call with a laugh and then turned to Yoongi, “Could you let Jiminie know that Tae had a school thing so I have to get Jungkook.”

“Uhh, yeah.” Yoongi started to make his way over to Jimin while Jin gathered his things, but then spun on his heel, “Actually, do you maybe want company?”

“Huh?” Seokjin tilted his head.

“I don’t really wanna third wheel with them so I was- uhh I was thinking that maybe I could like walk with you to get your kid and stuff.” Yoongi felt his pale face flush. He scratched at the back of his head out of nervousness.

“Why don’t you just go home?” Seokjin narrowed his gaze, calculating the next response from Yoongi.

“I don’t want to go home just yet. P-Plus we are both best men. I feel like we should know each other better.”

“Is that so?”

“Yeah.”

“Okay, but you still have to break it to Jimin that we are ditching him.” Jin snatched up his phone from the table and began to make his way to the door, “Hurry up. I don’t want my son to wait on me forever.”

Like a dog with a bone, Yoongi rushed up to the register. “Gotta get Jungkook. Can’t go clothes shopping.” Was all Yoongi offered as an explanation and then he raced after the handsome man.

“What about Jungkook? Where are you going? Where is Jin!? How can our best men abandon us, Hoseokie!” Jimin’s shouts followed Yoongi, as did Hoseok’s laughter.

Seokjin is already almost to the end of the first block when Yoongi gets outside. Instantly Yoongi is regretting how much clothes he decided to put on. While the warm temperature must have felt nice for Seokjin, the shorter man was already starting to sweat. The add running to that and it was a recipe for disaster. The thought to remove his beanie crossed his mind, but Yoongi didn’t want Jin to judge his unwashed hair.

“I didn’t think you would actually come.” Seokjin spoke up when they stopped at a crosswalk.

“Why is that?” Yoongi huffed back.

“Just didn’t think you would.” was Seokjin’s enigmatic response

After a short bout of silence, Seokjin spoke up again, “So you know that I own a flower shop and have a son named Jungkook, but I don’t know much about you.”

“Well I’m a producer and I raise a yellow freesia named Holly.”

“A yellow freesia? You grow flowers?”

“Just the one.”

“You didn’t get it from me.” Seokjin says in mock anger and turns his nose up at Yoongi. The smaller man lets out a snort which causes Jin to start laughing as well.

“Where did you get it?” Seokjin asked, playing up the fake anger.

“Jimin got it for me.”

“You liar!” Seokjin stopped dead in his tracks and pointed an accusatory finger Yoongi’s way.

Raising his hands Yoongi responded with a pathetic, “No I’m not.”

“Yes you are! Jiminie would never go anywhere, but my shop!”

“Okay you caught me. I just know you like flowers and thought that would be an easy icebreaker.” In all honesty, Yoongi didn’t own any flowers. He had actually just been researching all different types so he would have something to talk about with Seokjin. It had been his idea to invite Seokjin to the cake tasting. He had thought that Jimin’s best man would of course be there so when he showed up the bakery and there was no Jin he felt cheated. He had spent the whole night before psyching himself up to see the angelic man.

“I don’t like flowers.”

“What?”

“I mean I do, but like they aren’t the only thing I’m passionate about. They aren’t even in the top three.”

“What’s number one?”

“My son, duh.”

“Duh. Number two?”

“Food.”

“I can see that.” Yoongi let out another laugh, flashing a gummy smile.

By now they were walking past Just Flowers. Seokjin stopped again and looked in through the front door. He had a small smile on his face. His melancholic expression stopped Yoongi dead in his tracks as well.

“I was supposed to open a restaurant, you know?”

“What happened to that?” Yoongi asked hesitantly. He felt like he was opening pandora’s box with this question.

“It was a dream for a different life.” Seokjin began his long strides again, a fake smile masking his sorrow, “I still love food, but I’m happy with flowers.”

“Flowers are nice. Very pretty.”

‘You are pretty’ is what Yoongi really wanted to say.

“Yeah they are.” After a quick sigh, Seokjin speaks up again, “So what do you produce? Movies? Tv?”

“Music.”

“Pardon?” The fake smile was clean washed off Seokjin’s face. He wasn’t outright frowning, but his lips twitched as if he wanted to be. His eyes were trained ahead, but it was almost as if they were seeing something different than the boring street. If Yoongi had to guess, Seokjin was lost in a memory.

“Yeah. I even rap a little. I have like a mixtape out.” When Seokjin continued to stay silent Yoongi continued to speak, “Not to brag, but it was pretty well received. I even did a small tour a few years ago.”

“Oh really?”

Seokjin didn’t seem like he was really listening, but Yoongi just continued the conversation., “Yeah, I was covering for some other guy. He had an accident so he couldn’t finish up his tour dates, but his company was the sister company of mine so they sent me out. Thought it would be good exposure.”

“Wait. When was the tour exactly?” Seokjin looked at him with surprising intensity.

“Gosh it’s been a minute since I’ve had to even think about it. If it’s spring now… Three years and some change.” Seokjin looked like he wanted to throw up and Yoongi started to panic, “D-Did I say something to upset you?”

After taking a deep breath and composing himself, Seokjin said“I think I can go the rest of the way by myself, Yoongi-shi.”

“A-aren’t we here?” Yoongi pointed up to the large school sign.

“Papa!”

The familiar voice of Jungkook shouted from not far behind Seokjin. By tilting his head Yoongi saw Jungkook full on sprinting towards his father, while his poor teacher tried to call out to him. Seokjin was barely able to turn around and catch his son in time. With the boy now in his arms he turned his full attention to Jungkook.

“How was your day, kiddo?”

“Squish! What are you doing here?” Jungkook began to make grabby hands at Yoongi, who was still staring at Seokjin. He looked like he was about to break down in to tears.

“Yoongi-shi was keeping Papa company while he walked to get you, but now you are here so we can go home.” Seokjin refused to meet Yoongi’s gaze again, just like at the bakery. Why was Yoongi so good at putting his foot in mouth? He didn’t even know what he said to set off the older man this time.

“Who will keep Squish company?”

“Uhhh-” Seokjin finally turned to look at Yoongi and his eyes pleaded with the pale man. Asking him for an out. And who was Yoongi to try and force himself on Seokjin when he clearly wanted to be alone.

“I have to go the opposite direction, bud.”

“Exactly. So say goodbye to Yoongi-shi.”

“Bye-Bye, Squish-shi.” Jungkook sent spit flying at Yoongi when he said the nickname. Normally Yoongi would be repulsed, but Jungkook being the spawn of Jin made it far more tolerable.

Seokjin offered him a small smile in thanks, “See you at the wedding, Yoongi-shi.”

“But there are a bunch more events Jimin has planned before-”

“I’m really busy between Jungkookie and the shop. I was lucky to make it today.”

“Oh okay.”

“Goodbye.” He turned and began to carry his child towards home, murmuring something that Yoongi couldn’t even hope to hear. Jungkook didn’t stop waving until they were out of sight.

Yoongi stood frozen in front of the school for far longer than comfortable for the teachers. After the third stink eye, Yoongi began to move forwards. He could feel his phone vibrating with texts most likely from Jimin or Hoseok, possibly both.

Keeping to his word he headed in the opposite direction. The sad smile and finality in Seokjin’s words left a sinking feeling in Yoongi’s stomach. It was almost like everything was over way before it even began.  

So sorry that it took so long to update. I had a family emergency, everything is fine now tho. It just knocked me out of my normal schedule and getting back into the swing of things was difficult.