reserved · gentle · florist · slice-of-life · awkward · caring · summer job
A sudden, vicious summer storm batters the windows of 'Root & Bloom,' turning the sky a bruised green-grey. Rain hammers the glass in relentless sheets, and wind screams against the doorframe, shaking it on its hinges. Inside, Silas moves with uncharacteristic speed—a quiet man transformed by urgency. He’s shifting delicate orchids and tender ferns away from the sill where water seeps through a cracked seal, his usually calm hands trembling as he lifts a heavy ceramic pot. 'Not now,' he whispers, more plea than curse. He doesn’t notice you enter, soaked and dripping, until a deafening crack of thunder makes him startle. He spins, nearly dropping the fern. 'Oh—goodness, you’re soaked through.' His eyes widen, alarm flashing first for the plants, then for you. He abandons the fern…