Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

This story is about a boy and a girl and how they fell in love.

Our tale takes place in Garrison, a quiet town where not much happens. It's big enough to have two high schools, but small enough that Main Street is where all the major shops are. The three most important in this story are the coffee shop, the flower shop, and the book shop.

Keith works at the coffee shop. Most of the time he stares out the window in between customers, daydreaming about what he'll do when he finally graduates and leaves Garrison. The rest of the time he has his nose in a book.

The flower shop is across the street from the coffee shop, and that's where Kara works. Her sister-in-law needed extra help with the store, so she asked Kara if she was interested. Kara couldn't turn down a paycheck. How else could she save up for college and her book addiction?

Both were born and raised in Garrison on opposite sides of town, but had never met until one drizzly Saturday afternoon when Kara scurried across the street to buy some hot chocolate.

Chapter Text

Keith looked up as the tiny bell above the door tinkled. A girl pushed back the damp hood of her jacket and brown hair cascaded over her shoulders. Her most striking feature, though, was her bright emerald green eyes.

"Hi," Keith said, setting his book aside.

"Hi," the girl replied breathlessly. She stopped at the counter.

"Did you run here?"

"Yeah. From the flower shop across the street."

Keith glanced out the window. "It's barely sprinkling."

"I'm like a cat," the girl responded. "I don't like getting wet."

Keith studied her for a moment. "I'd hate to see what it was like when you were bathed as a baby."

The girl gave him a look, but the corners of her mouth twitched. She had a small sprinkling of freckles across her nose and cheeks.

"What can I get you?" Keith asked, standing up.

"My sister-in-law would like a café mocha with extra whipped cream. And I …" She scanned the menu. "Do you have hot chocolate?"

"Sure do." Keith grabbed a cup for the mocha. "We have flavors you can add to it."

"Really." The girl sounded interested.

"Can I get names for the drinks?" Keith uncapped a Sharpie and held it over the cup.

"The mocha is for Karina. I'm Kara. What kind of flavors do you have?"

"What don't we have?" Keith scribbled her name on a second cup. "Butterscotch, pumpkin spice now that Fall's around the corner, hazelnut, French vanilla, caramel, salted caramel, mint during the winter, cinnamon … but my favorite is raspberry."

"I love raspberries." Kara's eyes sparkled.

"Then raspberry it is." He finished with the whipped cream on the mocha and started the hot chocolate. Out of the corner of his eye he saw Kara lean down to look at the different pastries behind the counter. "See anything you like?" he asked.

"Practically everything." She tapped her chin. "Those blueberry scones look really good."

"They are. They're one of our best-sellers."

"I'll take four, please."

Keith put the drinks in a carrier before bending down to grab the scones. "What's your name?" he heard Kara ask.

"Keith." He put the tongs back in their holder, straightened up, and pointed at the name tag on his apron. After folding down the opening of the bag holding the scones, he slid it and the drinks over the Kara.

"Oh, The Outsiders ," she said as she fished for money in her pocket. She eyed Keith's book. "That's so good."

"It's one of my favorites." He rang up Kara's purchase and handed her the change. She immediately dropped it into the tip jar. "Thanks."

"No problem." Kara picked up her purchases. "Stay golden, Keith."

He watched her as she hurried across the street to the flower shop. Through the streaks of rain on the coffee shop's window Keith could make out Karina's Flores on the sign above the awning. Then he sat down again, picked up his book, and continued reading. 

The following Sunday, Keith biked down to the flower shop. Kara, who was sitting behind the counter, looked up when Keith walked in.

"Hi."

"Hi," said Keith. He put his elbows on the counter. "I need help with flowers."

"Well you've come to the right place." Kara placed her bookmark in her book and set it aside. "What do you need them for?"

"To tell a girl I like her." Keith felt a slight flush spread across his cheeks.

"Oh," Kara's eyes sparkled. "Then you've definitely come to the right place." She put her chin in her hands. "What's she like?"

"She's a girl in my grade. Her name's Acxa."

"That's an interesting name."

"Yeah. She's gorgeous. She's got really pretty blue skin and dark blue hair. She's kind of serious but really nice."

"How long have you known each other?" Kara began pulling different colored ribbons out from behind the counter.

"Well, I first noticed her in seventh grade. And then the last semester of eighth grade I realized I like her. Last year I tried working up the courage all year to tell her how I felt, but I couldn't." He drummed his fingers on the counter top. "School starts tomorrow and I think I'm gonna let her know."

"Flowers are a good first step. Are you friends?"

"Not … really. We have different friend groups."

"So, she doesn't know you like her."

"No. I think she barely knows I exist."

"So it's a secret crush." Kara's eyes twinkled. "How romantic!" She tapped her chin. "Since you don't know if she feels the same way, I don't recommend going with roses. That would be too strong. Come with me." She walked out of the little half door attached at the end of the counter.

"White gardenias mean a secret crush or admirer, so those would be a good start." Kara stopped by some dainty white flowers. The petals were tight in the middle and unfurled as they spiraled out.

"Those are pretty," said Keith. "But just white looks a little … boring, don't you think?"

"It all depends on the presentation." Kara smiled at him. "But, for a splash of color …" She looked around, then snapped her fingers. "Tulips. Yellow tulips mean you're head over heels for someone. Is that pretty accurate?"

"Yeah." Keith ran a hand through his hair, embarrassed.

"How about I make you a bouquet of both?"

"That would be great. I only have twenty dollars, though."

"I can make you a really nice bouquet with that," Kara said as she gathered the gardenia and tulip blooms. "Simple but elegant - that's the best way to go for the first bouquet."

Keith looked at some of the premade bouquets near the counter as Kara worked on arranging the flowers. "Where do you go to school?" Her question caused him to look up.

"Voltron High," he replied. "I'm a sophomore."

"Me too." Kara cut some pink ribbon. "But I go to Atlas High."

"Ahh, so I'm fraternizing with the enemy." He grinned and Kara stuck her tongue out at him.

"Don't forget this enemy is helping you catch your dream girl."

"That's true."

Kara carefully tied the pink ribbon around the stems, then rolled some plastic around the bouquet. "Keep it in water overnight and put some of this in it." She handed two little packets over to him. "The second one you can put with the flowers tomorrow."

"Thank you. It looks really pretty." Keith slid his twenty dollar bill over to Kara.

"Are you going to write a note with it?" Kara asked as she grabbed his change.

"Oh. I hadn't thought of that. Yeah, that would probably be nice."

"Here." Kara handed a card with holes punched in the corner and a thin piece of pink ribbon to Keith with his change. "I don't like those dumb little plastic things you stick into the bouquet to hold the card. They're so ugly."

"Thanks." Keith dropped his change in the tip jar. " To Kill a Mockingbird ," he said, glancing at Kara's book on the counter. "You know, 'until I feared I would lose it, I never loved to read.'"

Kara grinned. "Same here."

"Thanks again," he said, picking up the bouquet.

"You're welcome. Have a good first day tomorrow. And good luck with Acxa!"

Keith turned at the door and waved to her before riding home, the sunset painting the sky gold and orange.

On Thursday Kara went to the cafe during her shift. Keith didn't even look up when the little bell tinkled. He just kept staring out the side window, elbows on his knees, chin in his hands.

"Hi."

He turned and met Kara's sparkling green eyes. "Hi," he responded glumly.

"What's wrong?"

Keith stood up. "Acxa didn't take my flowers."

"Oh no." Kara's face fell. "I'm so sorry. Did she not like them?"

"It's not that. She just … doesn't feel the same way. She gave them back to me."

"Oh that's awful."

"Yeah."

"I can give you a refund."

"No, that's okay. It was a really good arrangement you made. And you helped me out." He wiped his hands on his apron. "What can I get you?"

Kara bit her lip. "Now I feel bad for ordering something."

"Don't. It'll give me something to do instead of staring at the rain."

"A hot chocolate. French vanilla flavoring, please. And a brownie."

"Coming up."

After a few moments of silence Kara asked, "Other than the flowers, how was your first day?"

"It was alright." Keith began filling the cup with hot chocolate. "Nothing exciting. I'm just happy to not be a freshman anymore. What about you? Did Atlas start Monday?"

"Yeah. It was normal. Our librarian is back, though. Her cancer is in remission."

"That's good." Keith handed over the hot chocolate and grabbed a brownie with the tongs.

"I kind of miss the Accelerated Reading program they had in elementary school," said Kara as she handed over a ten dollar bill.

"I do too." Keith counted out Kara's change, which she dropped in the tip jar. "The prizes were always the best."

“Which were your favorite prizes?” Kara asked as she grabbed her purchases.

“I always got the coupons - you know, the ones to the ice cream parlor and diner.”

“Me too!”

“My points were so high that they’d usually give me extra coupons.”

Kara’s mouth dropped open. “They didn’t do that at my school. I just got to pick extra junk from the toy box. I always liked the Oscar Mayer wienermobile whistles, though. I hope your day gets better.”

“Yeah. Thanks.”

About an hour later Kara came back to the coffee shop, carrying a small pot. “Here,” she said, setting the pot on the counter. “These are for you.”

Keith’s eyes widened at the bright orange flowers. “For me?”

“Yeah. Orange means ‘I hope you cheer up’ in flower language. So I put this together. There are some daisies” - she pointed them out - “because daisies are the happiest flowers.”

“Says who?”

“Meg Ryan in You’ve Got Mail .”

Keith shook his head. “Never heard of it.”

“Never - how is that possible?” Kara’s brow furrowed. “It’s a great movie. You should watch it.”

“Okay.”

“And then I put some dahlias in there because those always make me happy. See how the petals kinda fold in and make a long cup? There was one summer I saw a bee get stuck in there - I think he was drunk off of pollen - and all I could see was his fuzzy butt wiggling around. It was really cute, and these flowers always remind me of that memory.”

Keith stared at her, bewildered, then burst out laughing. “I mean this in the best way possible,” he said, “but you’re kind of weird.”

“You wouldn’t be the first to think so.” Kara smiled at him.

“Thank you.” Keith picked the pot up. “That’s really nice of you.”

“If you need any fertilizer for it or anything else, let me know. Free of charge.”

“I will.” After she left Keith studied the flowers. He ran his thumb and index finger over a leaf and petal of a daisy, then unfurled some of the petals on a dahlia. A slow smile spread across his face as he imagined a bee’s backside wiggling up at him. He thought for a moment, then placed the pot next to the cash register.

Keith decided to make a stop at the bookstore on the corner of Main Street. There was something about the smell of paper and ink that cheered him up, even on his worst days.

He headed straight for the classics section. His collection of classics was slowly growing, but he still had so many he needed to read. Keith ran his finger across the spines. Which one, which one…? Three minutes of indecisiveness later, he decided to leave it up to fate. Taking a deep breath, he closed his eyes and ran his finger along the spines again, then abruptly stopped. This book - the one his finger currently rested on - this would be the one he would buy.

Keith opened his eyes. The Scarlet Letter. He slid it off the shelf and turned it around. Apparently the juniors in AP Literature were required to read this. Might as well get a head start.

While he flipped through the pages, something pale yellow fell down at his feet. Curious, Keith picked it up. It was an envelope. On the back, in nice handwriting, was To: Reader . Keith looked around. For some reason, he wanted to keep this letter just to himself. He didn’t want anyone else seeing him read it. His brow scrunched in curiosity, Keith opened the envelope and pulled out the folded paper inside. It was dated in February of that year.

Dear Reader,

Hi! I just finished this book and fell in love with it. For some reason the title always jumped out at me whenever I looked at lists of “must reads” before you die, so I finally checked it out from the library. But I loved it so much that I bought a copy and thought I’d leave a note for someone else who picks this book up, too.

Page 169 has my favorite line on it - that’s why I left the letter here specifically. This is my favorite line in the whole book:

‘A squirrel, from the lofty depths of his domestic tree, chattered either in anger or merriment, - for a squirrel is such a choleric and humorous little personage that it is hard to distinguish between his moods, - so he chattered at the child, and flung down a nut upon her head.’

Isn’t that just wonderful? People always think that classics are so boring and aren’t funny, but I thought this was hilarious. There’s so much I love about this story - the characters, the imagery, the language, the heartache. 

I hope you enjoy it too. And, if you want to tell me what you liked (or didn’t) like about it, you can write me a letter back. There’s a loose brick in the wall that faces the street. Seventh row up from the sidewalk, fifteenth brick over from the corner of the store. Leave your letter in there and then check back a few days later for my response.

Hope to hear from you soon,
Littérateur

Heart beating with excitement, Keith stuffed the letter in his back pocket, paid for the book, and hurried to the side of the building. He counted seven rows up from the sidewalk and fifteen over from the corner of the shop. Sure enough, there was a loose brick in the wall. Keith stared at it in disbelief as he wiggled it around. How could this be possible? This only happened in books and movies.

Except … this was real life. Keith’s real life. In his fifteen years of living, nothing this exciting had ever happened to him.

He sat down on the curb, pulled a notebook out of his backpack, and scribbled out a note.

Hey Littérateur,

I haven’t even started The Scarlet Letter yet. Actually, I just bought the copy your letter was in. I’ll keep you updated on my progress. I’m looking forward to reading it now. My friends aren’t super big into reading (except for my one friend who’s really into technology, but she reads manuals for fun), so I’ve never really had anyone to talk to about what I’ve finished.

Curious,
Bookhound

Keith stared at his letter. This was crazy. What if the person who originally wrote the letter wasn’t even in Garrison anymore? A lot can happen in six months. Or what if it was some crazy person who wanted to lure him in and kidnap him? Did writing a letter to someone he didn’t know count as stranger danger?

His mind wandered back to earlier in the day when Acxa met him after school by the library - where he asked her in the note to come - and how she said, “I’m sorry, but I just don’t feel the same because I hardly know you” before handing him the bouquet and walking away. The sting of her rejection without even letting him say a word rubbed his already raw heart the wrong way.

Mouth set in a determined line, Keith folded up the paper and wrote To: Littérateur on it. Then he stood up, wiggled the brick out of its spot, and placed his letter inside the little hollow. He stared at it for a moment. A few days - in a few days he’d come back and check for a response. Hopefully there would be one.

After carefully setting the brick back in place, he picked up his backpack, unlocked his bike from the rack, and pedaled home.

Chapter Text

"I don't know how I'm going to get Allura to notice me."

Keith rolled his eyes and folded a towel in half. "Is it really worth it?"

"Yes!" Lance said fiercely. He folded his arms on top of the counter. "She's the most beautiful girl in the world. And we're in the same science class, so we'll talk more."

Keith threw his best friend a look. "It'll probably end in a disaster."

"Just because Acxa gave you back your flowers -" The bell tinkled and he looked over his shoulder.

"Hi," said Kara.

"Hi." Keith tossed down the towel. "Hot chocolate?"

"No, it's actually warm today." Kara leaned up against the counter and squinted at the menu. "You have lemonade?" she asked brightly.

"Until the first day of Fall. What flavor?"

"Peach!"

"Anything to eat?"

"Hmm. I'll take one of these blueberry muffins." As she reached for her money, she glanced at the pot next to the cash register. "Your flowers are still alive."

"I'm surprised, too." Keith counted out Kara's change and she slipped it into the tip jar.

"You gave those to him?" Lance asked, incredulous.

"Yeah," Kara responded. "He was having a bad day and orange flowers mean cheer up. I'm Kara, by the way. I work across the street at Karina's Flores."

"Lance. Keith's my best buddy. Well, along with Hunk and Pidge."

"Nice to meet you, Lance." She smiled at him. "You two have a great rest of the day."

"You too," said Keith as she opened the door to leave.

As soon as it closed, Lance rounded on Keith. "You know a cute girl's drink order and she gave you flowers? You need to jump on that."

"She's just a regular customer, Lance."

"What do you know about her?"

"She likes to read and goes to Atlas high."

"And?" Lance prodded.

Keith thought. "And … she works at the flower shop across the street."

Lance put his face in his hands. "You are hopeless."

"She likes hot chocolate and pastries. And I guess lemonade, too."

Lance scowled at him through his fingers. "Unbelievable. You can't pine after Acxa forever."

"I'm not pining," Keith shot back angrily. "I'm just … hurt."

"Well, I'm sure a girl as cute as Kara could help you forget Acxa." Lance straightened up. "I'm gonna get some info for you."

"No -"

"Too late. I already made up my mind."

Keith sighed. "Well, while you're over there, ask if she'll make a bouquet for Allura. She was the one who made Acxa's."

"Maybe I will." Lance gave Keith an overdramatic wink before heading to the flower shop.

Over the next hour Keith occasionally glanced out the window to the flower shop. He watched as Lance talked to Kara at the counter and as they moved around the shop looking at flowers. Lance eventually left with a huge bouquet of white and pink flowers, a huge smile on his face as he skipped to his brother's car.

Wednesday at four-thirty Keith looked up from his homework when the bell tinkled. He sat at a table near a window. Kara walked up to Hunk behind the counter and placed her order. She wore a simple black skirt and pretty green skirt that fell just above her knees. As she waited for her drink, she looked around. When she spotted Keith she smiled and waved. He waved back.

After Hunk handed over her lemonade, Kara walked over to Keith. "Mind if I sit here for a bit?" she asked.

"Sure." Keith moved some of his homework aside.

"What are you working on?"

"Math."

Kara scrunched her nose. "I'm sorry."

"Yeah."

"Did Lance's bouquet work? I see he's sitting with someone."

Keith slid down his seat a little. "Yeah. Allura loved it. They've been going out since Monday." He tapped his fingers on the table. "They're on a double date with Acxa."

"Oh?" Kara leaned around Keith.

"Don't look!" Keith whispered between gritted teeth.

"I'm sorry. I'm curious." She took a sip of her lemonade. "She is pretty."

Keith glared out the window. "She's going out with James Griffin now."

"Oh. He's cute too."

"What?" Keith said angrily.

"That doesn't mean his personality is cute."

Keith glowered at her.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to make you upset. Can I get you a cookie or something?"

"No. I'll just ask Hunk for something when I get off break."

"Oh, the boy behind the counter? He seems really nice."

"Yeah. His parents own the shop. I've known them for ages."

"That must be fun to work with a friend."

"It is. He's really chill."

Kara gazed out the window. "I wish I worked with a friend. It's just me and Karina."

"Do you not like her?"

"Oh no, she's great!" said Kara. "She and my brother got married over the summer and they've known each other for ages. I love her. But it's just the two of us. And sometimes Colleen when she drops off flowers for our stock."

"Do you have any other siblings?"

"No, just Jeremy. He's five years older than me."

"I'm an only child."

"Well, if you ever want to borrow Jeremy, he'd love it. Apparently he cried when Mom and Dad told him I was a girl." 

Keith laughed. “Thanks. I needed that. Especially with them here.” He stared moodily out the window again.

“I’m really sorry. Rejection hurts.”

“If she would try to get to know me, she’d realize we have a lot in common.”

“Like …?”

Keith thought for a moment. “Well … we both really liked Breakfast at Tiffany’s when we read it last year in class.”

“I didn’t know it was a book,” said Kara, surprised. “I thought it was a movie.”

“The movie is based on the book.” Keith looked at Kara incredulously. “You didn’t know that?”

“No. I barely remember the movie. I saw it a long time ago.”

“It’s a classic!”

“Well so is You’ve Got Mail and you haven’t seen it.”

Keith rolled his eyes. “I have to get back to work.”

“Okay. I hope your evening gets better.”

“Doubt it. I’ll see you around.”

The rest of his shift Keith tried to stay busy and not look at James with his arm draped around Acxa's shoulders or the content smile on her face. He couldn't even concentrate on The Scarlet Letter because the laughter and chatter from their table rattled around in his head

Once six-thirty rolled around, Keith quickly hung up his apron and grabbed his backpack. He couldn't take another minute of the double date table's saccharine smiles. When he stepped out of the coffee shop door he almost smacked into Kara. An acoustic guitar rested in her hands.

"What are you doing?" he asked, surprised.

"I feel like I annoyed you this afternoon and made your day a little worse." Kara plucked some strings and tuned them. "So, I thought a silly song might make you feel a little better."

She scooted over to one of the tables outside the coffee shop and sat down on it. After strumming a few warm-up chords and clearing her throat, she began:

You’ll say that we've got nothing in common,
no common ground to start from
and we're falling apart.

Keith stared at Kara in disbelief. Was she seriously singing to him - right now, in public?

And I said, "What about Breakfast at Tiffany's ?"
She said, "I think I remember that film
and as I recall, I think we both kinda liked it."
And I said "Well, that's one thing we've got."

A grin spread across Keith’s face. He set his backpack down on the ground and sat down in one of the chairs near Kara. He began singing with her on the next chorus.

I see you - the only one who knew me,
and now your eyes see through me.
I guess I was wrong.
So what now? It's plain to see we're over,
and I hate when things are over,
when so much is left undone.

He was so engrossed in singing with Kara and the happiness bubbling up inside of him that he didn’t even notice when the double date group left the coffee shop and how Acxa looked over her shoulder at them, her eyebrow raised in curiosity.

And I said, "What about Breakfast at Tiffany's ?"
She said, "I think I remember that film
and as I recall, I think we both kinda liked it."
And I said "Well, that's one thing we've got."

The last chord faded into the twilight. They just sat there for a moment, Keith’s grin never leaving his face.

“So do you forgive me?” Kara finally asked.

“You didn’t have anything to apologize for,” Keith said, standing up. “But that really just made my day. Perfect serendipity.” 

“Maybe more manufactured, in a sense,” said Kara as she slipped down from the table. “You’re basically a walking, living version of this song.”

Keith laughed again. “And yet, I’m not really upset about it.”

“It’s a good song.” Kara smiled at him. “Have a good night, Keith.”

“You too, Kara.”

Once she disappeared into the flower shop, Keith grabbed his bike and pedaled around the corner to the side of the book shop. His breath caught in his throat after he took the brick out of its spot and saw a pale yellow envelope.