The young man wiped away sweat as he tended to his flowers. It was a tiring job, but he loved it.

Roman Prince was a florist. Not just any florist however, but the owner of the most popular flower shop in town. This was because he'd taken a chance and invested in a building with an attached greenhouse and upstairs apartment. This way he could live above the shop and grow the flowers himself, meaning producing them would be cheaper than ordering them.

He was never sure why he wanted to be a florist, but he figured it had something to do with all the colors and the meanings behind each flower. All of them had stories to tell. Among the rows of roses and large groups of lavender, he could let his imagination go wild.

There was one thing about his job that he disliked. Well, dislike is the wrong word; confused him is more accurate. Every day at almost the exact same time, a young man with purple hair, black clothing, and tattoos would walk in to his shop, look around, and then leave. The first time it was normal; some customers found they weren't interested in his products. However, once it became an every day occurrence, Roman grew confused.

He never bought anything, and the princely man hadn't tried to talk to him yet, but another employee had said he wasn't very responsive and rather distracted. Roman had no idea why he was so curious about this guy. It was like he was drawn to him by some weird, inexplicable force.

Maybe I'll try talking to him today, he thought. The man was very attractive, and he had to admit that he wouldn't be opposed to flirting with him if he got the chance. He might be straight though... well we can at least find out more about him.

Roman turned as the bell on the door sounded. Sure enough, around the same time he always did, the young man walked into the shop. He looked around, gazing at all the colorful arrangements before stopping when he looked at the owner. They made eye contact before he quickly looked away.

As he turned his back to him, the princely man couldn't help but look at his tattoos. One in particular caught his eye; it was a storm cloud, bright purple at the top of his spine, visible as his loose-fitting shirt slipped off one shoulder.

I wonder what that stands for, he thought as he turned back to his work.

He moved around the shop to the different flowers when he became aware that the young man was staring at him out of the corner of his eye.

Roman swallowed and turned his head, feeling a little nervous. The man immediately looked away. He had definitely been watching him. As nonchalantly as possible, he walked over to the tattooed young man.

"May I help you with anything today sir?" he asked politely. The man looked at him in surprise.

"Uh, I'm picking out flowers for someone..." he said softly. "I'm a tattoo artist, so I don't really know what I'm doing. I'm uh- I'm good at drawing the flowers, but I've never... you know... studied the flowers..."

The shyness and awkwardness of his expression made Roman smile widely. It was undeniably adorable to see this tattooed, edgy man get flustered. "What are they for?" he asked.

"Well, I want to ask this person on a date, but I don't know what they like," the man replied.

"Personally, I love roses! They're just so romantic and beautiful... but for this kinda thing, orchids and tulips are lovely choices to give someone on a date invitation," the shop owner explained, leading the man towards the orchids and tulips.

He spent about ten minutes taking the man through the flowers section by section before finally turning to ask what he wanted to purchase. "So, are there any you like?" he inquired.

The man looked at the red roses, gnawing on his bottom lip as though seemingly nervous. "I'd like to buy a rose please," he said.

"Just one?" Roman clarified as he headed over to the roses. The man nodded swallowing. He plucked a rose from the rose section and wrapped it into a single plastic wrap with a ribbon wrapped in a small bow. "That'll be four dollars please," he said as he opened the cash register at the desk and hand him the rose.

The man paid and took the rose from him. Their fingers brushed together, making the princely man's breathing hitch as he met his dark brown eyes. "Hope the lucky someone says yes," Roman managed, blushing as he offered a smile.

The man shyly looked down and back up, and to his surprise, handed the rose back to him. "I hope he does too," he said with a shy smile.