Chapter Text
Ilya runs his thumb down the key’s ridges one last time before sliding it into the lock. He needs the firm edges to ground him in this moment as his second chance is within reach.
As he pushes the door open, the bell the previous owners secured to the doorframe rings and brings a smile to his face. He can see it now, looking up from an arrangement to greet his latest customer.
“Блядь, Илюша, if you want to actually open our flower shop, you need to walk inside instead of just standing in the doorway.” He can hear the sarcasm in Sveta’s tone as she gently guides him inside and kisses his cheek.
“Sveta, give me this! I’m finally back and living on my own terms.”
“Yes, and I’m very proud of you, but I also refuse to let you fuck this up for me.” The plan to start a business together has been in the works since their college days at the University of Ottawa, but they had to pump the brakes when Ilya’s asshole father got sick. His dead-beat brother refused to take care of him, so Ilya returned to Moscow after graduation to aid his father in his last days.
Between appointments, estate planning, and dodging calls from his shared DNA, Ilya and Sveta have been hard at work to get Irina’s Bloom House up and running from afar. The second Grigori Rozanov’s body was in the ground, Ilya was securing a one-way ticket to Ottawa and never looking back.
Now, he stands with his best friend in their new storefront on a Friday morning, with an ambitious plan to open to the public the coming Monday.
“I’m not the only one proud of you, you know,” Sveta whispers as she wraps an arm around his torso. He presses a kiss to her temple and closes his eyes for a second.
“Let’s make her even prouder.”
About two hours later, the bell rings again. He looks up to see a baby-faced blonde with glasses and a large bundle of supplies in his arm. “Mr. Rozanov? Ms. Vetrova?”
“You must be Luca. Please, come in.” When Sveta showed him the bare walls of their new property, they both agreed they needed something to bring life and personality to the store. Hiring a local freelance artist for a mural was an easy decision. “And Ilya is just fine.”
He could see a faint pink blush grace Luca Haas’ cheeks and hid his own chuckle to avoid embarrassing the kid. “Thank you for the opportunity. I promise I won’t let you down.”
“We know you won’t. Now, we’re thinking this wall here would have the mural, so you can see it from the main window.” Sveta has a kind smile as she guides Luca to his workspace, sending Ilya a quick wink. He rolls his eyes at her as he goes back to organizing the back-room’s shelves.
Ilya’s only been working with Luca via email on the mural’s design due to the distance, but based on the sketches he’s seen he has full faith Luca will make them a beautiful work of art. The kid puts his headphones on as he gets started, letting the creative process take over. It’s a state of being Ilya’s more than familiar with, though his medium is a little greener.
Irina Rozanova had a love for gardening and flowers, and it’s something she passed on to her youngest son as he grew. His earliest memory is of him and Mama in her сад, getting his hands dirty as she gently explains to him the process of planting seeds and watching them grow into beautiful flowers. Being amongst the blooms helped him feel closer as the years have gone on.
“Sveta, have you seen my box of—Luca, this is incredible!” They’ve clearly all lost track of time as they work; when Ilya next steps into the main retail space, he startles the kid away from his nearly complete mural.
“Hm? Oh, thank you.” The blush has returned to Luca’s cheeks as he removes his headphones, and it only gets deeper when Sveta looks up from the box she’s unpacking and lets out an impressed whistle. “I hope it’s everything you had in mind, after you explained why the daffodils were so important.”
The mural is a large botanical piece, with vines and other greenery swirling around various bouquets of flowers. Ilya can see at least one daffodil is in each arrangement, making them the most prominent on the entire wall.
“Да, they’re a symbol for new beginnings,” Sveta grins as she takes it in. It’s enough to bring a tear to Ilya’s eyes.
“Для нас, мама.”
Monday can’t come fast enough.
Monday morning is always a drag for Shane. The comedown after weekly family dinners on Sunday nights makes him sluggish for the start of the work week, but today he has a bit more pep in his step. Bood has another session on his lion back piece today, and Shane’s been excited for it since he wrapped him up last time.
During a semester abroad in Japan he took junior year of art school to reconnect with his mother’s heritage, Shane fell in love with traditional Japanese tattoos and has dedicated his career to his passion. Now, Kōsai Ink is one of the premier shops in Canada for the style.
Shane loves being his own boss and setting his own schedule each day. Unlocking the door and flicking on the lights as he walks in, he sets his bag down at his station to pull out his laptop and get through an hour’s worth of admin work before it’s time to prep everything for Bood’s appointment. Given how much detail they’re going into, he wants to get everything sanitized and ready early so he doesn’t eat up much of Bood’s time.
His apprentice Luca arrives just as he’s shutting the laptop to set it aside. “Morning, Mr. Hollander.”
“Luca, we’ve been over this. We’ve both stuck needles in each other; you can call me Shane.” Sending a smile his way, Shane stood up to take inventory of his station. “Looks like I’m on the last of my plastic wrap, can you please grab another roll while I get my inkwells set up?”
They fall into an easy rhythm of setting everything up, and the door opens just as Shane grabs his tablet to prepare a stencil. “What, no little business partner today? You know she’s my fucking favorite, dude,” Bood teases as he greets Shane with a quick bro hug.
“Yeah, and she’s much easier to work with when I’m not setting up shop. Come on, let me show you what I’ve got mapped out for us. I think we’ll be able to finally finish this one today.”
Bood has been his friend and one of his best clients since he branched off on his own three years ago, so his appointments always move like a perfectly planned hockey play. Soon enough, he’s got the familiar buzz of his tattoo gun and an easy conversation keeping him grounded as he focuses on the intricate shading job of the lion’s mane.
“Daddy!” He can feel his baby girl’s presence as soon as the door opens, and he knows her well enough that he doesn’t have to look up as the next words out of his mouth come before he can think.
“Hi my little Rainbow! What are the rules of Daddy’s shop?”
“Stay with Baaba until the buzzer machine is off and Daddy isn’t holding it.” Yuna chuckles as she catches Iris and sweeps her off her feet, stepping close to take a peek at their progress.
The two greatest joys of Shane’s life are tattooing and being a father. Iris is three and a half years old and a little whirlwind, inheriting her mother Rose’s bubbly personality to make up for being his spitting image. The second the nurse placed her on his chest in the hospital, he knew he’d spend the rest of his life giving her everything.
“Mr. Bood, your lion is roaring!” Shane pulls back his tattoo gun as he feels Bood’s chuckle. Thankfully his friend has a young son of his own, so he’s used to how excited Iris always is.
“Your Daddy is doing a great job, isn’t he Rain?” Yuna presses a kiss to her granddaughter’s nodding cheek as Shane turns his tattoo gun off and sets it down, opening his arms to accept his baby. “Little Miss here wanted to bring some salmon onigiri to everyone at the shop for lunch.”
“I helped Baaba press them!” She gives him a tight hug once the handoff is complete, and Shane holds her just as tightly for as long as she’ll let him.
“That makes them even more special, Niji. I can’t wait to try them,” he kisses her head gently, feeling her jerk up as he hears footsteps coming from Luca’s desk.
“Mr. Luca! We brought some for you, we can eat them while I show you my drawings.” One of the reasons Shane loved having Luca as an apprentice was that he loved having Iris come into the shop as much as Shane did and was always happy to entertain her wishes. He knew that most people thought a tattoo shop wasn’t a place for a young kid, but Shane has taken multiple precautions to make sure she was always safe whenever his parents or Rose brought her by.
“And yes Bood, there’s some for you too,” Yuna smiles as Shane sets Iris down, quickly switching his gloves so he could wipe away excess ink and wrap Bood up while they ate.
“Thank you, Mrs. Hollander. My appointments are always better when you two stop by.”
Ten minutes later, they’re all sitting at the dining table in the shop’s lobby eating lunch. Shane is balancing Iris on his knee while she eats and shows Luca the latest unicorn drawing she made. She has her own artwork section on the wall next to Shane and Luca’s sketches, and Shane can’t wait to hang this one up with the others.
“So, what do you think of the new flower shop across the street?” Shane perks an eyebrow at his mother’s question, finishing his latest bite. “Oh come on, you didn’t see the big ‘Now Open’ sign in the window when you got in?”
“Knowing how excited Shane is about finishing this piece, he was locked in on today’s appointment and barely noticed what’s in his own window when he got in.” Bood chuckled as he wiped his hands on a napkin.
“You know me so well, dear,” he grins sarcastically at his friend as his mother shakes her head fondly.
“The owners were very nice as we talked about their mural. I’m actually really proud of how it turned out.” Luca seemed shy as he spoke, which wasn’t surprising. He was always shy about his work.
What was surprising was the news that he had painted a mural in the first place. “You painted them a mural?”
“Yeah, they sent me an Instagram DM and we’d been emailing back and forth about it. But never while I was here, I promise!” Luca bites his lip, and Shane gives him a gentle smile.
“Luca, you know I will always encourage your art, no matter what medium. In fact, I’d love to see it when it’s finished.”
“Considering the shop is open, I’d guess it already is,” Bood chuckled as he looked down at his ringing phone. “Cassie just texted and said Milo’s asking for Mommy and Daddy story time, you guys should go over while I take this.”
“Daddy, can we go see the flowers? Pretty pretty please?” Iris knew how to weaponize her big brown eyes from a young age, and Shane knew as soon as he looked down at her he wouldn’t be able to say no.
“Okay, but you’re holding Luca and my hands when we cross the street.”
“Yay!”
As they step into Irina’s Bloom House, he hears the gentle ringing of a bell and smells a fresh garden scent. It’s peaceful and calming, which Shane expected from the beautiful flower shop.
What he didn’t expect was the most handsome man he’d ever seen elbow deep in an arrangement of blue irises.