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Peering through his pair of large sunglasses, the only ones that hid all eight of his eyes, Angel walked through the - arguably - nicer streets of Pentagram City with the confidence that he belonged there as he scanned the stores with only mild curiosity. He didn’t need anything, but he’d been let out of work early and was bored, and it was better for him to shop than to go for the vending machines that he knew were nearby. He noticed a few demons staring at him curiously, trying to place how they knew him, but they seemed to shrug and move on, apparently deciding that he couldn’t be the Angel Dust, the famous movie star. Definitely not the one in the fifty foot poster nearby that was advertising his newest drama, because what kind of famous actor would be wandering around so freely without fear of the flocks of paparazzi that were hungry for a story? All it took was the right attitude, a pair of sunglasses, and a fashionable hat to make him invisible, at least for the moment. If he really wanted to relax, he would be wearing something very different.
Humming in boredom, Angel’s gaze skipped over several stores, nothing catching his interest - a bookstore, a porn shop, a busy bakery, an empty shop that looked like it might have once been a clothing shop, another porn shop. He had money to burn, or at least to a degree, but what did he even want?
His mind instantly supplied him with drugs, but Angel shook his head to try and rid himself of the thought. Not that. He scanned the street again…
And his gaze landed on a flower shop across the way.
That made Angel come to a sudden stop, lowering his sunglasses just a little bit to get a better look. A flower shop? In Hell? Didn’t seem like it should be possible, but as he stared at the two large windows that covered most of the front, he saw waves of green and small pockets of color inside. Not unnaturally bright fake colors, but soft and gentle natural colors. Intrigued now, he glanced up at the wooden sign above the windows - A Touch of Earth , with a little four leaf clover right underneath it, framed by yellow flowers that he didn’t recognize. It even looked hand-painted, the paint a little worn from the blood-red light that shone down on this hellscape.
“Huh.” Angel stared at the shop for a little longer, ignoring the demons that snapped at him to get out of the way, one straight up bumping into one of his shoulders. Well, why not? He crossed the street, flipping off a car that was speeding through and then went right around him just in the nick of time. Maybe he could feel like he was back home for a moment, back in his mom’s tiny garden, and maybe get something for Charlie - she would like that.
Pushing open the door, a small little bell jingling above, Angel tried to glance around the shop, but was interrupted by a deep, baritone voice.
“Welcome to A Touch of Earth.”
Head snapping towards the voice, Angel’s eyes went wide behind his sunglasses, and it took all his effort not to let his jaw drop. Standing behind the counter was a cat demon, although he’d never seen a cat demon with wings before. The guy hadn’t even looked up yet, snipping the end off a rose stem, giving Angel a moment to take in the short - well, short to him - dark-furred cat, muscular arms under a simple t-shirt and a well-worn apron, the tall and pointed ears that twitched in his direction. Then he looked up, and Angel almost melted under the golden cat eyes that looked him over.
Holy shit, he was hot .
“Need help finding anything?”
Swallowing to ease the dryness in his throat and hoping it wasn’t noticeable, Angel forced, “Um, yeah… looking for some flowers.”
‘Oh, you idiot, you’re in a fucking flower shop, what else would you be looking for?!’ Angel wanted to smack himself in the head. In the presence of one hot guy for less than a minute and he was already going stupid.
The cat demon raised an eyebrow, somehow looking both amused and annoyed. “Um, yeah, I figured.” He gestured with the scissors in his hand. “This is a flower shop.”
“Yeah, yeah, um…” Clearing his throat and standing up a little taller, hoping the guy didn’t notice his earlier fumbling, he approached the counter. “Well, actually, I kinda wanted to do some research, for - err,” his brain scrambled to find an idea and landed on the obvious, “an upcoming role.”
At that, the demon raised a red eyebrow as he set down his scissors and the flower he was trimming. “Upcoming role? You an actor or something?” He looked Angel over again, and he resisted the urge to shiver under that sharp gaze as he was studied, looking past the sunglasses and the hat. “Huh… you do kinda look familiar.”
Slapping a grin over his face, one of his many masks that he had readily available, Angel peered at the demon over his sunglasses. “Well, yeah, I’m an actor.” He held out a hand while also grabbing his sunglasses and slipping it at the dip of his jacket. “The name’s Angel Dust, you might have heard of me. And you are, cutie?” He was blatantly flirting now, and he hoped it worked.
But the demon didn’t even look a little flustered; instead, he took Angel’s hand and gave it a brief shake before withdrawing. “Husk.” He reached up and tapped the name tag that was attached to the florist’s apron, one Angel hadn’t even noticed. “So, Angel Dust, what can I do for you then?”
“Well, like I said,” Angel leaned onto the counter, and he tried not to wince as Husk subtly leaned back, “I’m wanting to prepare for a role. So… maybe you want to help me out a little bit?” He fluttered his eyelashes and flashed a seductive smile.
“Uh, I guess?” Was Husk’s hesitant answer, and Angel wanted to wilt. “What kind of movie is this? Some kind of rom-com?” He shrugged. “I’ll admit, I’ve only seen a couple of your movies, but you don’t, uh-” he looked over Angel again, taking in his soft pink suit with his matching hat, and back to his face, “- seem like the rom-com type.”
At that, Angel snapped his fingers. “A rom-com, exactly,” he agreed, trying not to breathe a sigh in relief that the guy had given him an excuse even if by accident. “I’m branching out. I’m a florist that’s, um-“ fuck, he wasn’t good at thinking of shit up on the fly, so he went with a sort of truth, “trying to romance a guy that comes in to buy flowers all the time, not knowing that he likes him too.” He chewed on his lower lip for a moment before shrugging. “So, maybe you can tell me what kind of flowers he might use to romance him?” asked Angel, now suddenly feeling hesitant. Maybe Husk would kick him out, or laugh in his face, or -
“Well, I mean, roses are kinda the obvious choice.” Clearing his throat, Husk walked out from behind the counter, and as he headed towards a nearby table, gave Angel a look at his long tail, tipped with feathers similar to his black and red wings. He gestured towards flowers that Angel recognized, but couldn’t name, and glanced back. “But I’ve always liked lilies. ‘Specially red or orange. Those tend to symbolize passion, which I think would be more fitting to a “new love” sort of thing.”
Blinking as he had to stop himself from staring at that tail, and that ass , a little surprised that Husk was actually helping him, Angel stepped up to follow him. “Oh yeah? I also thought I heard that yellow lilies represent happiness and gay feelings?” He winked at Husk. “And I’m very familiar with those.”
Angel was rewarded with a snort and a small smile that made his heart flutter for a moment. “Not that kind of gay. But yeah, yellow tends to mean joy in most flowers.” Turning back to the table, he hummed for a moment as he scanned other flowers before grabbing a potted plant and holding it up for Angel to see. “These are gardenia’s, they symbolize secret love.” He glanced back to look up at Angel, almost craning his neck. “Could be a fun little tidbit for your audience if any of them understand the language of flowers.”
Nodding, Angel replied, “Oh, I like that. Mm… got anything that means-” he thought about it, deciding to try his luck at flirting again, but in a funny way - maybe this guy liked funny, “-damn, you’re hot?”
“Uh,” Husk glanced around for something, seemingly not getting Angel’s flirting attempt as he pointed out a red flower. “Red camellias mean, ‘you flame my heart.’ About as close as you’ll get more likely.”
“Red, passion, you’re hot. Got it.” Angel scanned the store himself, trying to pick something good for Husk to tell him about. He was kinda cute when he talked about flower meanings. “Oh, what about,” he pointed to a white camellia nearby,” that one?” He was pretty sure he knew what it meant, so maybe that would be a good hint.
“Adoration.” Husk set the gardenia’s he was holding down, not catching on. “Also finding someone cute.”
“Mm…” Angel’s mind flashed back to the hand-painted sign outside, with the tiny clover almost hidden in the middle. “What about something for luck? Like,” he made a gesture with his hands, “if I wanted to add a little bit of luck to my bouquet of love?”
Fuck, he sounded so corny.
“Well,” Husk blew his lips, “obviously, four leaf clovers are your typical go to. But those are gonna be hard to find for a bouquet.” He grinned. “For flowers, there’s a couple you could go with. Peonies are one, also marigolds. Yellow, as well as being a happy color, also tends to be associated with luck.”
Tilting his head in surprise, Angel pointed out, “You know, you know a lot about the language of flowers. Guess that should be expected for a guy working in a flower shop, ya just,” he shrugged casually, “don’t see the type.”
Behind Husk, his tail gave a small twitch before he turned around to face Angel again. “I don’t just work in a flower shop.” He crossed his arms over his chest, and Angel wanted to drool a bit at his broad chest and thick arms. “I own this place. Back when I was alive, my mom owned a flower shop. I spent a lot of time there growing up, learned a lot from her.” He shrugged. “I guess it all just kinda… stuck. I’ll admit though,” he said as he glanced around his shop, “it was fuckin’ touch tough gettin’ this shit to grow in Hell of all places.”
“Well, looks like you did good.” Angel glanced around the shop, smiling softly as he thought back on his childhood home; of a little garden behind their house, a small patch of earth that he and his siblings weren’t allowed to play near so as not to trample the delicate flowers. “My mom liked flowers, though not like this, and I didn’t learn shit from her.” He turned back to Husk and added, “It’s kinda sweet, like you’re doing this for your mom, too.” And it really was.
“I mean,” Husk shrugged, looking a little unsure, “I guess. It’s just kinda all I really know besides drinkin’ and gamblin’.” He looked back to his flowers, taking the time to rub on the leaves of a purple hyacinth and purposely not meet Angel’s gaze. “Running the shop keeps me from the bad shit. At least for a little while.”
Angel nodded understandingly, then realizing Husk couldn’t see it and said, “Yeah, I was the same way with drugs.” Talking about one’s vices wasn’t exactly out of the norm in Hell, but he felt like he needed to share something in exchange for what Husk shared with him. “There was a while that I was really, really hooked on them, and was ready to give up everything so I would never be without ‘em.” The image of Valentino, of his addicting pink smoke or whatever else he was offering on a silver platter, flashed through his mind. “And then shit happened - like, a lot that I won't bother you with. But, there was one night where I couldn’t get that fix, and snuck into a crappy movie to distract myself.” A habit that hadn’t left him from when he was a kid. “And I sat there and thought - well, shit, I can do better than that.” That had been the night he decided to actually try and get clean. “Thankfully, I had the right people helping me out at the time, and well, here I am.”
If he was being completely honest, not a day went by in the past few decades that he didn’t wonder what might have happened if things just went a little differently. If he’d said yes to Valentino’s many attempts at getting his soul, or if he went back after he was kicked out of V Tower with nothing but the clothes on his back and desperate for his next hit. If Charlie hadn’t found him when he was living on Cherri’s couch, unable to get a job, and held out her helping hand, the idea of turning the hotel into a place of redemption not even a glimmer in her mind yet, and if he hadn’t gone to see that movie on a particularly bad night.
In response to his story, Husk went, “Hm.” Clearing his throat, he stepped away, and Angel felt his heart drop a little when he saw Husk looked a little uncomfortable, the end of his tail curling towards his body - maybe he’d said too much? “Well, uh, anything else ya wanna know?”
“Oh, um, what about….” Angel thought about Charlie, about Cherri, and the others, and smiled softly. “Thankfulness?”
Looking back at Angel, Husk seemed to blink in surprise. “Sweet peas.”
Nodding, Angel turned away before Husk hopefully saw the small flush that was spreading across his cheeks. “Cool. Um, mind if I look around for a bit? Think I’ll get some flowers for a friend while I’m here.”
“Sure,” answered Husk with a nod. “Let me know when you’re ready, I can make them into a bouquet for you.” He moved past Angel and went back to the counter, picking up another flower from a small pile Angel hadn’t noticed and his scissors again, snipping the stems once more with concentration that was… kinda cute.
Humming, Angel walked through the store, taking in the flowers, a lot of which were ones he didn’t recognize. Some were already cut and in vases, arranged artfully, some mixed flowers and others all the same, and some were still in their pots. It didn’t matter where Angel looked, everything looked clean and cared for, and he would bet money that Husk spent most of his time here, making sure everything was taken care of all by himself and to his probably high standards.
As the only customer in the shop at the moment, the quiet was nice - usually he had to worry about someone recognizing him and getting in his face, begging for a selfie or an autograph, or sometimes worse. But for now, there was only some soft ambient music playing from somewhere he couldn’t see, Husk snipping at the flowers every so often, and the soft smell of the flowers and soil. For a moment, he almost forgot that they were in Hell.
“So,” Angel finally spoke up, looking over the sweet peas that Husk had mentioned earlier, “you said you’ve seen some of my movies?” He looked back at the counter, where he saw Husk look a little surprised at being talked to again. “Which ones?”
Angel wasn’t sure, but he thought Husk looked a little nervous as he answered. “Uh, I don’t remember the titles, really. There was the one you were a pretty minor role in, honestly, but I remember all the girls in the theater swoonin’ when you came on screen. And that one where you were trapped on a boat in the middle of nowhere or somethin’?” He shrugged. “You were pretty good in both.”
“Well, can’t have been that good if I wasn't’ makin’ you swoon too,” Angel teased, and that at least got him a little chuckle. “Those were some good parts, I liked them.” He shrugged. “Might be kinda nice to do something a little lighter though, with rom-coms. And I’m a sucker for a good romance.”
Definitely now acting a little awkward, Husk cleared his throat and wiped his hands on his apron. “You’d be good in comedy.”
“Aw thanks.” Pretending to look at some soft pink flowers that almost matched the hearts and stripes that covered his body, he glanced at Husk out of the corner of his eyes as he said, “I think with the right co-star, it could be a hit.”
Husk nodded. “And, uh, you got a good co-star for this one?”
“Still being cast.” Angel looked over to Husk again, and god. Used to be with men, he would just straight up offer to have sex with them, get to the fun part first and hope the emotional connection he craved might come later. Been that way since he was alive, when being gay was a good reason to get you dead and no one ever wanted to stick around with him, and continued on in Hell, which is what landed him ini Valentino’s clawed hands to begin with. But for some reason… he didn’t want that with this guy. Barely knew him, yet wanted this to be different - was this what it was like for most people? “Hopin’ the guy I’m looking at says yes.”
Oblivious to Angel’s hints, Husk kept snipping at flower stems, trimming them of thorns. “Well, I hope for your sake he says yes too. If you think he’s right for the part.”
“Yeah, me too.” Angel couldn’t help but smile. “I don’t know him super well, but I think we could hit it off.” Standing tall and taking a quiet deep breath, deciding on what he wanted to do, Angel approached the counter, clasping his hands behind his back. “I think I’m ready now.”
Snipping the last flower in his pile, Husk scooped up the flowers he was working on and carefully set them on a counter behind him on a laid out cloth before turning back and wiping his hands on his apron again. “Alright, what were you thinking?”
“Well, I wanted some sweet peas, but also, a mixed bouquet?”
“Alright.” Husk grabbed a notepad sitting nearby and a pen, looking up at him and waiting.
“How about white camellia, yellow lilies, some pink peonies, and… maybe some of those little sunflowers?” Angel pointed to some small sunflowers that weren’t bright yellow, but dark - he’d been drawn to them because they reminded him of Husk’s own golden eyes.
Nodding, Husk wrote down what he wanted. “Sure. You want a dozen flower bouquet? That’s pretty standard.”
“Yeah, let’s do that.”
“Alright.” Husk looked up from the notepad. “I’ll get working on that for you. It, uh, might take me some time if you wanna go get lunch or somethin’ and come back in an hour? I mean,” he shuffled his feet - was he nervous? “- you can stay if you want, not like there’s anyone else in the shop right now but it’ll be kinda boring.
Angel took a moment to think about it. If he left, there was the chance he would be recognized and mobbed, and might not make it back. “Mind if I hang out here? It’s actually kind of peaceful. And there’s plenty to look at.” He almost wanted to wink to try and flirt with Husk again, but he held it back.
“Sure, if you want to.” Ripping out the page of his notebook, he shrugged. “Uh… do you wanna see the greenhouse?”
That made Angel straighten up, his eyes going wide. “Can I?”
A little surprised by his enthusiasm, Husk shrugged again. “Sure.” He walked out from behind the counter and gestured for Angel to follow him. “Might help with your role preparation.”
Right, the role he made up to talk with Husk. He almost forgot. Following Husk as he led him towards the back of the room, Angel glanced around the shop again. “You take care of all of this by yourself?” he guessed, trying to think of what the green house might look like. He only had images in his mind of small, cute little spaces that he’d seen in movies.
Laughing, Husk reached into his apron pocket and grabbed a key. “This is barely any of it, kid.” He unlocked the door, pushing it open, and motioned for Angel to go through first. “This is where the magic really happens.”
Stepping through the door, Angel gasped. “Holy shit.” He found himself almost near tears at the amount of green, more green than he might have ever seen in his life, living and dead. It was a long room that was twice as large as the shop, with rows and rows of flowers of all different kinds, even more than he saw in the front. “This is so cool.”
“Here.” Husk spoke up, drawing Angel’s attention. He was holding up an apron, plain and drab and covered in old stains. “It can get kinda messy back here. I might have some boot covers somewhere if you want them, too.”
“I mean, gotta get into the role, I guess.” Angel took the apron, slipping that on, and when Husk found the boot covers, put those on too. He looked over himself and snorted. “This is certainly a look. Good thing I didn’t wear anything fancier today.” Like what he usually wore when he snuck out.
At least it made Husk chuckle. “It’s a good look on you. Come with me.” Starting toward a bed of flowers, Angel strode after him, head swiveling back and forth as he tried to take everything in, most of them flowers that he’d never seen before. “I mean this as a complement, you must not have time to drink or gamble anymore, not when you’ve got all of this to take care of by yourself.”
He almost wasn’t surprised to hear Husk’s small, sad laugh. “Oh, I still find time.” Looking back at Angel, he gestured to himself with a sweep of his hand. “Proper addict through and through.”
“I get that.” And Angel did - even after being clean for such a long time, he still had to fight the urge to use, and often. Especially when it was still all around him - not just the vending machines that were almost on every corner, taunting him, but people using freely around him, and shit, some people still offered it to him despite it being public knowledge that he didn’t use anymore. “Sounds like you need your own help - like I got.” Pausing for a hesitant moment, he offered as he patted his pockets, “I got a card somewhere if you ever wanna talk to my friends, the ones that helped me out. They ain’t gonna judge.”
To that, Husk hummed noncommittally. “Maybe.”
Dropping his hands, Angel nodded. He wouldn’t push it. He wanted to make Charlie’s project more well known, but he knew from his own experience that some people didn’t want help until they had nothing left.
Stopping at a flower bed and looking over his list, Husk pulled out a pair of clippers out of his apron pockets. “Alright, let’s see… Yellow lilies are here.” He bent down and snipped a few before holding them up to Angel without even looking back. “Here, hold these.”
Taking them as instructed, Angel felt himself smile a little, though he wasn’t even sure why. Just something about watching Husk work made his heart give a little flutter. It was probably just nerves.
Standing tall again, Husk asked curiously as he moved further down the rows, “So what made you want to branch out into rom-coms? Those dramas you do not doin’ it for ya anymore?”
“Naw, I love doing dramas.” Angel shrugged. “Just wanting to try something… different.” He looked over Husk as he bent over to get some pink peonies, taking in his wings as they gave a little flutter so he could keep his balance. “Like, don’t know if you like it till you try it.”
Humming in agreement, Husk snipped a few flowers and stood tall again, handing them to Angel. “Fair enough,” He glanced up at Angel. “Hey, uh, you’re Italian, right?” There was a faint flush to his cheeks that threw off Angel, and he might have been shuffling his feet a little.
“Y-Yeah.” For some reason, people really liked the fact that he was Italian, though he usually didn’t have the accent when he was in movies. “Not a lot of people remember that.” He latched onto the fact and rambled, “You know, I was actually kinda wanting to see if I could work that in, me making the guy I want to ask out some old fashion Italian cooking, or something like that. Think that’ll work?”
It wasn’t until Angel stopped talking that he realized he wasn’t talking about the movie anymore.
“I mean, who doesn’t love good Italian food?” Husk glanced over to more flowers, the white camellias and the sweet peas. “I just asked because I have a small vegetable bed in here and the tomatoes are growing in nicely, if you wanted some.” He turned away, but Angel thought his face might have been turning a brighter pink. “Could help with this guy.”
“Really?” Angel felt like his face was going to be as red as the tomatoes they were talking about. “Yeah, I’d like that. What… what else do you think could work?”
The back of Husk’s shoulders moved up for a shrug. “I dunno, what does the guy like?”
“Uh, don’t know yet.” Angel scrambled to come up with a lie. “Er, writers are still working on the script. But they’re always open to ideas.” Absolutely a lie, and Angel tried not to blush more. “What would you like? If you wouldn’t mind me asking.”
“Um, well…” Husk’s ears flicked back briefly, his tail swishing against the floor as he looked for the last flowers he needed. “I ain’t a good cook myself, so food will pretty much always win me over. And… I like magic.”
That took Angel by surprise. “Magic? Like, Vegas magic?” When Husk nodded, he couldn’t help but grin. “That’s cool as shit.” He almost wanted to ask to see a trick.
Snipping at the last of the flowers, Husk answered, “Yeah, I lived there for a while when I was alive.” Angel could barely see it, but he thought the end of his lips were curling into a soft, remembering smile, and god, he wished he could see more. “The street performers always fascinated me. When I was broke in my twenties and couch surfing with some friends, I started to teach myself magic and when I got good enough, set up my own little performance on a street corner.” He chuckled fondly. “Scammed a lot of tourists out of money.” Gesturing for Angel to follow him back to the front of the greenhouse, he went on, “I then turned around and used those skills here, too, though for… more nefarious purposes, admittedly.”
“Oh, my word, really?” Angel teased as if he was shocked before he laughed. “Naw, I ain’t one to judge. Didn’t do exactly the best things when I got down here either.” He pointed skyward. “Or up there.”
Turning around to take the flowers back from Angel with a soft smile in what Angel hoped was understanding, Husk led Angel back to the front of the store, locking the greenhouse door behind him. “So if you’re playing a florist, you probably need to know how to make a bouquet look nice, huh?”
“Yup!” Angel waved his four hands. “And I got plenty of hands to work with.”
Getting Husk to chuckle again at his dumb joke might have been better than any drug he’d ever taken before. “Well, luckily,” he said as he set the flowers down on the counter, “you picked flowers that all have pretty complimentary colors, so this will be pretty easy. Unless you’re a bit of a perfectionist… like me.” This smile was sheepish.
“Well, gotta make it the best I can. For the role, I mean,” added Angel in a rush. “No one’s gonna believe I’m a florist if I can’t even do that.”
Those cute ears of Husk’s flicked back. “Well, can’t have that. Well, first, we have to figure out what you want to wrap it in…”
Husk went on to show him how to wrap and arrange the bouquet, make it look - honestly - fantastic, but if anyone asked Angel how it was done, he wouldn’t be able to explain it. He listened, he nodded, and even watched his own hands work on the arrangement. But all he could really focus on was Husk’s voice, his golden eyes, his large paws that guided his much smaller ones. His cheeks felt like they were on fire so hot his face might slide off, and his heart was beating so hard it threatened to burst through his rib cage, but Husk didn’t even seem to notice. He hadn’t felt like this… well, maybe since he was a little kid, realizing that he liked boys instead of girls, not yet being told what a crime that was at the time. He’s never had anything more than flings beforehand, besides whatever twisted thing he had with Val.
And god, did he want more.
By the time he started to focus again, Husk was wrapping twine around the small bouquet of sweet peas, the mixed bouquet already done. “You know, these aren’t bad, kid. For your first time doing this, they look real nice.”
“Thanks,” Angel said, pleased and resisting the urge to puff up his chest when he couldn’t even remember most of what just happened. “I had a good teacher.”
Chuckling, Husk handed him both of the bouquets. “Well, was there anything else you needed?” Before Angel could answer, his ears pricked up. “Oh shit, your tomatoes. Give me a second.” With a flick of his tail as he turned, Husk headed back to the greenhouse, leaving Angel alone for a few minutes.
Taking a deep breath, Angel tried to pump himself up, whispering to himself as he fiddled with his freed lower hands. “Okay, you got this. It’ll be easy. So what if you’ve never done this… ever…. Oh, crap,” He moaned softly. “I’m gonna fuck up.”
“Here ya go.” Husk returned with a brown paper bag that was clearly stuffed, setting them on the counter. “I tried to pick the best looking ones. Hope they help with this guy thing, or whatever.” Clearing his throat, he started ringing Angel up. “Uh, was there anything else? Or just the bouquets?
‘Your phone number. A date. For you to say my name again.’ He would take anything.
“Um, no,” Angel shook his head. “That’s it for now. How much do I owe ya?”
Humming, Husk punched in a few things, and gave him the total. Which was… not nearly enough for what he got. Angel knew that from just glancing at the prices while he was looking around earlier.
“Wait, are you sure?” Angel tried to argue, feeling bad. “You’ve already done so much, ya don’t gotta give me a discount too-”
Cutting him off, Husk shot back, “Who said anything about a discount? Maybe my prices are just cheap.” Leaning on the counter, Husk almost looked like he was actually flirting back when he said, “That’s the price, kid. Take it or leave it.”
“Kid?” Even though he was grinning as he went to reach for his wallet, Angel shot back, “Fine, old man.” He held out his card to pay. “I really mean it, though. You taught me a lot, and I had a really good time talking with you.”
Charging him, Husk held back his card along with the white slip of a receipt, while at the same time pushed the bag of tomatoes to him. “Yeah, it was nice talking to you too. Don’t take this the wrong way, but you’re surprisingly down to Earth. Or… Hell?” With a small laugh, he shook his head. “Anyway, you’re a decent dude.” He smiled up at Angel one more time. “I hope the movie goes well, come back anytime you need more pointers.
This was his chance, his moment; all he had to do was open his mouth and say a few, seemingly simple words.
Instead, Angel heard himself say, “Might take you up on that.” Taking up the bag of tomatoes, he stepped back to leave and waved. “See you later?”
Husk nodded. “I’ll be here.”
Turning around to leave, Angel screwed his eyes shut, trying not start cursing at himself in Italian under his breath. Stupid, he was so stupid - he’d been around the cute flower shop owner for almost a full hour and yet he could get the words he wanted out of his mouth.
He couldn’t ask Husk out on a goddamn date.
The bell above the door jingled at him mockingly as he left.
Standing outside as the door closed behind him, not bothering to put his sunglasses back on yet, Angel stared at the flowers in his hands. The ones he picked out in the language of flowers for good luck, happiness, and adoration, along with the sunflowers that reminded him of Husk’s eyes. He felt mad at himself, but Charlie’s little voice in the back of his head reminded him that it was okay, after all, why wouldn’t he be nervous about asking Husk out?
Wasn’t like he’d ever asked anyone out before. Ever.
And then right on cue, there was Cherri butting in, yelling at him that she would beat his ass if he didn’t get back in there and finish the job. Angel almost laughed; his best friend was always there to kick him into gear.
Taking a deep, steadying breath, trying to remind himself that he’d done much scarier things than asking a guy out for the first time, Angel turned around and opened the door again.
Husk was still behind the counter, having gathered the roses he cut earlier and now trying to rearrange them in a pretty vase with a bow on it. “Welcome to A Touch of - oh.” Looking up, he blinked as he watched Angel walk back towards the counter, who was trying not to let his hands shake. “Back so soon?”
“Um, yeah, I…” Angel’s face was hot as he stepped up to the counter and thrust out the bouquet they’d worked on together. “This is for you.”
The shock and surprise on Husk’s face made Angel think maybe he was wrong, maybe Husk didn’t even like him at all, but his hands seemed to automatically move forward to take the flowers. “You- what?” he fumbled out.
“Was told that these flowers mean happiness, adoration, luck, and, well - the sunflowers just kinda reminded me of your eyes.” Angel shuffled his feet, glancing down at the floor for a moment and feeling shy, which was such a weird feeling for him when he wasn’t in front of a camera with directions and lines to follow. “And, I was wondering if maybe you’d like to have dinner with me? I like to cook - could make you some Italian food with these tomatoes a cute guy gave me.”
“I- Oh.” When Angel looked up, he saw that Husk looked just as awkward and shy as he felt, his face also going red. “There… there was no role, was there?” he questioned - not in an accusatory way, just curious.
“I mean, no?” Angel tried not to wince. “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have lied, I just got really nervous, and I really wanted to talk to you, and-” Fuck, he was rambling again.
Holding up a hand to signal Angel to stop, Husk said quickly, “No, no I ain’t mad. Just making an observation. Uh…” Husk looked down at the bouquet in his hands, and the silence was so loud that Angel could swear both of them could hear his heartbeat, and then he looked up and smiled softly. “Yanno what, fuck it. I mean, how many times is a celebrity gonna ask me on a date? And one I actually kinda like at that.”
There was no way to stop Angel from beaming. “Wait, really?”
He liked him?
“I mean, c’mon.” Husk shrugged. “I ain’t blind. And… you’re kinda cute when you’re being genuine.”
He didn’t think his blush could get any brighter, but it did. “Yeah, sorry, kinda used to acting like that around people,” apologized Angel. “It’s what they expect.”
“I like the real you better.” Setting aside the bouquet, Husk said with that smile growing larger, “So, my answer is yes. I think I’d like to have dinner with you.”
“Yes!” Angel was punching the air with a free hand before realizing what he was doing, and he groaned, hiding his face behind that same hand. “Sorry. Got a little excited.”
“I can see that,” Husk said with a chuckle, like the gentle rumble of a river. “Um, you free Friday night?”
“Yeah - I can pick you up? Or do you wanna meet at my place?”
“You can pick me up if you want.” Husk pointed to the ceiling. “I live in the apartment above the shop.”
“Cool. I’ll, um, see you Friday?” Starting to leave again, Angel walked backwards so he didn’t have to stop looking at the smiling Husk - who’d said yes! - but who immediately stumbled, just catching himself and standing up straight “I’m - I’m looking forward to it.”
His hand over his mouth to cover his laughter at Angel’s stumble, Husk said, ”Yeah, me too. But maybe we should exchange phone numbers first, so you can let me know when you get here.”
“Oh, right, right!”
A few minutes later, Angel waved as he left the store a second time that afternoon, and as the bell jingled again, this time as a congratulations, he breathed out, “Holy shit, holy shit!” Grabbing his sunglasses, Angel slipped back on, though that couldn’t hide his beaming smile as he started walking again, carefully holding onto the flowers he got for Charlie and his gifted tomatoes. He had a date!
Now, the next question - what to wear? Maybe Cherri could help him decide when he called and told her the news - he just hoped she answered the phone this time.
🌻
Inside the flower shop, Husk watched Angel walk away, looking practically giddy. He couldn’t judge, though, as his own tail was swishing behind him happily, the feathers spread wide. “Damn,” he muttered to himself, running a hand through his hair, his own smile wide. “I’m going on a date with Angel Dust. ” He shook his head in disbelief. “I need a drink…”
Oh shit. What was he going to wear?