A single rose petal fell gently towards the floor, accompanied by a frustrated sigh. The sound of scissors splitting flower stems filled the back room of the local floral nursery, the serenity suddenly interrupted by the thud of a heavy vase hitting the backroom floor.

Nick, who was meticulously arranging a bouquet for a very particular customer, put a pin in his endeavors to watch his manager, Meg, drag the large vase into the backroom. He cocked the corner of his mouth to the side, giving her an exasperated look.

"I told you I would handle that once I was finished with this order."

"Too late!" Meg exclaimed, putting her hands on her hips to catch her breath. "I couldn't stand seeing this babyshit green planter on my sales floor anymore. I don't know why I keep getting this color when I'm ordering the seafoam green one."

Nick chuckled, smirking as he went back to trimming stems. "Are you sure you're ordering the right one and your old lady eyes aren't deceiving you?"

The rate at which Meg spun to look at her employee could be considered G-Force velocity- so Nick ducked his head and continued to trim the stems for his project.

“Is that what we’re doing today? We’re sassing?” While her tone would make anyone else run with their tail between their legs, Nick was unphased, thinking of another comeback to poke her buttons further. “I’ll stuff you in this planter, Nick. You’re short enough.”

Damn, she’d beat him to it.

“Oh, THAT’S what we’re doing today? We’re bullying?” He mocked in a cutesy tone, side-eying her reaction. The woman merely huffed, putting a hand on her hip.

“If 27 is old, 5’8'' is short.” Meg moved to turn and leave the room, but her feet stopped suddenly and she grinned, leaning against the doorframe. “I mean, you’re short compared to your booooooyfriend, Leo.”

Nick’s shoulders were immediately tense, and the color of his face could easily be compared to his long, tied up hair. He spun to face Meg just as quickly as she had turned earlier, pointing the scissors at her.

“He is NOT my boyfriend!”

“But you WANT him to be!”

Nick is stunned silent as he opens his mouth to speak, snapping it shut again.

“You know what, fuck you AND your babyshit-green planter.”

Meg smirked triumphantly- she’d found the right button to push, and it was her FAVORITE button to push. Meg had known Leo for years- much longer than she’d known Nick, and watching the two fuss over each other was as endearing as it was entertaining. 

“You can’t even lie about it!” Meg crossed her arms, leaning forward to get a look at Nick’s face, which was now hidden behind a wall of messy red hair. “You’re so bad at hiding your feelings.”

“There’s nothing to lie about!” Nick was trimming the stems faster now, unable to focus on the task at hand. “And there's nothing to hide, because there's noth- OW-"

The playful atmosphere was quickly squashed as Nick dropped the scissors, holding his left hand against his abdomen. He locked nervous eyes with Meg- the wound itself didn't bother him, but he knew in his heart that he was about to get a lecture about work safety, and Meg could do that for hours. 

"Oh, dear, come here. Let's get that fixed up."

Nick sighed and sat on the couch nearby, holding his hand as Meg looked around for the first aid kit. He glanced down and winced at the blood that began to stain his sweater red. He was used to seeing blood- it wasn't something that ever phased him, but even three years later the memories of that night in the shack still lingered.

They were quickly cast aside as Meg sat on the coffee table in front of him, pulling out a cotton pad with some alcohol. 

"Yknow, my mom is gonna kill me for ruining this sweater she JUST got me." Nick held his hand out and let Meg begin to clean the cut. 

"I don't even understand how you can be wearing that sweater in the middle of June. Must be a weird Dranduin thing."

"Drand is hot, I'm used to it."

"And your moms not gonna kill you." Meg smiled reassuringly at him. "She'll be more concerned about the cut than anything- don't be dramatic."

Nick rolled his eyes, tilting his head. "Then don't be dramatic about the planter."

Megs eyes darted up to look at her employee, her lips turned up in a smile that felt a little more forced than the last. "You know what, tell her I stabbed you when I got tired of your sassy comments."

"She'd believe it."

The bell to the shop rings and Meg sighs, holding the cotton pad to Nick's hand. "Of course- I'll be there in a minute!"

"No need."

They looked back towards the door to see Leo pop in, leaning casually against the door frame with a smile- which quickly dropped as he noticed the first aid kit and Nick's hand.

"Are you alright?"

Nick knew immediately how much of a worry-wart Leo was when it came to his well being and smiled nervously, putting his other hand up. "Don't worry about it, it's just a scratch!"

"A scratch?" Meg asked incredulously, her body tilting in a way that begged the question if Nick was well in the head. "Any deeper and you'd be gettin' stitches." She looked back at Leo while digging for a clean cotton pad. "What are you here for, hon?"

Leo slipped back into his nonchalant demeanor, crossing his arms. "I just came to see my two favorite florists."

"Flirting won't get you a discount- in fact I'll charge you double." Meg warned him, waving the cotton pad at him.

The laugh that escaped Leo pierced Nick's heart like Cupid's arrow and he quickly looked down, focusing on his hand. Maybe Meg was right- did he really make himself obvious? Was everyone aware of his feelings for Leo and were just sparing him the embarrassment? Were they a point of gossip in their friend circle and he didn't know it?

Did Leo know how he felt?

Oh, that thought made him nauseous. If Leo knew and he was ignoring it? Well, he'd crawl back to Drand as fast as his legs could carry him.

"Please, Meg!" Leo's voice brought him quickly back to the present, his head poking up to glance at the others. "Spare my wallet, I'm begging. Actually, I'd say I've quickly become a good 70% of your income over the last few years."

Meg let a huff of air out of her nose, shaking her head. "No idea how you pay for it all- skipping work all the time to harass my employee."

"I'm hardly skipping work," Leo said, "I assure you, I'm still getting paid to loiter around your store."

The relationship between Leo and Meg was definitely interesting to Nick when he was first introduced to the florist. He had noted that the atmosphere between them was like that of a married couple, and he was certain when he had met Meg that such was the case- that is, until he dared to ask. Nick wanted to hide in embarrassment as Leo and Meg crumbled in laughter, reassuring him that they were simply really good friends.

When Leo had finally wiped his tears of laughter away, he had mentioned being bisexual- with a preference for men- and Nick's heart had fluttered at the chance of even being a fleeting thought in the blond man's mind.

Alas, at the time, Nick was just a newcomer in his transition, and he had accepted that because of such, he probably wasn't going to be on Leo's radar. Only recently, after just around three years on testosterone and finally undergoing top surgery, did Nick begin to gain confidence in his appearance and personality- and sometimes he'd convince himself that maybe Leo was noticing him. 

Another dab of alcohol brought Nick's attention back to the conversation as he jerked his hand a bit, earning a stern but gentle tug from Meg.

The bell to the front door rang again and Meg tilted her head back in frustration. "Unless a second Leo is about to appear in this backroom, I have to take that."

"I'll help him." Leo offered, finally stepping fully into the backroom. The idea of being so close to the man made Nick anxious, and he couldn't help trying to adjust his seating in a way that didn't raise concern. He just needed a little room to breathe. 

Leo replaced Meg in the spot on the coffee table, pulling out some bandages. "How'd you do this, anyway?"

"I was just spaced out." Nick replied quietly. No way was he about to tell Leo about their conversation earlier.

Leo handled Nick's cut with care, wrapping his hand gently. "You look exhausted," the man remarked, his quick glance to Nick was one of concern, "you okay?"

Nick couldn't suppress the sigh that escaped him. "Just nightmares. Makes it tough to sleep straight through the night."

"You wanna talk about it?"