Who: Asato Tsuzuki and Yuffie Kisaragi What: Meeting over pie When: Recently Where: A bakery Warnings/Ratings: Low/None Status: Complete
Tsuzuki couldn’t be happier to be finished work. It wasn’t that he didn’t enjoy his job, he just didn’t particularly enjoy working. It was something he only did because he had to, but at least if he had to work he got to do it surrounded by flowers and plants.
His first stop after work had been to a bakery. There was nothing more satisfying after a long day of work than apple pie (or wine, but mostly apple pie), and he was eyeing up the piece in the display case as he made his way through the line. Especially one from this particular bakery. They had, by far, the best apple pie in town (with the exception of the ones his sister baked for him).
At least, until the girl in front of him ordered the last piece. He could feel his heart breaking in his chest as it got plated up and handed to her, and was a little at a loss once he made it to the front. He settled on a cinnamon bun, and then made his way to a table. One where he had a very good view of what would have been his apple pie, and he stared at it longingly even as he cut into his cinnamon bun.
Yuffie’s sweet tooth was notorious. Like everyone at every carnival her old man ran knew about it -even the dudes on the tickets and they swapped out fairly regularly. Yuffie just had a habit of pairing her sweet tooth with what she could declare healthy because she had fruit in it, it totally counted as healthy because apples. Yummy, yummy, oh so yummy apples.
She was pretty much just sitting, savoring every bite because, oh this was gorgeous.
Of course even Yuffie, so very interested in her pie and her soda couldn’t avoid the forlorn look on the boy across the way. He looked like someone ran over his puppy. Twice. And then gave it back to him. He must’ve been having the worst day ever, like he maybe woke up late and the hot water didn’t work or he got shampoo in his eye, and then he missed a bus and had to run and got all sweaty and then he maybe go yelled at by someone at some point who was just rude and mean and even his yummy looking bun couldn’t cheer him up.
Well, that just wasn’t right. Yuffie offered the widest grin she could, waiting to catch his eye before waving, a little shyer than her grin might convey. Hey, maybe just someone being nice could cheer him up.
Maybe Tsuzuki’s pie wasn’t completely lost to him after all. When the girl smiled and waved at him, Tsuzuki’s own face broke into a large grin, and since that was obviously an invitation for him to join her, he picked up his cinnamon bun and headed over to her table.
“Hey!” he said, not sitting down quite yet because he wasn’t that presumptuous, but clearly ready to do exactly that if the invitation was offered. He took another glance at her pie. “They have the best apple pie here, don’t they?”
“Yeah, it’s probably the best I’ve tasted.” Yuffie wasn’t at all bothered about surprise company, waving at the seat and pushing it out with her foot, “But like everything in here tastes super good. Like, they have really good strawberry tarts too, but sometimes they’re super gooey and I gotta like full wash my face and hands afterwards.” Yuffie was a bit of a messy eater.
“Don’t you like your bun?” Because Yuffie could understand that. She really like cinnamon buns, they were super sticking and yummy, but sometimes they were just too doughy, and it took you until the first bite to figure out it wasn’t really what you wanted. Which was a poop.
Tsuzuki liked this girl, and he sat down opposite her. “Their strawberry tarts are really good, aren’t they? Have you tried their chocolate zucchini cake? It’s to die for, and it also provides much needed vegetables in the diet! None of it’s quite as good as their apple pie though. You’re so lucky that you got the last piece.” Maybe the puppy dog eyes weren’t on full-force this time around.
“I didn’t, I got put off by the zucchini, is it actually really nice?” Yuffie had sort of screwed her face up at the thought of it, but if it was nice, maybe she should try it. And that way she could say she ate a vegetable. She’d need to try it then, just to be sure. Besides, chocolate.
“Oh,” she glanced at her plate with her slice, nibbling her lip a little, “um, do you wanna share it?” She completely understood someone loving it so much -because yummy yummy, and really sometimes Yuffie didn’t finish it and had to take it home and eat later, but she could always buy a little cupcake for later. “Cause like, it’s too yummy to deny, right?” She’d totally hate it if she was really looking forward to something and someone else got their first.
“It’s really good. Honestly, you wouldn’t even know there was zucchini in it if it wasn’t for the name. And it’s so moist. Just delightful.” Tsuzuki kissed his fingertips to further illustrate his point.
When she offered to share, his face lit up like he had just won the lottery. “Really? You’re the best! I would love to share it. Did you want some of my cinnamon bun as well?” He wasn’t normally one to offer up his own sweets, but it was only fair if she was going to share with him the greatest slice of apple pie money could buy. “I’m Asato, by the way.”
“We can split both!” That was fair, right? And it meant he wasn’t missing out and neither way she. “I’m Yuffie,” It was probably not the most conventional way to meet people, sharing pastries, but Yuffie was decidedly okay with strange methods.
“Sometimes I come in super early in the morning and buy two slices, and I pretend like I’m taking it to share with a friend, but really it’s because I’ll have one slice in the morning and another slice later.” She was a sugar fiend after all. “Do like live or work around here?” She was already fine with sliding her plate into the middle of the table and using her fork to slice off little pieces so that she wasn’t hogging the whole bit.
Tsuzuki’s favourite way to meet people was over food. Sometimes as a first meeting, though usually as a second or third hangout. One of his favourite things to do was to eat, and he was lucky that he had such a high naturally high metabolism. He pushed the cinnamon bun to the centre of the table, next to the pie, and then took a piece from the pie.
“I don’t work too far from here,” he said, after he was done savouring the taste of the pastry. “Sweet Pea Greenhouse. I actually just finished up for the day. What about you?”
“I’m at UC Irvine,” Yuffie had already been told by her father that she needed to focus on her studies, if he was going to pay for her education she was going to dedicate herself to it. He gave her an allowance and paid her bills, so Yuffie just had to pass all her classes to keep herself from having to go back to trailing along by her father’s side. “I’m studying mechanical engineering, but it’s still break. I just gotta read up on stuff just now.”
Which was tiring work, really. And why she decided to treat herself. “So, are you like a gardener? Or a grower? Do you grow vegetables?” She really wasn’t sure what else you did in a greenhouse.
“Mechanical engineering?” Tsuzuki asked, clearly impressed. “That sounds like it would be a lot of work. You must be really smart.” Tsuzuki had never gone to University himself. The idea itself had never really appealed to him. He hadn’t done very well in high school and he didn’t suspect that would have changed much even if he had the chance to go to University. “Do you enjoy it?”
“I’m a growers,” Tsuzuki said. “I’ve got a small vegetable garden at home,” it was a very small vegetable garden filled with colourful plants like swiss chard, purple cabbage, and a strawberry and a raspberry plant, “but the greenhouse is mostly flowers. I prefer to grow flowers myself; they’re much nicer to look at, wouldn’t you agree?”
“I think I am.” Or maybe it was just because she’d been around machines a lot when she was little, maybe she’d picked up enough from all the mechanics that she could work around it, maybe she was smart. She hadn’t actually thought about that. “My old man runs a bunch of fairgrounds, and he used to take me to them all the time, not to like have fun, so that he could do stuff. But I really liked seeing how all the rides worked and stuff. So, I wanna build them, and make new ones and stuff.” There was a lot of ‘stuff’ in Yuffie’s future.
“Flowers are way prettier.” Munching on some of the cinnabun, Yuffie really didn’t have to consider that too long, “I mean, really, lots of vegetables look weird.” Everything was bulgy or leathery on the outside. Flowers would definitely be nicer to look at. “What kind of flowers do you grow? Do you have roses? White ones?” Because how cool would it be if she could get the flower that represented her in her dreams?
“Really? I love fairgrounds! Especially roller coasters. And those spinny cups that leave you all disoriented and dizzy. Oh, and the ferris wheel of course. Though, I think I always prefer the food more than the rides.” He’d tried a bacon and cheese doughnut burger the last time he had made it to the fair and it was surprisingly delicious. “That’s so exciting that you’ll be able to design your own rides! Do you have any ideas?”
Tsuzuki laughed. “They do look weird! Don’t get me wrong, there are some vegetables that are wonderful to look at. I’ve actually seen some really beautiful vegetable gardens. But flowers are still my favourite,” he said, winking. “I actually have some Silver Moon roses growing up a trellis at home. Unfortunately the greenhouse only has the regular red roses.”
“I’ve got super bunches of ideas, cause like I’ve seen what they’ve built in these places, and I keep thinkin’ of things I’d do different or cooler ways to make the rides. So I just gotta figure out if it’s possible, mechanically speaking,” and probably if people would ride them without dying from g-force or whiplash. “But it’s gonna take a few more years.” She was only two years into things.
“Silver Moon? Those sound super exotic, like they’ll draw in werewolves or are used in witches spells.” Which was wildly exciting, for sure. Although Yuffie wasn’t sure about either thing being real it was still pretty cool to think about. “I’m thinking on getting some white roses, and planting them in a planter to put on my balcony. I think it’d be pretty.” Then she’d have a link to Wutai too. “Are red roses still just so popular?”
“It sounds like when you do become a mechanical engineer, you’ll be very good at it!” Or at the very least filled with ideas, but hey, having ideas was the first step in getting them off the ground. “I’d be happy to be a guinea pig for any rides you make in the future!”
“I hope they don’t draw in werewolves!” Tsuzuki said, giving a bit of a mock shiver. “It would be awful being turned into a werewolf just because of some flowers.” While he was still just getting used to the Network and all the weirdness that came with it, it seemed as though being turned into a werewolf was not the strangest thing that could happen to him.
“If you’d be interested in some of the Silver Moon’s I’d be happy to see what I could do about getting you a plant from my garden, though I imagine you’d want something a little more traditional looking.” He laughed at her question a little bit. “I’m not sure if red roses will ever go out of style. They’re pretty firmly set as the flower of romance.”
“Really? Great, ‘cause that might be what I need.” Guinea pigs and critics, those would be important. Which she could probably find enough of. “I don’t know if I wanna open like my own place or maybe just sell ideas to people, which is probably less of a drain too.” Yuffie was kind of bad at telling people what to do.
Considering this was the OC and there had been weird stuff since forever Yuffie figured it might be a possibility. “You should look into wolfsbane, just in case. And maybe some garlic.” Although wasn’t that for vampires? Well, it couldn’t hurt.
“Yeah? I kinda like the idea of it, white roses, or just some nice white looking flowers. I don’t mind what they smell like either.” She thought that it’d be pretty cool, and give her something to take care of, maybe prove that she could take care of something, right? “I don’t like red roses, they’re so blah! I mean, sure, it’s romantic, but I’d rather get a flower that meant something more. You know.”
“Selling ideas to people seems like a whole lot less work,” Tsuzuki said, which is what would have sold him on the idea. “And less of a chance of going bankrupt too!” Some people had ambition. Tsuzuki didn’t particularly understand them.
Tsuzuki frowned at that. “I’m not sure. Werewolves are bad, though I’m not sure how I’d feel about growing poisonous plants in my garden.” The chances of some person coming into his garden and eating them wasn’t very high, but what if some poor animal came by for a snack and then died because of it? That would be awful. He’d feel so guilty. “But garlic! That’s a good idea. I do love garlic. And fresh garlic is just so tasty.” It was one of his favourite ingredients to use in cooking.
“I’d be happy to help you find some!” Tsuzuki said. “Some roses can be pretty tricky to take care of, but I’d be happy to give you any pointers as well.” If there was one thing Tsuzuki loved in life, it was helping people find the perfect plants for them. “You know, all flowers have a hidden meaning. Red roses convey deep emotions such as love or devotion. But you’re right, they are a little overdone. They don’t exactly convey ‘I thought long and hard about what would be perfect for you’ anymore. White roses convey innocence and purity, and can be used to celebrate new beginnings.” It was one of the reasons he had chosen white roses to help decorate his home. A new beginning of independence, one where he didn’t have to rely on his sister anymore.
She would really like to not go bankrupt either, that would be nice. She’d hate to listen to her dad if she’d ended up like that.
Poison was probably a bad thing, he should absolutely avoid that, because that was just bad. “Oh, yeah…” Yuffie paused with a forkful of cinnabun on the way to her mouth, “that’s a good point, don’t do that.” Sheesh, plants were hard. At least garlic wasn’t going to poison anyone, people used that all the time.
“Really?” So, she knew that she’d been dubbed the White Rose of Wutai when she’d been born, she hadn’t realised what that was supposed to mean, but that was just super cool now that she knew that. “That’s really cool. Do you know all the meanings?” That would be a lot of meanings to know, because there were always so many flowers at the flower stalls. “What do orchids mean? I think they look pretty, I mean, they kinda smell super strong, but they’re really nice to look at.” Although Yuffie didn’t think she’d be able to actually grow and care for too many flowers.
It could be difficult to plant a garden that wouldn’t result in sick animals. While occasionally he did grow something that could make a neighbourhood cat sick, he was usually careful to plant it in the backyard where it was fenced off and less likely to be mistaken for a snack.
“Not all of them, but most of the popular ones!” Tsuzuki said. And his favourites, of course. He had spent much of his adult life in and out of the hospital not working, and so he had filled his time studying plants and dancing. “Orchids are beautiful.” He couldn’t say much for their smell, as he’d never had a particularly strong sense of smell. It could make selling flowers difficult, though he was always careful to listen to what people said about the scents of flowers so that he could pass on their experiences. “As a flower they represent peace, strength, and uhh.. fervour? The white orchids also convey beauty, elegance and innocence.” Not that he had any reason to believe she had any particular interest in white orchids, but if she enjoyed white roses it seemed like a logical step to make.
“Peace, huh, I get told I need to find some of that sometimes.” Having munched her fair share of both treats, Yuffie put her fork down to sip at her drink, considering just how one would go about obtaining fake flowers like that. Maybe a fake one would look really nice on her sideboard in the main room of her small studio apartment. She liked to think so.
“So, how hard is it to keep roses? White ones I mean. Like, are they super difficult to make sure they live? I’m kinda bad at taking care of things.” She wasn’t sure if the goldfish did count -she didn’t believe they had long to live either way, what with them being sold in little bags, but still, it was always terrible when she failed at nurturing them. “But I have a little balcony, and it gets light, unless they don’t like light, because I know some plants grow in the dark, right? But I still get light inside too, in case they don’t like the weather, do they like the weather? I mean, I know it doesn’t get super cold here all the time, but will they be okay outside all year round?”
Wow, she should probably stop asking a million questions at once…
“People can look their whole lives for peace and never find it,” Tsuzuki said, his smile growing a little sad for a moment. It didn’t last long, and once he put some more cinnamon bun in his mouth he was back to being all smiles. “I think trying to find happiness is better than trying to find peace, personally.”
Tsuzuki laughed at the barrage of questions. He enjoyed talking, and answering questions was a good way to do that without sounding as though he was in love with the sound of his own voice. “Roses can be kind of difficult to keep,” he admitted. “Some wild roses are easier to keep, but they wouldn’t do well in a container. They need a lot of light, so the balcony would be perfect, though they also need kind of a deeper pot to grown in, and not all roses can grow in containers. I usually recommend the Nice Day or the Sweet Dreams roses if you want something for the patio or the balcony. And they normally need some extra nutrients like compost or fertilizer. But if you make a plan before hand and are good at forming habits, they’re not too difficult to care for.”
It sounded like a lot of work, like really putting everything into making sure the plants didn’t die. Commitment. Yuffie could do that. Maybe if she could take care of some nice plants, she’d convince herself she could take care of a pet. And that was the goal, right? Being responsible for more than just yourself?
“So um, would you maybe be able to show me? Like, just some nice easy ones to start with I guess, and then maybe I’ll be able to move up to harder ones?” She didn’t want to start with more than she could handle, but something nice and easy and simple, she could learn that right? If she had someone who knew how to do it to show her.
“I promise I’m a really good student.”
Tsuzuki’s face lit up like it had when she offered to share her pie with him. He might have been a contender for the worlds biggest slacker, but he genuinely enjoyed helping people, and introducing them to the wonderful world of horticulture. “I would love to show you the ropes!” Tsuzuki said, smiling widely. He pulled one of his business cards from his wallet. It had his work information on it, and he quickly scrawled his personal cell number on the back so that she could get ahold of him. “You’ll love it! It’s very soothing, taking care of plants. And they’re always happy to listen to you if you want to talk with them. It helps them grow!”
Something that Yuffie could talk at for ages that wouldn’t tell her to shut up, something that it would help? That sounded all the better! Taking the card, Yuffie just returned the massive grin. Well, sharing her pie had really turned out well. New friend and a new hobby to follow! “I’ll definitely call you. And maybe we can see about going out to buy some plants?” At least it was progress on her new big adventure.