BLOOM. ej

iv. YOU NEEDED SOMEONE

ROSE.
— roses have different meanings according to their colors and how many you give. red symbolizes love and romance, pink symbolizes gratitude and admiration, and white symbolizes purity and innocence.

                                                                                             
                                                                                             
     eren... a beautiful name for a beautiful flower such as himself.

     you only found out his name a few days ago, and yet it felt like you knew him for an enternity. you had no idea why, maybe it was the fact that you've been seeing him for more than a month, maybe it was just an unexplainable phenomenon.

     after all, you only talked to him about flowers and nothing else. it's not safe to assume that his taste on flowers would define himself as a whole. someone who would order calla lilies on a weekly basis wouldn't look so sad and broken if it was their favorite flowers.

     unless...

     you snapped out of your stupor as the familiar melody of the chimes echoed throughout the shop, catching your attention as well as the other customer who had visited much earlier. looking up from the crate of orchids, you caught sight of the same man that plagued your mind since a month ago.

     your eyebrows rose up in surprise, soon scrunching down. this would be the fourth time he visited in a week and although nothing was wrong with it, you couldn't help but wonder what made him come back so soon.

     you caught his eyes and soon gave him a smile, signaling him to wait for a few minutes as you finish the current order in your hands.

     a bit surprised with how fast you were handling the order, you shook your head and cleared your thoughts. you never rushed orders; you took your time caring them as soon as the deliveries arrived at your doorstep and took extra care when arranging them, it has been a habit of yours for years, and yet you were just ruffling them like it was your messy closet about less than a second ago. luckily it didn't ruin its petals or beauty like you scarily imagined, and the customer didn't seem to notice as well.

     after a minute or so, your customer left with a satisfied look on their face. rubbing your soil-stained hands on your apron, you turned to face the brown-haired man. he was silent as he studied the daffodils displayed by the window, a distant look crossing his eyes. you cleared your throat to catch his attention, and it took him a few seconds to snap out of his daze before finally facing you. 

     "hey eren, you're back early." you greeted cheerfully, "same order?"

     he shook his head and rubbed the back of his nape, avoiding your curious gaze by letting his eyes travel across the shop he had already familiarized. "uh, no... i need a different order, for today at least."

     you tilted your head, "and what will it be?"

     eren remained silent for a few minutes before finally speaking up, "are there any flowers that... says you're sorry or something?"

     you didn't even have to think for a second before leading him to the section full of roses, each crate filled with the different variety of their colors. "roses are common flowers when you want to say sorry. each color symbolizes different meaning! for example, red is for love, white means innocence, and more." you plucked a few pink roses, taking a small whiff from the flowers and letting yourself indulge in its rich scent. "the pink ones symbolizes gratitude, so as you're saying sorry, you're also telling them how you appreciate whatever they've done to you."

     "that sounds nice... i'll take a dozen of them." 

     as you grabbed more of the flowers, you couldn't help but wonder what he was sorry for. was it for his significant other? a family? 

     "i don't want to intrude, but is it okay to ask to who or what you're sorry for? just so i know if this color of flower is correct because there's another color that also tells sorry." you hummed, making sure that the roses you were picking weren't already wilting.

     "i... pushed someone away when all they've been doing is help me and comfort me." he muttered amidst the silence, emerald eyes hidden by a dark look that passed his face. you bit your lip and nodded, before grabbing a few yellow roses by the next crate. 

     you walked back to your working station, with eren following you in slight confusion. "yellow also symbolizes apologies. yellow and pink would go well; it would mean that you're sorry for pushing them away, but you're thankful for their efforts in helping you with your problem... is that okay?"

     his breathe hitched and he contemplated, before slowly nodding at your choice. "yeah... that's good."

     the shop turned silent once again but you couldn't help but notice the slight tone shift of eren's. just one glance at his face and you could tell he was deep in thought yet again, though regret was obvious in his eyes. 

     "oh, thank you for the umbrella the other day." he suddenly said, surprising you a bit since you got used to the minutes of silence.

     eren placed the umbrella on the counter and you gave him a smile, "thank you, it was no problem! it's awfully raining a lot here than usual, don't you think so?"

     you were met with silence and you cringed internally but shook it off. you glanced at the latter with furrowed eyebrows, just to see that he had a faraway look on his face. it didn't look like he wanted to be bothered too.

     only now did you notice that for the month or so that you've been seeing him, no ounce of joy could be found. 

     eren was almost like an embodiment of an empty broken soul, like all hope has left him and he no longer had anyone to turn to.