"It's her again, isn't it?" Y/N, Natasha's friend and business partner asked while gathering stems of roses into a bunch.
"Is that still a question?" Natasha asks, rolling her eyes.
"Do you happen to know why?"
"Why what?"
"Why she's been coming in everyday for a bouquet of roses for the past two months?"
"Am I supposed to know why?"
"No, but haven't you been wondering? Aren't you wondering? It's not like it's a common thing, you know?"
"Well, the first time she came in here, she said she had to make it up to her husband. That's all I've gathered. She's not much of a talker."
"Hmm... so she's been making it up to her husband with a bouquet of roses for the past two months? How badly did she mess up?"
"I have no idea. And that goes for both questions, Y/N."
The woman had become a familiar sight at the flower shop. Every weekday afternoon at 5pm, she would come in to pick up the same bouquet of red roses and would leave as fast as she could. And that was all that Y/N knew about the woman. Aside from her name, which was Wanda Maximoff, that she wouldn't have found out if it wasn't for Natasha, her best friend and business partner who was as curious as they come, therefore, she managed to make Wanda tell her her name. Wanda was beautiful. Stunning even. However, Y/N couldn't help but notice a frown on her face whenever she came into the flower shop. Y/N wondered how much time it would take to see her crack a smile because she's been wearing the same frown on her face since she first stepped into the doors of "Bloom."
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"Do you think she'll be here today?" Y/N asked as her neck started hurting from constantly looking at the wall clock hanging from the glass door.
The time was now 4:37pm.
"Positive. She's only been coming here for the past what? 60 days? Why stop now?" Natasha said.
"Maybe her husband is sick of flowers and broke up with her?"
"And what? You're determined to replace him?" Natasha replied with a smirk on her face.
"That's not what I said," Y/N states with crossed arms.
"Well, think about this," Natasha clutched Y/N's arm.
"If you were to be her girlfriend and you ever got into a fight, she wouldn't need to buy you flowers because you already own a flower shop. You'd save her a lot of money!"
"So what am I? A cheap deal?"
"That's not what I said, Y/N."
"I'm starting to re-think our friendship, Nat."
"I suggest you do that later because it looks like you've got a customer to greet" Nat replied, spotting Wanda opening the glass door and making her way into the shop.
"Hi! Welcome to Blooms!" Y/N greeted as she walked up to Wanda.
"Um, hello. Where's Natasha?" Wanda asked, with furrowed eyebrows.
"Oh, she's in the back. I swear she's there, it's just that everything here is taller than her," Y/N joked.
"I heard that, Y/N!" Natasha yelled.
"See, I told you. Usually, I'm the one in the back, but we decided she will do the flowers today and I get to greet our lovely customers. I'm Y/N, by the way," Y/N smiled, stretching her hand out to Wanda who just stood there with a confused look on her face.
"Wanda," she replied softly as she shook Y/N's hand.
"Yeah, I know."
"You do?"
"Of course! You've only been coming in here for the past two months so..."
"Right..."
"So, one bouquet of red roses?" Y/N asked.
"Yes and of white and pink ones too, please" Wanda replied, with a small smile.
"Must be a special day today, huh?" Y/N asked, hoping to get an answer.
Wanda just looked away.
"Alright, I'll have Natasha fix them up now."
"Thank you..." Wanda replied so softly, Y/N barely caught what she said.
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"So, I'm guessing her husband isn't tired of flowers after all?" Natasha asked.
"She looks so sad, Nat. It's starting to hurt my heart," Y/N frowned.
"It's Monday. She probably just had a bad day at work. Don't think too much about it," Natasha offered a smile.
"But she looks like... like super sad today."
"You look like that 7 days a week, though?" Natasha joked.
"That's different and you know that, Nat."
"Whatever," Natasha stated as she handed Y/N the three bouquets of roses.
"Give her these, it looks like she's in a hurry," Natasha pointed at Wanda who kept fidgeting her fingers and pacing around the floor, looking more impatient than upset.
"I apologize if that took awhile," Y/N spoke as she handed Wanda the bouquets.
"It's alright. I just have some stuff to take care of. How much for these?" Wanda replied.
Y/N quickly thought about what she could do to paint a smile on Wanda's face.
"Don't worry about it. On the house," Y/N replied with a smile.
"Oh. Are you sure? I don't mean to be a bother."
"Don't worry about it... and you know what? Maybe next time we could deliver those for you to free up some of your time?" Y/N asked.
"Oh no, that's too much to ask of you. It's fine, really. I can handle this."
"It's nothing, really. You've been coming here for a while now, it's about time we did you some favors."
"Trust me, these gorgeous bouquets are enough favors."
"They hardly are. You pay for them. Just let us take care of—"
"I said it's fine!!!" Wanda snapped.
Y/N stood there, speechless.
"I- I'm sorry. I didn't mean to... I just... I'm sorry." And with that, Wanda rushed out the door.
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One, two, three, four, five, six, seven; it had been seven days since Wanda walked through the doors of "Blooms."
Not that Y/N was counting. It's not like she's been staring at the calendar and she was reminded that it was a Monday, and it was last Monday that she had last seen Wanda. It's also not like there was any reason for her to miss someone who was practically a stranger. There was no reason for her to be upset that their first conversation may as well be their last. Right?
Now here Y/N was freshening up the azaleas as well as the lilies. She was thinking of the first time Wanda walked into the flower shop.
Would she have seen her soul in one glance? Would Wanda have asked her about the lilies? Would Y/N have gotten the chance to tell her what they mean?
For the record, Y/N wasn't in love with Wanda, nor the idea of love at first sight.
Love takes time, just like flowers take time to bloom.
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One, two, three, four, five, six, seven; it would have been eight but...
"Hi! Welcome to Blooms— oh. Hello, Wanda."
"Hi, Natasha."
"....So...roses?"
"No, not today."
"Oh, what brings you here then?"
"Is Y/N here?"
"Yeah. She's in the back."
"Can I speak to her?"
"Sure, follow me."
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"Hey. I believe I owe you an apology," Wanda shyly says.
"No, you don't. I can be really overbearing sometimes, just ask Natasha. It's true," Y/N answered while pretending she was still tending the lilies.
"No, Y/N. You were being nice and I was rude. I'm really sorry for what happened two weeks ago and I'm sorry it took me a while to apologize," Wanda comes closer and takes Y/N's hand.
"It's fine, Wanda. I understand," Y/N shrugs.
"No, you don't. Come with me."
"What?" Y/N asks, confused.
"I'd like you to meet someone."
"Someone...?"
"My husband."
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Wanda was quiet the whole drive. However, this time a smile on her lips was present.
And that made Y/N smile too, although she couldn't help but feel nervous about meeting Wanda's husband. But Y/N knew this was her chance to get to know more about Wanda so she had to deal with it.
"Y/N?" Wanda broke the silence, but her eyes were still on the road.
"Yes, Wanda?" Y/N replied with a smile.
"Do you think I'm crazy?"
Fighting a laugh, Y/N replied, "Not at all! Are you, though?"
"Oh you're funny. Of course, I'm not! You know what they say. Crazy is better than lonely, right?"
"Sure thing, Wanda" Y/N smiled.
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Thirty minutes later, Wanda pulled over.
"Well Y/N, we're here" Wanda said, unbuckling her seatbelt.
"Oh. Right. Where are we?"
"Please don't freak out."
Turns out Wanda didn't have a husband because in front of them, there wasn't a living man, but a grave surrounded by roses.
"Hi, Vision. This is Y/N. She owns "Blooms" with her friend, Natasha. Y/N, this is Vision, my husband... or ex-husband? I had a hard time accepting it until now. Although we were never actually married, it feels like we were," Wanda spoke with a small smile on her lips.
While picking on the petals of a red rose, Wanda added, "I never let him buy me flowers when we were dating."
"We'd always pass by your shop and he'd always bug me to let him buy me roses, but I never let him. I told him I'd rather have him give me a rock because rocks are strong and don't die, just like my love for him," she continued.
"He died almost 3 months ago. It would've been another month-anniversary. We were going to keep it simple and just go out to dinner. I called him and told him I was running a little late... and that was because I was picking up some wedding rings I was getting custom-made, but I didn't tell him that. I wanted to surprise him. I realized that I wanted to spend the rest of my life with him," she said as a tear slid down her left cheek.
"Anyway, I know he wasn't going to be happy that I was going to be late for dinner. I thought he was going to start yelling, but you know what he said?" Wanda asked as she looked at Y/N.
"What did he say?" Y/N asked.
Here come the tears, Y/N thought.
"You better bring some roses..." Wanda finally said. Then she dropped to the ground with the roses she held. Rose petals blowing in the wind.
"I never would've thought that was the last thing I'd ever hear from him. I was so nervous to ask him to marry me. I decided to just kneel down, show him the ring, then ask him as soon as he opened the door. Only he didn't open the door. I had to use my keys. I knelt down... not to propose, but to pick him up from the floor," Wanda sobbed.
"He was unconscious. He wouldn't move. I called for help, but it was far too late. They said there was nothing they could do. He was gone by the time we got to the hospital. I didn't want to believe it. Maybe if I didn't spend an hour choosing the perfect rings, he would still be here. Maybe if I didn't hope for forever, he would still be alive and well. I've told him everything that has happened ever since he left... I really miss him," Wanda sighed.
"If I may, I'd like to say something," Y/N spoke up.
"We're all flowers. It sounds dumb, but I promise it isn't. Like, we're all here for a moment and then we're gone. Some flowers die sooner than some- believe me, I'm a florist— but they manage to be beautiful and make people smile and make people feel loved with the time they've been given. And the thing with love and people and your idea of forever? It's not all that true. You won't cherish things if they'll be here forever. You won't cherish people if there is no risk of losing them. It doesn't make sense to tell people, "I'm not going to lose you," because you will, like it or not. And also, it sounds like a promise— a promise no one in the history of humanity has ever managed to keep. Instead, it should be "I don't want to lose you" because it's truthful. And yes, Vision's gone. He's one of those flowers that wilt quicker than some, but he managed to be beautiful and brought you joy and made you feel loved while he was here. And you, you managed to be beautiful and made him smile and made him feel loved too, right? You did everything you could, too. And you're still here, Wanda. You're still here so you could do anything you want while you can. I'm not telling you to forget Vision. I'm saying that you could still make people smile and make people feel loved including yourself...
If you really want to make it up to him, then be a flower, Wanda. Be the roses. I think that's what he would've wanted. Live while you can. Don't come here looking like life has ended," Y/N concluded.
"I would've known you and Natasha for a while if I had just given into Vision's requests. I can't believe I missed out on you all these months," Wanda states with a warm smile.
"Enough with the regrets, okay? Everything happens and doesn't happen for a reason," Y/N replies with a smile equally as warm as Wanda's.
"Yeah. I think I need to believe that. But I mean, you could have been the florist at our wedding," Wanda chuckled.
"Well, WHEN you fall in love again and decide to get married, you know where to find me. I'm not going anywhere," Y/N says.
Little did Wanda know that Y/N will be so much more than the florist at that wedding. Y/N was just as clueless.
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A/N: hiii! ahh i'm so excited to finally share this with y'all. this is a little different because there is no song that comes close to it, but i added one that i feel is similar. i've been debating whether or not to post it because it's inspired by a story i read on tumblr yearsss ago that i couldn't remember much about. i can't find the original creator, but if i stumble on their account i will tag them! and as always i hope you enjoyed and please send requests!
thanks for the love & support! <3
- lots of love, angel.