toliveagain | you belong among the wildflowers

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you belong among the wildflowers

It's been a little over a week since the grand opening of Thistle Do Nicely, and Riley has been pleasantly surprised by how well the reception to the shop has been. They'd found a prime location, halfway between the boardwalk and a bakery and bookshop, so while they've already gotten customers ordering future arrangements for things like anniversaries and birthdays, they also get people in to pick up the occasional stray flower here and there, just to give to someone special. He's already thinking he and Ryan should eventually consider setting up a small flower kiosk out on the boardwalk itself, though it's still a little too hot for that. Maybe more into autumn, when people are looking for bursts of color to brighten the darker days.

As for today, it's slower than it's been since they opened and while in some ways that's a little disappointing, it also comes as a little bit of a relief because it means he can concentrate on other things. Ordering more inventory, for one, which may or may not include a Keurig machine because having to walk to Quill every time he needs another caffeine fix (which is considerably often) is already starting to get old.

Glancing over his shoulder to see Ryan attending to a customer who seems much more interested in learning about his likes and dislikes than the different kinds of carnations they offer, Riley smirks to himself before turning his attention to his phone. Shooting off a text to the contacts he's made in town so far, he tucks his phone back in his pocket and wanders outside with a watering can to take care of the flowers they've set up for display outside. It's a beautiful day out, Riley observes, and he can only hope that someone else will come along soon to make it even better.

[Feel free to use this post to meet Riley AND Ryan! If you don't specify in your tag or in the subject line, we'll just assume we have permission to tag your character separately :) Everyone come say hi to the qt flower shop boyzzzz~~~!]

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Davin is on his lunch break when he gets the text from Riley, and he swings by Quill to get three iced coffees to go. They've accepted Edan's presence at Quill, because he's perfectly behaved and looks so cute in his little harness. His fox is like a service animal, but so much more important.

He thinks people just don't really question it too much, because it's obvious that Edan belongs at Davin's side, even to humans and sirens. This fox is a part of Davin and maybe eventually he'll be able to leave Edan at home, but right now they're still forging a bond. And he's just a baby, after all.

Edan isn't exactly pleased with his harness, but he trots along dutifully, sniffing at everything with his tail fluffed out behind him. When they get to the flower shop, Davin pushes the door open and holds up the coffee tray with a bright grin.

"I come bearin' coffee for the new owners," Davin says, setting the tray on the counter. Edan follows him in and sits at his feet, reaching up with his back foot to scratch at his ear before looking around. He sniffs at a bouquet sitting low on a display stand, and then lets out a tiny sneeze, shaking his head and then resting his chin on Davin's foot.

There's a flash of excitement that Riley tries to put to rest when Davin walks through the door, mostly because the guy is very much not available and anyway, he's not looking for anything in particular when he's still just trying to settle into being in a new town and starting up a new business. Even so, they've exchanged what Riley (and Ryan, for the record) has decided are considerably flirty texts so he figures he really can't help that he'd be pleased to see his friend. His very handsome, very Irish friend. He'd had a few of those in New York but is it even really possible to tire of handsome Irish men? He doubts it.

"You didn't have to to do that," Riley says, though he's already reaching for one of the coffees with a grin. He ends up stopping mid-sip because he realizes then what he hadn't even processed when Davin had walked through the door: there's a fox. In a harness. In the store. Either that, or it's a really unusual hybrid dog breed.

"Okay, so that's not something you see every day. Davin, is that-- You're keeping a fox as a pet? Is that a thing that's allowed, do people do that regularly in this town?"

"I wanted to," Davin says with a smile, leaning in close. "Besides, ya promised me a forest. Least I could do is bring ya coffee."

Riley looks surprised to see the fox, which is fair. Davin expected this. He jumped through all the hoops to register Edan as a familiar with the city, and came up with a cover story. He can't exactly tell everyone that Edan is a baby familiar, unfortunately.

"Kinda, kinda, an' no," Davin says with a laugh, reaching down to scoop Edan's tiny furry body up in his arms. "This is Edan. He's an orphaned kit, an' I'm rehabilitatin' him. He's a very special fox."

Edan lets out a raspy little yip and squirms around to look up at Riley, ears perked up as his tail flicks back and forth.

"Edan," Riley repeats, trying the name out a couple times before smiling and stepping closer so he can reach out to pat the fox's head. "Very special fox, I'm sure. Cute little guy, it's good of you to take him in. My parents had a dog that died when I was eleven, and they never really had the heart to get another. I'll tell you a secret, though, I also wanted one. Sometimes I'd go to the animal shelter and be so tempted to walk away with every single pup in there." He pauses, tilting his head thoughtfully at the fox. "Maybe I can make that happen here. Our apartment is big enough for something small."

He's rambling on a bit about pets when the fox isn't really one at all, and Riley lets out a sheepish laugh before dropping his hand back to his side as he takes a sip of his coffee.

"For the record, you're both welcome in the shop anytime. Though that might just be my way of saying I want to see more of you."

Davin just watches fondly as Riley starts to ramble, sipping at his coffee and nodding along. He's usually the talkative one, so he has no problem handing the reigns over for awhile.

"Aye, that sounds like a good idea," Davin tells him. "I always wanted t'get a pet but somethin' was always holdin' me back. Maybe I was just waitin' for this little guy."

That's what it was, he knows now, and Davin leans down to scoop Edan up and hold him against his chest. When Riley says that they're welcome in the shop, and why, Davin can't but to blush a little. "Well, we both thank ya very kindly, Riley."

Edan hops up on Davin's shoulder and perches himself carefully as Davin looks around. "So, where's my forest?"

"Oh, now I understand," Riley says, his tone taking on a teasing edge. "You're only here because you want something out of me. That's fine, I get it, you want what I promised to give you. That's only fair."

He reaches out to tug at Davin's wrist, nodding toward the back to encourage his friend to follow him as he heads that way. In truth, he had put together an arrangement for Davin, and it's absolutely not because he's spent more time than he probably should have thinking about the man. Ryan had rolled his eyes when Riley had admitted that this was specifically for Handsome Irish but in spite of that, the arrangement has been sitting in the cooler for a couple days now as he'd waited for Davin to find the time to visit.

"Here," he says, opening the cooler to reach for a particular arrangement and turning around to hold it out for Davin to inspect. "This one's yours. Green button poms, daisies, and carnations, for you, Handsome Irish."

Davin tosses his head back with a laugh at Riley's words, and then tugs lightly on Edan's leash so he follows along when Riley tugs him into the back. He's expecting maybe a flower, or a small pre-made arrangement, but that isn't what Riley pulls out of the cooler.

The flowers are beautiful, and obviously put together with him in mind, and Davin just stares at them for a moment. He's a little stunned, and he blinks a few times before looking up at Riley with wide eyes. "You-- this is for me? No one's ever gotten me flowers before."

He reaches out to take the vase and smells at the flowers, unable to keep from grinning as his cheeks flush pink. "They're beautiful."

"Well, clearly no one is awesome as I am," Riley answers, lifting his chin proudly, though there's that part of him that wonders how the hell a guy like Davin could end up as someone who'd never once been the recipient of flowers. It seems like a no-brainer of a gift, he's never seen a bouquet fail to make someone smile and if he's honest, he's really glad to see Davin grinning the way he is now. It's not a crush, that's not allowed because Davin's not on the market...

But maybe it's also a little bit of a crush. Riley doesn't think he can be blamed, though. Cute Irish guy with a fox? That's just unfair.

"I'm glad you like them, though, I'm going to be very offended if you don't take care of them well enough to let them live forever."

"Clearly," Davin says with a fond smile, looking up from the flowers. Edan gets up on his back feet and paws at Davin's leg, letting out a yip. He laughs a little and leans down to let the fox sniff at the flowers, smiling when he sneezes a little.

"I love them," Davin corrects, setting the vase on the counter. He very carefully pulls one of the smaller bits of baby's breath out and tucks it behind his ear, letting it curl around his temple. He looks up at Riley with a sly sort of smile, eyes bright. "I'll try t'work some magic on 'em."

He looks over at the flowers again and wonders if maybe there is some sort of way to enchant them so that they last.

"Show me."

Riley leans down so his elbows are resting on the greater, a greater feat for him than it is for most and if he's accentuating his best assets more than usual, maybe Davin won't notice. Though Riley hopes he does.

"Everyone in this town seems to be magical in one way or another," he continues, "and I've pretty much started to assume that everyone is until they're proven not to be. So show me."

Riley flashes a grin at Davin, just to show him that he's not actually trying to put his friend on the spot. Davin's free to say no, especially considering they're in the shop, and that's fine. There's no underlying motive, Riley's just curious because if he's supposed to be a witch, too, he wants to surround himself with as many other witches as he can. That he already likes Davin so much is a bonus.

Riley has to practically bend over to rest his elbows on the counter and well, Davin may be taken but he isn't blind. His eyes follow the long line of his muscular back, and it takes a moment for what Riley actually said to actually process. His eyes widen and he blushes a bit, but eventually he nods.

"Figured out the town secret, aye?" Davin says with a laugh. He's proud of what he is, but he's had a few bad reactions in the past. Most recently, someone he considered a dear friend. Riley seems genuinely curious, and he's smiling and swaying his hips back and forth in a way that Davin isn't sure is conscious or not, but it leaves him helpless. "Well, I don't really have anythin' I can do with plants off the top o' my head, but I have a few tricks up my sleeve."

He calls on his power, feels it buzz under his skin, and Edan lets out an excited yip. Davin laughs and snaps his fingers, cutting out all the lights in the backroom. For a moment they're there in complete silence, listening only to each other breathe, before Davin brings the power back. The lights flicker on and the coolers whir to life, and he's left looking at Riley with a sly sort of smile.

There's that blush again, and Riley can't get enough of it. There's no real intention behind the slight teasing he's doing, not when he knows nothing could really come of it, but Davin's eyes keep flickering to the way he's swaying, and Riley can't deny that it feels good to know someone wants to look.

He likes Davin for more than just the attention, he wouldn't even be flirting in the first place if he didn't; but Riley doesn't think it's so bad to admit that later, after they've parted ways today, he'll likely be thinking about how things could be going a little differently if Davin didn't have a boyfriend. That's just for him, though. That's the fantasy he'll have to keep locked up in his mind if he doesn't want to lose a friendship before it can even really start.

"People aren't exactly subtle about it," Riley answers, rolling his eyes with a smirk. Everyone whose powers he knows about had volunteered the information without any prompting, and Riley isn't here to single anyone out or expose anyone so he's tried to welcome the openness because if he's a witch, too, he should get a head start on acceptance.

Still, it surprises him when the lights go out, when it also feels like they're in some kind of void because of how it's just the two of them, looking at each other in the dark, and when it all comes back, Riley needs a moment to come back to reality.

"Wow," he murmurs, glancing up at the lights overhead. "That was... insanely cool. Electricity, then, you can manipulate it? Is there anything else you can do?"

Davin doesn't realize how tense he is until Riley reacts so positively. He relaxes and grins hugely, nodding his head and holding out a hand to let a few sparks dance on his palm. Edan watches carefully, sharp eyes tracking each little movement.

"Aye. I can manipulate it, create it, wield it. All sorts o' stuff." Davin visibly brightens just talking about his magic, and Edan squeaks happily. There are plenty of people in Davin's life that are completely supportive of his magic, but there are also those who aren't. Those people wouldn't matter except that, well, they're pretty important ones.

Riley asks what else he can do and Davin looks him over, flashing him a playful grin when he realizes that there's a zipper on the sweater that Riley is wearing. Davin watches Riley's face as he uses his magic to slowly pull the zipper down until the sweater pops open to reveal the undershirt beneath it. "Whoops."

The fox keeps making these cute little noises to the point of distraction so Riley barely notices his zipper is moving until it's halfway down his chest. Once the realization hits, he glances down with a surprise laugh, arching a brow as he glances back up at Davin. "Whoops, my ass," he says, tone clearly teasing. In one smooth motion, he pulls the zipper down the rest of the way and shrugs the jacket off to reveal the rest of the white shirt underneath.

After draping the jacket over the counter, he holds his arms out and does a slow turn. "Like what you see, Irish? Just know that it's very cruel to tease like that when you've already made it clear that flirting will get me nowhere."

"Oh, I've just tasted my own medicine," Davin says with a laugh, letting out an appreciative whistle as Riley spins around for him. "I do like what I see, like that's even a question."

He can't help but to chuckle a little, flushing a bit and looking over at his flowers again. Riley is gorgeous, funny, and thoughtful, and Davin can't help but to think that whoever manages to snap him up will be very lucky indeed. Because they'll get a hot guy who will constantly give them flowers.

"You've spoiled me, y'know," Davin tells him, waving an admonishing finger in his face. "How am I s'posed t'go on after gettin' treated like this, huh? I guess I'll just have t'come back an' hope I can charm some more flowers out o' ya."

Ryan has yet to meet Riley's Handsome Irish, and he's been named, but he has heard Riley talk about him practically non stop, and seen some interesting text messages exchanged back and forth. There are no secrets between Riley and Ryan, and he guesses that must be weird for any prospective romantic partners, but text message privacy is just not a thing that exists with them. So, when Davin walks into the flower shop, Ryan has to resist the urge to roll his eyes and smirk.

It's easy enough, as it turns out, because walking in behind Davin is an honest to god fox, and Ryan is too bewildered to think about anything else. "That's an interesting dog," he says slowly, barely registering that he's being handed a coffee. When it clicks, he looks down at his hand and startles. "Oh, hey, that's coffee, thanks. Riley's withdrawal symptoms were starting to kick in."

"Not a dog, though that woulda made things easier," Davin says with a chuckle. A canine familiar would have been easier to explain away, but Davin loves Edan just as he is. Besides, it sort of makes sense. "Edan is an orphaned fox, an' I'm raisin' him. I hope it's okay that he's in here. I'm s'posed t'be gettin' him one o' those little service animal vests, I think."

Davin grins when Ryan takes the coffee and then reaches out to shake his hand. "Ya must be Ryan. I'm Davin. It's great t'meet ya."

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