Chapter Text
It was a lazy Thursday afternoon, and spring would soon officially begin in a month, although the weather was still fairly chilly (as it usually was in Seattle). Surprisingly, the sun was shining overhead, a pleasant change from the overcast skies that typically blanketed the city. On days like these, Ganyu would have preferred to enjoy her time outside, but the little flower shop she owned still allowed her a lovely view of the nearby park out the window, all with the added benefit of indoor temperature control and protection from the wind and rain.
The door opened, the bell above the entrance chiming to signify someone’s arrival. Ganyu instinctively fixed her posture, setting aside the book she was reading.
“Hello! Welcome to Radiant Floral!”
The morning was slow, and the afternoon was no different. Usually, it’d only ever be consistently busy during Valentine’s Day, but Ganyu never lacked for business. After all, there were always those who needed to purchase flowers for anniversaries, weddings, and funerals. Usually, she was pretty good with figuring out which of the three someone was shopping for.
But as Ganyu watched the prospective customer wander around her shop aimlessly, she felt stumped.
“Is there anything I could assist you with?” she asked after a few minutes, and the other woman startled slightly, as if she had somehow forgotten that she wasn’t alone in the store.
“Oh! Um, I don’t think so? I’m just looking.”
Right. It wasn’t too uncommon for people to come in just to admire the flowers without buying any, and Ganyu didn’t take issue with that. Still, she had to play the part of a helpful employee.
“Well, if there’s anything you need, just let me know.”
Ganyu picked her book back up, but she couldn’t concentrate on the words in front of her. Instead, she found herself glancing toward the only customer in her humble shop every chance she got. Her hair was a lovely shade of lavender, long pigtails tied up in triangular buns that resembled cat ears, with piercing eyes reminiscent of an intense lilac. She wore a simple outfit consisting of a white long sleeve blouse paired with black leggings and boots. Her features were sharp, but not unpleasant to look at. In fact, they were very pleasing on the eyes—as was the rest of her.
She was totally Ganyu’s type.
If she noticed Ganyu staring, she didn’t show any signs of it. If anything, Ganyu almost suspected she was acutely aware of it when she dropped her phone, quietly cursing as she bent over to pick it up off the floor and check for any cracks on the screen, and granting Ganyu a very clear view of her ass in leggings while doing so.
Ganyu forced herself to look back down at the book, lifting it up to her nose to hide her undoubtedly red face. Oh my god, pull yourself together. It was a Thursday afternoon and she was at work—it was not a Friday night at a club.
She’s unsure how long she stayed like that, unwilling to even offer her eyes the opportunity to wander, when she’s brought out of her mortification by someone clearing their throat.
She lowered the book and straightened her back, going right back into business mode.
“Did you find what you need?”
“Actually, I wanted to ask you something.”
“Oh?” Ganyu’s curiosity was piqued. “What is it?”
“Is it okay if I take some pictures? I don’t actually need the flowers physically, but I’ll still pay you for the photos.”
Ganyu hesitated. What an odd request. It was a harmless one, but it only raised more questions for her.
“Sure, I don’t mind. If you tell me what it’s for, I might even let you do it for free.”
The woman shook her head. “No, I insist. It wouldn’t be fair to you if I didn’t. But if you’re curious, I need references for my… art.”
Ganyu’s eyes lit up. “You’re an artist?”
“Yeah, although my parents would say otherwise,” she mumbled bitterly, before realizing that she was probably oversharing information about her personal life to a complete stranger. “A-anyway, I have a client who wants roses, but admittedly I’m not satisfied with the way I draw the petals currently, so I figured it might help to see some in person.”
Ganyu nodded. “That makes sense. You’re welcome to bring the roses to the counter to take your pictures if you’d like. Just be careful with them, okay?”
“Of course,” she responded before turning on her heel to do just that. Ganyu watched as she easily pulled open the door of one of the floral coolers and carefully picked up one of the simpler arrangements to bring back over to where Ganyu was seated.
She set it down in front of the florist and began taking pictures of the arrangement from different angles. Ganyu couldn’t help but admire just how much more beautiful the woman was up close.
“So what’s your name?” she asked, snapping Ganyu out of her reverie. “You don’t seem to have a name tag on you.”
“Ganyu,” she answered, “and that’s because I’m the only one who works here. Might I ask for yours?”
“Of course you can. I’m Keqing.” She paused. “I take it you own this place then?”
“You’d be correct. Actually, I live upstairs from here.”
Keqing’s eyes glanced over to the blocked off staircase to the side. “Ah, I was wondering what could be up there. In any case, it’s nice to meet you.” She held out a hand, so Ganyu shook it.
“Oh wow, you have pretty rough hands,” Keqing noted, before suddenly shrinking back from embarrassment. “Sorry, that was probably a bit rude of me to say.”
Wow, she sure was blunt. “It’s fine. You’re not the first person who’s mentioned it before.” Ganyu looked down at her own calloused fingers. “Gardening probably plays a part in it, but I suspect it’s mostly because I do archery in my free time.”
Keqing’s eyebrows raised in surprise. “Really? Do you have any videos of you shooting?”
“I… do.” There were plenty, actually, from when she competed in the Olympics, but she wasn’t ever going to bring that up in a conversation unless someone else did first. She didn’t want to seem like she was bragging or anything, not to mention it was mostly just a hobby nowadays.
Keqing didn’t comment on Ganyu’s reservations. “Cool. You should show me one day. If that’s okay with you.”
Ganyu felt herself smile. “Only if you show me some of your art in return.”
For some reason, Keqing blushed. Maybe she was self-conscious about her art? “Sure. It’s a deal, but it’ll have to wait.”
“I look forward to it then.”
Keqing quickly finished taking what she deemed to be a sufficient amount of reference pictures before giving Ganyu a generous tip that was worth much more than the most expensive arrangements in her store, despite the florist’s protests. Keqing simply just smiled at her—making Ganyu’s heart skip a beat—and waved behind her shoulder as she left, but not before promising to visit again soon.
The rest of the day was relatively uneventful with a few standard sales scattered every few hours. Ganyu stood up from the stool she was sitting on, moving her hands to smooth out the wrinkles in her skirt, then grabbed her keyring and made her way over to close up shop for the night.