Red, Red, Roses
By Klutz
(R (return) series, Serena amnesia, not Darien.)


	She wrapped the thin material of her coat tighter around herself in a futile gesture.  She was too far away from home, and there was no way her coat was going to keep her warm. Ducking her head down against the wind, she pressed on. 'To bad I don't know anyone who lives around here.  Looks like I'll have to wait out the storm in a store somewhere.  The first place she saw that looked comforting and warm was a flower shop two doors down.  She quickened her pace and slipped inside, closing the door with a sigh of relief.  
	"Can I help you miss?" came a helpful voice.  She looked up to see a woman sitting behind the counter, reading the paper and drinking a cup of hot chocolate. "You look pretty cold." She continued.  The woman patted a stool like seat next to her with a smile.  "Come on in and warm up for awhile!  Would you like a hot drink?" Serena could only nod and take the seat offered.  A moment or two latter after a few good sips of a warm drink, she felt warm enough to talk again.
	"I'm sorry to intrude like this, but I had to get out of the storm, and my house is too far away." She said gratefully. The woman smiled gently again.
	"It's no trouble.  I was getting lonely anyway.  Not many people buy flowers in the middle of March." She said, smiling.  
	"You still sell flowers in this icy weather?" Serena asked, leaning back against the wall and warming her hands with the mug.
	"Oh no!" The woman laughed. "But we do sell fertilizer and other things to people who grow flowers inside, year round." She replied.  Serena liked this woman.  She was sweet and understanding, with a good ear and a soothing voice.  Kind of like an Aunt of someone you could talk to when you were having a hard time.  "Why there's one young man, about two years older than you I would guess," she said, slipping into a story telling mood that was comfortably familiar to the two, "Who comes here around once a week to buy something for his roses.  In fact, he should be coming in sometime today, though I doubt it with this storm going on." She said, gesturing to the raging snowstorm outside the small, warm shop.
	Serena chuckled.  "After all that warm weather this week, who would have thought that it would snow like this?" The woman laughed too, and continued her story.
	"Well this young man, is very dedicated to his roses. The first time he came in here, he was about twelve years old, and he wanted to buy a vase for some roses he had brought back from his orphanage.  The way I hear it, he had just moved out thanks to an obscure inheritance from the previous owner, and had been growing a beautiful rose garden there.  It seems he really loved the roses, so he brought back a few to replant and start a new garden.  Anyways, he spotted a few wilting roses that had been sitting around in the back all week.  I had given up on them, but just couldn't bring myself to get rid of them." Serena nodded, understandingly and took another sip of the warm drink.  She had only known this woman for a few minutes, but already felt very close and comfortable with her. "He asked me if he could take them home, and try to fix them up for me.  I let him have them, though I doubted he could do much for them.  I had tried everything, but they just didn't seem to want to come back to life.  Well wasn't I surprised when he came back about a week latter with the most beautiful roses I have ever seen!  They were almost fully bloomed and the petals were this rich shade of red that just seemed to grow with each new layer of the rose.  I was shocked when he told me that they were the same rose I had given him a few days ago.  When I asked him what he did to them, he just smiled and said it was a secret.  There has always been something about that boy that I just don't seem to understand.  He always looks so lonely, and he can do things for flowers that I've only dreamed of!  The strangest part, is that he's young, smart, very hansom and kind, but single!  I've never even seen him with a girl." She shook her head sadly.  "I do wish he could find who ever it is he's looking for." There was a small silence after that, as the two thought about the young man.  He sounded familiar, yet strange and new to Serena.  'I wonder if I know him?' she wondered. 
	A minute latter there was a twinkling of the tiny bells above the door and a gust of wind that was abruptly cut off when a tall man rushed inside out of the storm, closing the door quickly behind himself.  They could only see the back of the man, as he unwrapped some package that he had been carrying. 
	"I hope they didn't get too cold on the way over Ms. Meioh.  I tried to get them over as fast as I could when I thought they were ready.  That's one heck of a storm out there!" he said, and turned around, holding another bunch of beautiful red roses in one hand and a few bags in the other that had probably used to protect the roses on his way to this shop.  Serena blinked.  The man blinked. The woman behind the counter noted this and smiled, breaking the short silence that had seemed to last a very long time.   
	"Oh good, thank you Darien, these are perfect, just like the last ones.  You know how fast these sell out?  One of these days you are going to have to tell me your secret!" she said smiling.  Darien didn't seem to hear her.
	"Meatball head?  What are you doing here?" he asked, confused.  He looked almost scared, like she had seen something she wasn't supposed to.  What was wrong with her knowing he grew roses? 
	She shook herself slightly. It was Darien the woman had been speaking of?  "I got caught in the storm and didn't have anywhere to go.  This was the first place I saw, so I came in here." She said shrugging.  Realizing that he had called the woman Ms. Meioh, she turned to her.  "He really grew those roses?" she asked her.  Ms. Meioh, or Setsuna as her nametag read, which Serena had only just noticed, smiled. 
	"Yes, and he's been bringing them to me every week ever since." She said smiling wider.