Archive of Our Own ^beta

"This is.." Ochako furrowed her brows, looking at the order list.
"A big order."

"I know! That's why I asked for help.. I don't think we even have this many roses in the store," Izuku sighed, frowning.

It was an unordinary day at Blossoming Buds, the small town of Pineford's only flower shop, which was owned by Izuku's mother, Inko Midoriya.

There weren't many instances where they got big orders— Valentine's day was probably their busiest day by far, and they got medium sized orders here and there.

But this? Unheard of.

"Do you think it's someone trying to scam us?" Ochako said, her eyes skimming down the list again, as if she couldn't believe what she was seeing.

Ochako Uraraka was Izuku's childhood best friend. Her parents owned a construction company, however she didn't necessarily want to go into construction herself, so Izuku convinced his mother to hire her for their shop— even if it was difficult, seeing as they didn't necessarily have the need for three full-time employees, at the scale that their shop was currently.

"I really don't know. I can ask my mom. The order says that they aren't going to be coming to pick it up until later," Izuku sighed, leaning his elbows on the glass counter top.

"But.. if they aren't scamming us," she raised an eyebrow, a small smirk making its way into her face.
"Imagine all the money this would bring in!"

"Who would spend that much on flowers, though."

"They must be super rich!"

"I hope it's not some hopeless romantic, spending nearly a thousand dollars on some woman way out of his league." Izuku shook his head, pouting.

"I hope it's not the kind of person that sees one browning petal and demands a full refund," she sat back down onto her stool behind the counter, next to Izuku.
"Wait- no! I hope it's some hot guy, and when he comes to pick the order up, he's like, I don't think this is right, mister, why are you giving these to me? I bought them for you! and then he totally asks you out on a date."

"Wha-" Izuku blushed.
"Why would you hope that!?"

"Because you desperately need a date. You're twenty-three years old, and you've never even kissed anyone." She gave him a blank stare.

"There's no harm in that! Maybe I just wanna.. wait, until I find the perfect person."

"Okay.. suit yourself," she shrugged, looking unimpressed.

Izuku huffed, looking away.

"How's it going in here?" Inko asked with a smile, walking through the doorway to the back room.

"Good-"
"-Suspicious." Ochako and Izuku spoke at the same time.

Inko raised an eyebrow.
"What's suspicious?"

"We got a big— like, really big order." Ochako handed Inko the form, which made Inko furrow her eyebrows.

"Oh— yes, I already saw this. I called the number on the form, and I had them confirm everything. It's legitimate. The customer is a really nice guy, too!" Inko smiled, placing the order form back down on the counter.
"They'll be coming later to pick it up."

Izuku nodded, having already known that.
"Alright."

"Ochako, can you go sweep up the back room? We just got our roses order in and I had to prune the leaves off them like crazy!" Inko chuckled.

"I wonder if it's something about the time of year that's making all the flowers grow more leaves.. they've been shedding, a lot," Izuku commented.

"We'll have to look into that later. Just for curiosity sake," Inko smiled.
"I'm gonna go finish putting the bills in order. You watch the front desk," she said, heading to her office, which was a door to the right of the front counter.

"Alright," Izuku mumbled, resting his head down on the glass.

To put it lightly— he was exhausted. He'd been running around, stocking displays, pruning plants, and dusting shelves all day. Since far before they opened. That was basically the only reason why his mother was having Ochako clean up the clippings instead of him. Usually she handles the front desk, because well, how Inko put it, Ochako has a pretty face and nice attitude that makes customers consciously have a good time in the store.

But Izuku was so exhausted.

So it wasn't really a surprise when he fell asleep.

"Oi."

Izuku didn't respond.

"Hey. Wakey-wakey."

Izuku didn't respond.

"Hey!"

Izuku startled awake, feeling his heart start to hammer in his chest. He looked up from the counter, and saw a man infront of him, looking angry.

"U-uhh.. uh.. hello! Welcome to.. uhm.. Blossoming Buds.. c-can I help you?" Izuku stuttered out, still trying to shake the sleep out of himself.

"Some service.." the man mumbled under his breath, rolling his eyes.
"I've got an order to pick up. It's under Bakugou Masaru."

Izuku's eyebrows shot up.
"Right! Okay—" he sat up properly and grabbed the order form.
"That's the name on the form, and because it's such a large purchase, we actually need.. uh.."

Izuku looked up at him, finally noticing how the man looked.

He seemed to be around Izuku's age. He was handsome. He had blond spiky hair, and ruby red eyes that were getting slimmer with judgement by the second.

"W-we need some form of I.D. to verify that.. that you're the customer,"

fuck, this guy was handsome.

The man scoffed, pulling out his wallet.
"I'm not him. Masaru's my old man. But we have the same last name, so," he tossed his I.D. onto the counter.
"This'll probably work, right?"

His forearms are insane. Izuku only managed to stare for half a second, before picking up the I.D.

"Yeah, I'd say," Izuku smiled. The man seemed rude, sure, but honestly, Izuku would be more suspicious of an overly nice customer, rather than one who seemed laid-back and uncaring.

Not even to mention the fact that this guy didn't look like the type of person to be stealing flowers. He had expensive rings on, as well as a designer watch, and very nice clothing. He could probably just buy his own flowers if he wanted some, really.

"So.." Izuku chewed on his lip, tapping his pencil against the order form.
"..Katsuki, is it," he said, looking at the I.D.

He wrote the name down on the order form— to make note that he was the one who picked up the flowers, not Masaru Bakugou.

"That'd be me." He rolled his eyes.

"Your dad seems like quite the romantic," Izuku chuckled.
"Nearly a thousand dollars worth of roses. Honestly, if a guy did that for me I'd fall head over heels."

"Yeah, well, he's a fucking sap." The man now known as Katsuki, said.
"..It's my parent's anniversary today."

"That's sweet," Izuku smiled.

"Yeah, yeah, it's whatever. Can I just get the flowers?"

Izuku's eyes widened.
"Oh— yeah!" He smiled.
"Ochakoooo?" He shouted.

"Yeah?!" Ochako responded from the back room.

"Is the order done?"

"Which order?"

"The really big one!"

"Oh yeah!" She shouted.
"One minute!"

Izuku turned back to Katsuki and gave him an awkward smile.

"So.. uhm," he rubbed the back of his neck.
"I haven't seen you here before." He handed Katsuki back his I.D.

"Nope," he said simply.
"Just moved here.

"Your parents, too?" Izuku furrowed his eyebrows.

This guy was definitely an adult. Not only did he look it, but his I.D. also said that he was infact, Izuku's age.

"Yeah, yeah, I came with them. I don't live with them or anything, but I work for them, so being closer makes it a hell of a lot easier to send paperwork back and worth," he scoffed.

Izuku smiled.
"Oh! What kind of work do you do?"

"Fashion design," he said monotonely.

Izuku paused for a moment, before bursting into laughter.
"No, no, I mean really. What kind of work do you do?"

He raised an eyebrow.
"Fashion design."

Izuku stopped for a few more moments, his face slowly turning redder and redder.
"..Huh."

"What's wrong with fashion? Hah?" Katsuki smirked, seemingly making fun of Izuku for judging him.

"N-nothing! I just— I didn't expect—"

"Got the order!" Ochako said cheerfully, pushing through the back door with a cart full of bouquets.

"You should fire your employee, ma'am. He was very rude to me just now," Katsuki fake pouted.

Ochako tried not to laugh.
"Oh, no, sir. Don't mind him. It's only been a week since we brought him back from the woods, he hasn't quite adjusted to the human style of living yet," she joked.

"Ochako!" He blushed.
"You don't even know this guy! Why are you siding with him!?"

"The customer is always right," she shrugged smugly.

"I should ask for a refund, really," he flicked Izuku's nametag. Which was pinned to his shirt.
"Mr.. Deku,"

"Yep," Ochako agreed, seemingly not having heard him. A second later, she gasped horrified.
"No! Don't do that!"

Izuku, at the same time, furrowed his eyebrows and looked down at his nametag. The last bit of his name was obstructed by his unzipped zip-up sweatshirt, which he had on over his uniform shirt.
"Oh!" He blinked.
"My name isn't Deku. It's Izuku. Midoriya. Uhm.. Izuku Midoriya, yep, that's my name," he blushed, and rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly. Why couldn't he just act like a normal person?

"Well, we have your order, would you like me to help you bring it out to your car?" Ochako answered with a smile, as usual. She was always so good with customers.

"No thanks, I got it." Katsuki nodded in respect to her.

"Alright! There's cart returns to the left of the parking lot, you can just leave the cart in there," she said finally. Katsuki walked out of the store.

"So.." she smiled, walking back around the counter to sit by Izuku again.
"He was hot."

Izuku's face turned red immediately.
"Ochako!"

"Not for me! But, he's hot for you. Totally your type. I could feel it," she laughed.

"Whatever.. we'll never see him again probably, so, doesn't matter," Izuku said, frowning.

"What makes you think that?"

"What do you mean!? I totally fucked that entire thing up! I looked like such a loser!" He whined, covering his face with his hands.

"No you did not! You looked flustered, at most, and I think he liked it that way," she smirked.

"Shut up!" He blushed even harder.

It was only half a day before Izuku heard from Katsuki again. And it wasn't necessarily the most traditional way for people to reach out.

Ochako gasped.
"Izuku! Come and see this!" She said excitedly, waving him over to the computer.

Izuku rolled his eyes, but still walked over to the desk.
"What? You didn't sign me up for one of those weird dating apps again, did you?"

"No! We got a new store review!" She was smiling super hard.

Izuku didn't know why, because one glance at the computer screen and he saw the one star rating.

But then he took a second glance. And recognized the name on the profile that left the review.

"Read it!" She said, laughing.

————————————————————————

[Bakugou Katsuki] -->
[☆####]

[I came to this establishment to pick up an order of flowers for my father, and the cute boy at the register was very rude, and even insulted my entire being when I told him what I do for work. I was even considering demanding a refund, but his friend convinced me not to. Overall the experience was horrible, however, something that could probably bump my experience up to five stars, would be if the cute cashier boy, Deku, or whatever his name was, agrees to go out to dinner with me later this week. (XXX-XXX-XXXX) there's my number. Call me. I know your nerdy ass is reading this.]

————————————————————————

"Look! It happened! It actually happened!" Ochako screeched, grabbing Izuku by his shoulders and shaking him.

Izuku felt dazed. His head was spinning. It felt like all the blood in his body was rushing to his face. So when Ochako shaked him, he really couldn't do anything much other than make an odd high-pitched noise.

"I knew it! He totally liked you!"

Izuku responded in the form of another incomprehensible high-pitched noise.

"You have to call him! You have to call and then go out with him and have your story-book first kiss!!"

Another high-pitched sound.

"Now is not the time for your screeching, Izuku! You have to go to him!"

Izuku finally snapped out of his daze, and frowned.
"But what if this is some kind of ploy for him to make fun of me!"

"Izuku, no," she grabbed him by his face and leaned in close.
"He was so into you. Trust me."

"Okay.. fine, I trust you," Izuku said, his voice muffled from her squishing his face.

"Now, go and call him!!" She demanded, letting go of his face and putting her hands on her hips.
"I won't take no for an answer. You deserve to be happy!"

He smiled sadly, and took his phone out of his pocket.

It took a few moments for him to copy the numbers on the computer screen into his phone, but once he did, it immediately started ringing.

Ochako held her hand over her mouth as if she had to physically hold herself back from screeching with excitement.

The phone picked up.

"Hello? This is Bakugou." God, his voice was so sexy. It sounded like he was talking right into Izuku's ear!

"Uhm.." Izuku truly should have thought of what to say before calling.

"Is this who I think it is?" Izuku could practically hear the smirk through the phone. Oh no. He was too hot. Way too hot.

Ochako smiled and gave him a thumbs up, backing out of the office to give him privacy.

Izuku gulped.
"..Maybe," he finally said.

Katsuki laughed through the phone.
"I knew it! I knew you'd call!"

Izuku's heart sank.
"Is- is this some kind of prank? Because I really—"

"Hah?" Katsuki interrupted him.
"Prank?"

Izuku blushed.
"Oh— it's not? Uhm.. sorry for‐ sorry, I mean, I.. I guess I'm kinda weary of people, uh.."

"Flirting with you?" Katsuki finished his sentence. Izuku could once again hear his smug tone.

"Uhmmm.. yes," Izuku responded quietly.

"So, I take it that you saw my review."

"I did! Uhm.. so.. you want to go out with me?" Izuku chewed on his lip. He was so nervous. Why did it seem so scary to say that, when the man himself had literally previously said the exact same thing?

"Pshh, no, I just want your opinions on what flowers smell the best or some crap. Yes, obviously I would like to take you out on a date," he snorted out a laugh.
"Maybe dinner. Or lunch. Do you like coffee? Or we could go on a walk to the park."

Katsuki almost seemed nervous himself. And it made Izuku feel a bit better about himself, if he were to be honest.

Izuku chuckled.
"I would like any of those things. Whatever is.. within your budget, and is.. generally safe," Izuku listed off.

"So, skydiving is off the table then?" he joked.

Izuku huffed out a laugh.
"Yeah. I'd say. I'm not the biggest fan of heights, honestly.."

And so, after talking on the phone for almost an hour, they finally managed to set up a date and time to meet up.

Izuku was pretty sure that his face would never return back to it's normal color.

"Why do I always have to do this," Izuku sighed, watering another plant.

It was a new day, and today, Izuku had to water all of the live plants in the greenhouse. Blossoming Buds not only sold cut flowers and bouquets, but they also had a small selection of live plants in a small garden to the way right side of the store.

Work was extremely boring today. Mostly, because he was rather looking forward to after work, because today was the day that he was supposed to go on his first date with Katsuki.

"Izuku?" Inko shouted from the other room.

"Yeah?"

"T- There's someone here for you!"

Izuku sighed, setting the watering can down on the floor, and wiping his hands on his apron as he walked back to the main room.

"What's.." Izuku began to speak, however, he paused when he saw Katsuki standing at the front desk.
"I.. hello?" He blinked in confusion. And then, he felt panic rush through his body.
"Did I get the time wrong? Was I— I thought we were supposed to meet at the restaurant?"

"We were." He rolled his eyes.
"I'm here to pick up an order."

"An.. order?" Izuku furrowed his eyebrows.

Ochako walked through the door to the back with a bouquet in one hand, wiping her forehead off with the other.
"Phew! Two big orders in just a few days! Lucky us!" She said, laughing.
"Here you are, Mr. Bakugou." She smiled, handing him the bouquet.

It contained probably fifty red roses, if not, more. It looked heavy, yet, very professionally done, as all the bouquets are at Blossoming Buds.

Izuku didn't mean for that train of thought to turn into an advertisement, but it's whatever.

"Who's.. that for," Izuku said, feeling dazed while watching Ochako hand the bouquet to Katsuki.

Katsuki huffed out a laugh.
"For you, stupid."

Izuku didn't usually like being called stupid. But it sounded almost like a term of endearment from Bakugou, so he didn't really care anymore. It only made him blush instead.

"Oh! I- for me?"

Izuku didn't have a second to react, before the bouquet was shoved into his hands.

"Yep. Now, let's get going, pretty-boy." Katsuki laughed, turning on his heel.
"You might wanna leave that with your friend. I'm not sure they'll survive a motorcycle ride."

"What!?! Motorcyle!?" Izuku shouted, eyes widening.
"A- and I'm still in my work clothes!"

"You don't need to be dressed up to go on a picnic."

"I thought you said you were taking me to a diner! What's this about a picnic!?!"

"Yeah, well, fuck diners! Picnics are way more romantic!"

They continued to argue for ten minutes.