If you aren't Amber Absolution and harakun, please refrain from posting.
Thanks! <3

Shit, shit, shit. I'm late, a male no older than twenty-three thought as he hurriedly continued on his way to work. He stumbled at the last step up the underground station and he almost bumped into a old woman if it weren't for his quick reflexes. It had him bumping someone else but at least, he caught his balance. "Sorry!" he called out to the said man who still had that look of surprise on his face.

Glancing at his wristwatch, he cursed himself for not having set-up his alarm clock. He was having such a good dream about some beautiful woman making him food that he didn't exactly want to wake up yet. "Maybe I should really get myself a girlfriend..." he mumbled to himself as he turned at the next corner and shoved himself through the door.

By the time he had arrived at work, he was panting like hell. It was hard to even talk with the lack of oxygen in his lungs. Of course, the old woman who owned the place only laughed at his expense and spoke for him and his unsaid apology.

"Good morning, Ben. You should hurry out at the back. I'll be opening the shop in a few minutes."

Benjamin looked up with his form still crouched a bit and his hand on his knee and the other holding the door open. "Yes, grandma!" Although she wasn't his relative, he didn't really have anything else to call her when she said she didn't want to be called missus with it attached to her last name. It was the best name he could think of for her, too, and she looked happy when he called her that for the first time.

Quickly going out the back, he took off his coat, hung it and fixed his collared shirt. He buttoned up the buttons he had only buttoned up halfway before he tucked in his shirt properly into his pants. Only then did he wear his apron when he knew his clothes weren't messy. As for his hair, he had his fingers run through them thin, gold strands that thinned out even more at the nape of his neck. He had it framing his face.

Ben wouldn't really say he wasn't handsome. With bright blue eyes and his gold hair with some Asian features and a lithe body, he had to thank his parents who had now passed away. "I'll water the flowers after I bring them out for display," he told the old woman who had smiled his way when she had come in. When she had nodded, he took this as a sign for him to start working like he did everyday since he had turned 20.

He had got used to walking there now, even if it was nearly an hour there and nearly an hour back. It was a small price to pay for the flowers he got nearly every day now. It was a small price to pay for the smile of someone who could hardly tell who he was most of the time.

Nearly twenty four, and his hair was long and a cold hard black. He was stupidly thin, food no longer bringing him any joy. He had been good looking once, but the lack of happiness had wiped the shine from his eyes.

He had stopped everything, his whole life had been taking care of her, and now that she was so much worse the hospital did that for him. He had nothing of a life left, which made the pain so much worse. Nothing hurt him more then the pain of his uselessness when he sat in a chair at home and thought about his life.

At least the flowers gave him a small amount of comfort and hope. In back pocket, money was crumpled up. He cared not for expense, he hardly ate and no money went on him going anywhere. However she only smiled with one type of flowers, and he couldn't understand why.

Finally he got there, and the door made the familiar bell noise as he walked through, and walked again straight to the place where the same flowers he got everyday were. He picked them up and walked over to the counter. "These please."

Ben had just finished setting up the plants and watering them when their usual customer came. He didn't know his name, neither did he know what he did since he didn't think the guy was in for an idle chatter. Watching him come in and walking straight to the place where his usual flowers were set-up, he came back into the shop with the bell ringing as he did so.

"These?" he asked, "But I-" He was instantly cut off by the old woman rocking herself on the rocking chair. "I've prepared them for him. They're under the counter, Ben." Blinking as he moved his gaze to the old woman, he nodded before he'd moved to the counter. It was as the old woman had told him. Idly, he wondered what the man did with these flowers every single day. Were they for his lover? Or a sick relative?

As these questions continued to bombard his head, he wrapped it up nicely and smiled at the man. "I'm guessing, too, grandma's wanting me to give it to you for free so..." He took the said flowers in his arm and held it out to the said black-haired stranger. "It's on the house. Please continue coming again."

The blonde gave the male another warm smile, unaware of the smile the old woman was sending their way as well.

He was confused by the sudden generosity of the old woman and the man around his age, but when they smiled at him and he felt that warmth, he settled down a little. "N-no, please, I'll pay, it's really not a problem. It wouldn't feel right if I didn't."

He took a crumpled note out his back pocket, straightened it out and handed it over. "Thanks anyway." Even if he was confused, he felt a little better. It had been a while since he had felt kindness from someone else.

He held a hand out to the other man. "I'm Jonathan...John." He wasn't sure if it was the best thing to introduce himself, but they showed him kindness and that was something he wouldn't mind having the chance to have more often.

Though the other had said that and took out the amount of money he paid everyday, he only shook his head as he put the note back into the man's hand. "I'm serious," he said, stepping a little closer to whisper his next words into the man's ear, "Grandma's going to kill me if I accept this from you."

Smiling as he took the other's outstretched hand, he hesitated about giving him a firm hand shake since all he'd felt were bones and skin but did so anyway. A little more gently, of course. With a smile, he nodded and replied, "I'm Benjamin but everyone else calls me Ben. Pleasure meeting you, John."

The mewling had him turning to look over his shoulder and let go of Jonathan's hand. It also made him remember about the old lady. "Oh yeah," he started as he chuckled, "This is Grandma. She's the owner of this shop."

The old lady only smiled and waved.

(Oh I am so sorry for not replying!!! >.< )

John smiled politely at them both and nodded. "It's nice to put a name to friendly faces, as I'm here most of the time. It's very kind of you both, and to let me have these today." He looked at them, happy that he would be able to get some sort of recognition with them.

They had given him a free smile, maybe even a free word or two if he was lucky from her. It meant more then either of them probably realised. "When the weather changes, will I still be able to get these like I do now?" He had been worrying over it for a long time, but had never quite felt comfortable to ask. He dreaded a time where he was yet again useless to her.

Could he tell them? He decided against it and bit his lip gently. "Thank you again, I really appreciate it. If there's anything I can ever do in return, please don't think twice about asking."

"Oh, such a polite young man. Ben, you should be like him."

Ben only made a face at the old woman's words and he sighed as he smiled sheepishly at John. "Sorry about that," he told him before he'd blinked at the other's silly question, "And, yes." He clapped his hands a bit. "I'm taking care of a small garden for grandma here. It's where all the flowers you see here grow."

At the other's gratitude, the male only gave him a genuine smile. "Oh, by the way..." He trailed off as he pulled out a pack of business cards from his apron pocket, "We do deliveries, too. That's my number there so whenever you need me to deliver something or um, be a friend; I'm here." Patting the side of John's arm, he blinked at the sound of a bell. It was another customer. "Well, that's my sign. You know what to do, John, when you need me and my delivering skills." The male dropped the pack back into his apron as he attended the customer.

He couldn't help but blush a little at her words, it being nice to feel like he was doing something right. He was surprised when Ben gave him a card though, and talked about if he needed a friend. He couldn't get the flowers delivered, going to get them was the only other reason he left the house other then seeing his sister.

He smiled politely and then left, going straight to the hospital instead of home. He had spent longer then he thought talking and it was time for him to visit her soon. He always dreaded it. For her to look at him and see nothing, but to look at the flowers and smile, and to perhaps say 'pretty' or 'flower'. It drained him, more and more every day.

Finally, he got home. Today had been worse then he had expected. She had taken the flowers, and busied herself about them, and then when she realised he was still in the room she had screamed, and thrashed for someone to take him away, convinced he was trying to hurt her. They had said he should wait a day or two before coming back to see her. That had hurt him a lot.

"Polite but seemingly heavy with a problem."

Benjamin blinked at those words. He looked back up at grandma who was worriedly looking out towards the door with the bell while she ran her fingers through her cat's fur. "Everything okay, Grandma?" he asked as he tilted his head a little. The customer he was dealing with had looked her way, too, and he apologized quietly before resuming wrapping his flowers for his girlfriend.

He seemed really in love and that made Ben smile. It'd be nice if he had someone special like that. Now that he was growing old, he really should try to get himself settled down and have someone to take very good care of him since he was reckless by nature. "Here you go," he told the man with a smile and waved as he left. Once he was sure the other customers were still choosing their flowers, he came over to the old woman to crouch down beside her.

The male played with the cat as he waited for her to reply but she only gave him a smile, which had Ben greatly confused. Before he knew it, he had gotten back up to his feet to attend to the others. It was only when it was five minutes past ten when he was closing up the store and saying his good-bye to the old woman. He whistled some tune as he tucked his hands into his coat pockets and put the key into his pocket while he walked home.

John sat at home, lost. He hadn't bothered to eat, or drink anything since he had got in. He had always hoped that she wouldn't get that bad, and now he was trying to convince himself that it was just a slight blip, that everything would be okay tomorrow, or maybe the next day. He thought about getting up, having been sitting in a chair for three hours without moving, and found he just couldn't do it. It was too much, he couldn't cope. He needed help.

He took the card that Ben had given him, and tapped the number into the phone next to him, praying that he wouldn't be turned down or laughed at, that the boys friendliness had been a genuine thing. It had seemed so at the time. He listened to the dialling tone for a long time, and found a lump in his throat. He had never wanted to get anyone else involved before. In his mind, it was a sign of weakness.

"H-hello? It's John...I really need someone right now, I-If you're busy I understand..." He was so near tears. Then again, they were overdue. A year since she had been in hospital, seven since she had started being ill, and he couldn't remember crying. Now, he was loosing even the small part of her he had left.

(Sorry, hope that's not too depressing)

[[ It's depressing. xD Such a problematic guy. ]]

Ben had been sleeping on his couch when he heard his phone ring. He put on his most annoying ringtone just so that he knew he had a phone call. It was the easiest to distinguish to, after all. "Phone," he mumbled under his breath as he frowned and blindly reached over his head, over the arm of the chair and onto the table where he felt for the lamp, the phone and then his cell phone.

Without even batting an eyelash, the male clicked on a button and was just about to say 'Hello' when he heard the male in the other line talk and stutter. That was strange. John? he thought as he finally opened his eyes. "No, no," he said as he managed to get up onto a sitting position with a groan. He was still fully clothed, apparently. He had planned to get a shower but that was nothing but a plan. "I'm coming. Where do you live?"

The blond ran his fingers through his messy strands and got off of the couch. Using that same hand to have it run over his face, he got out of the house, grabbed his coat and went out of his apartment to start walking.

After telling the other man his address, he finally managed to get up. No one had been in his house with him in a very, very long time, and he felt like he needed to make a few other changes. He moved a chair a few inches left, turned a picture of something to the right and then sat back down, his energy spent.

He was just listening for the door now, wondering if he had even closed it. He hadn't cared what he was doing coming in, but somehow just having things moved the tiniest bit made him feel a little better. He could deal with change better when there was most and less harmful pieces of it around.

His hands still shook, and his mind still wasn't working right. He fiddled with the card between his fingers, mind racing non stop. He was happy though that someone had been there for him, that when he needed someone most, someone was there.

There was no way he was going to use a cab but his stubbornness proved to be useless since the train stations weren't going to open until later. It was two in the morning, after all. "Man, if only grandma would pay me more," he mumbled, mostly to himself, before he'd rubbed the side of his neck. Moving to the corner of the sidewalk, the male hailed a cab, got in and told the address to the driver before he'd scooped out his phone and played some games while he was waiting to arrive at the said place.

When the driver had announced that they were there, it was the only time the blond's eyes had snapped up from the screen of his phone. He looked over to the meter, pulled out most of what was left of his salary and handed it to the man. He got his change, got out of the car and sighed for the umpteenth time as he computed how much more he should save if he wanted to pay his rent for this month.

Somehow, someway, Ben had managed to get himself to John's place and he knocked on the door and tucked his cold hands into his coat. "John, you in there? It's Ben from the flower shop." He hoped the other was fine. He sounded real depressed over the phone.

He got up slowly and walked to the door. Looking outside and seeing Ben, seeing the outside world helped somehow. "H-Hey. I'm so sorry to drag you up here. I just...I just needed something to keep my mind off something." He signalled for him to come in, and closed the door behind them both.

He took them both into the sitting room, and sat back down in the chair, continuing to fiddle with the card. "I just...things haven't been..." He took a deep breath and tried to calm down. "I'm sorry, I'll be quiet." He took another deep breath and stood up running his fingers through his hair. "Do you want some tea or coffee or something?"

Benjamin, honestly, felt a little terrified at what he'd seen the first time John had opened that door. Hell, he'd thought he was a ghost of the sorts. He didn't look so good. "That's okay," he said as he went in when he was invited to do so and followed after him to the sitting room. The other's place looked small, he thought, and definitely lacking in life and vigor. Did this guy spend his time cooped up in here?

"First off," Ben started as he chuckled, "You're creeping me out, man. Quit it with the formalities. I don't like being treated like a stranger." Smiling at the other, he got up, too, when he saw him standing up. "I'll come help, too, while you tell me what's wrong." Patting John's back a bit when he'd passed by him, he walked to the kitchen and frowned a bit as he looked around.

"Do you clean around your place, by the way? Is it just me or is your place really dim?" Benjamin turned to look at John as he raised his eyebrows a bit out of curiosity.

He had never noticed how dim his house was until it was pointed out to him. "I'm sorry..." He looked through the cupboards. "It's my sister. It was just me and her here before. Everything was...beautiful, flowers everywhere, light, music. Then...she got ill. Stopped doing things, stopped thinking about things. Then she just, stopped. Eating was too much, standing became something she didn't remember she needed to do."

He switched on the kettle and then took a deep breath before starting again. "Then, she got too ill for me to look after her any more. She didn't even speak. It was okay at first, seeing her, but then she stopped even knowing who I was. Only flowers made her happy, only those flowers made her happy, and then today...she took them from me, that smile back on her face and then started screaming. I was a stranger to her, a complete stranger."

It felt nice but odd to talk, he wasn't sure how he should be acting about things. He wasn't sure how he was acting.

Benjamin listened like the good guy he was. He pitied the male when he'd heard the sad part of his story about his sister and he couldn't help but wonder what had happened then. It didn't sound like he was told everything but he decided not to say anything about it. The other seemed odd. "So those flowers you buy for her everyday... that was for her," he started before he'd smiled sadly, "What about you? What happened to you?"

Perhaps, this guy haven't recovered at all from the shock of that. He seemed to really love his sister dearly, it made him a little envious. He wished he had a younger or an older sibling. At least, he thought it'd be nice.

"I-I can't see her, not for a few days. That is, if this is just a blip. If not, today could be the last day I really saw her." He felt a tear slip down his face and he brushed it away. He felt something inside him start to hurt and he stepped away from the worktop. "I can't concentrate. I'm sorry..." He felt like such a burden. He had only met him today, and he already felt like he was taking advantage of him.

He looked at Ben and then smiled weakly. "I just needed to talk to someone. I couldn't go on thinking that no one knew me, that I hardly mattered. Just talking to you had made everything better. I really appreciate it." He really meant that, he felt so much better just talking to someone.

Benjamin blinked when he'd seen that tear fall to the other's face. It had him mentally thinking there must be something wrong with himself if he couldn't cry, too, with such a story. "Don't sweat over it," he told him with a smile and resumed boiling the water. He managed to find the two cups to pour the hot water in and he'd raised his eyebrows at the weak smile and those words.

It was strange how those words were enough to color his cheeks, mostly out of embarrassment. "Uh, you're welcome." He smiled a little sheepishly and wiped his hands on his pants, "So... you've got tea bags?" Ben would've had brought the man into a hug but he couldn't be stepping into such a personal space so quickly. He'd only learned of the man's name a while ago, after all.

John nodded and reached up to take them off a shelf, then passed them over, but not before noticing the pinkness of Ben's cheeks. "If there's anything I can do for you in return then do ask." He knew that people like that didn't do things just to get rewarded, but he liked to do so anyway. "I'll be okay now..." He took a deep breath and smiled, knowing deep down, he just didn't want to end up crying.

He waited for his tea, feeling rude that he had made the other man make it. A lot of him felt rude right then actually. He didn't often like to talk about himself, and now he had he wasn't quite sure if he was meant to ask about the others personal life. "So, apart from working in the shop, what else do you do?" That didn't seem to personal did it? He was a little out of practice talking to people.

Ben nodded at the other's words and smiled. "It's fine, fine," he told him as he chuckled, "We're friends, aren't we?" When the other had said those words and had taken a breather and grinned. "Well, aren't you a strong man?" he teased before he'd taken the tea bags from the box to tear them off from the pack so he could put the tea bags into the hot water in the cups. "Me?" he asked and shrugged.

He had to actually think about it before he answered the other.

"Nothing, actually," he said as he smiled, "My lifeline's on grandma." Laughing again at this, he took one cup and handed this over to John. Once the other had taken his cup, he'd take his own and played a bit with the tea bag. "No girlfriend and just living in a shabby apartment not very different from this one." Leaning against the counter, he turned off the gas and looked again at John. "My life's pretty much below average." The male took a sip from his mug and let out a yowl at the hot water.

"I forgot how hot these things are." He said with a frown as he put the mug back on the counter. Honestly, he didn't even have enough money to buy himself tea. He'd just usually drink tap water. It's all he could afford.

John was a little sad actually to hear that his life was below average. He deserved a lot better then that. "I should get a job again...I got paid a little for looking after her, but not any more. I still have a lot of money left over from when my parents passed away, but I don't really like to touch it. It's more for any emergencies that might occur." He remembered his last job, he had been employed to keep records of the customers meetings with employees. Boring, but at least he had been doing something. He couldn't imagine living a normal life again, but maybe it would be for the best.

"There's milk in the fridge if you want that, should cool it down a little. I don't tend to have any in mine." He felt almost a little closer to the other man though, knowing that neither of them really had too perfect a life. Gave them something in common he supposed. That was nice too, felt like he hadn't had anything in common with anyone in too long.

Ben looked at John for a moment and nodded. "A valid point," he said before he'd grinned, "And if you really need a job, I think I can ask grandma to take you in. She seems to like you." He went to get the milk as John had suggested he did and he poured it into his drink. It did get less hot, at least. His eyes widened a bit in childish awe. "I didn't know that worked," he said as he laughed, "Sorry. I've just never had any other drink other than water."

The male put the milk back into the fridge and took his mug again. This time, he was drinking with ease. That, and the tea tasted a lot more milkier. "And, the occasional beer from grandma's place when she'd invite me to eat at her place." He watched John for a few seconds and tilted his head a bit. "You got any friends, John?" he asked as he raised his eyebrows a bit.

He listened and then shook his head. "No, I pretty much just pushed away anything that could have been thought of as a life. At the time, it almost felt like the right thing to do." He shrugged and then took his own tea and held it, waiting for it to cool. "I don't know...It's been a long time since I did much, I wouldn't want to get in either of you two's way after you've been so kind."

He liked this, talking in the kitchen with tea. Felt nice and normal. Was a bit odd thought that Ben only drunk water. He couldn't help but wonder if it was through personal taste, or if he really did just have that little money. He would have offered to help, but he didn't want to seem patronising. He would try in the future he hoped.