Garden Center (SPN fic)

[Sawyer]

Another from the meme! From cowboyguy's prompt: "Sam desperately needs money during college. The only place hiring near campus right now is a garden center, and they hire him on the spot because he's big and tall and can haul heavy things around. Problem is, Sam is allergic to a wide variety of plants. Cue Sam being miserable and sneezy/stuffy at work, and Jess making him feel better when he gets home."

Also acts as a companion piece/prequel to TG's fic here.

-

-

“G’morning, Winchester!”

“Is it?” Sam shoots back quickly, his tone sarcastic but his expression pleasant. Truth be told, as mornings go, it’s not really a bad one. The sun’s just risen and the air’s only slightly humid from last night’s storm, the temperature just warm enough to be comfortable if you’re in direct sunlight.

But any morning that’s got him starting out able to breathe through his nose with full knowledge that it won’t be long until he’s robbed of that luxury isn’t really a great one.

His co-worker just grins, lifts a small tree onto a pot mover and begins to wheel it inside of the greenhouse.

“Boss says we’ve got to rearrange these inside,” he informs Sam, gesturing to the plant. “The rest are in the greenhouse.”

Sam clears his throat nervously and follows him inside.

-

The greenhouse is hot and old and a little musty, with several rows of tables supporting miniature gardens, clusters of all sorts of exotic flowers and plant life with several taller potted plants near the entrance by the koi pond. The staff has been instructed to move those up closer to the walls so that they’re distributed evenly throughout the building.

The strong floral scent alone is enough to make Sam feel like he needs to sneeze, reminiscent of a strong perfume. He understands that it’s supposed to make the place seem fresh and authentic and emphasize spring or whatever, but perhaps that’s the problem – spring is never enjoyable when the plant life starts spreading its pollen and the overcast sky becomes bright and sunny, triggering sneeze after sneeze after…

“Hhp’TSCHHHhUH!” Ugh. That.

“Bless you!” A feminine voice chirps from behind him, and Sam turns around to face an unfamiliar young girl leaning against a pot mover.

“I’m Beth Zheng; I’m your new supervisor,” she says, holding out her hand.

“Sam,” he reciprocates, sniffling as he envelops her hand with his own, pumping his arm twice before he has to take it back. “Sorry – Hh’TZSCHh’ew!”

“Bless you twice.” Beth takes hold of the pot mover’s handle, tilting it back so that it can roll. “Pat had to leave because of a family emergency, so you guys are going to have to deal with me in the meantime!” She winks as she hands the contraption over to him. “Anyway, I think Eric already filled you in – just make sure the trees are set up close to the walls. Let me know if you have any problems.”

Sam doesn’t waste time in loading a tree onto the tray and wheeling it down the length of the room. The more time he spends inside, the worse he feels; he’s been working this job for over a week now and he knows from experience that it’s almost twice as bad in the greenhouse compared to working in the outdoor garden. Sure, the brilliance of the sun and the weeds and tree pollen irritate him plenty, but with all of the pollen and strong scents concentrated into a small building, illuminated by the muted brightness of the sun shining through the windows, it’s usually less than an hour until he’s almost entirely useless, despite the height and muscles that he was hired on account of in the first place.

“HepKSSHh! TSCHCHh’EW!” He sneezes against his wrist, the other hand still pushing the tree forward. The sooner they get this job done, the sooner the possibility of being moved to a different part of the facility. “UhCHHshHIH!”

He works alongside Eric – who has been used to Sam’s allergic soundtrack (and given up on blessing him) since halfway through his first day – and moves the trees around quickly, failing to pause even when he has to sneeze or rub his eyes. He can multitask.

“Damn, it’s amazing how fast you are,” Eric compliments. Sam’s moved almost twice as much as he has, and Eric’s no slouch to begin with. “Even when you’re all, y’know… I mean, I gotta commend you, man.”

“I’ve had a lot of… huh! HuhPTSSchHew! …a lot of practice,” Sam explains.

“Jeez, is it always like this?”

“Uh’HtpCHhhEH! Uh, ndot so mbuch,” Sam answers as he wheels the last of of the trees to the back corner of the greenhouse. “It’s just all of the plandts so close together, lack of ventilationd… TSSCHh!”

“That’s rough, dude,” Eric sympathizes.

“Pays well, though,” Sam adds with a shrug as they await their next assignment.

-

“Sam, bless you!” Beth calls from where she’s working on shaping the lilac bushes. They’ve been outside for maybe five minutes and he’s had to have sneezed at least fifteen times. You’d think she’d have gotten the idea by now – it wasn’t going to stop any time soon, so she might as well save her breath.

“Thandks,” he says back, hopefully loud (and articulate) enough for her to hear him.

“She really is new,” one of Sam’s coworkers says to him. He and a few others are down on the ground, tending to the garden and covered in dirt.

Sam can only nod in response as he inhales sharply, turning his head away and pressing his face into his shoulder. “Hhh’PPTCHFShH! IhtTSSSh’uh!” He’d rather be lifting his hands or forearm to catch the explosions, but they’re covered in dirt and he doesn’t want to risk getting that all over his face. “Ngk’PTSSHHh!”

“Bless!”

He has a feeling it’s going to be a long morning.

-

By the time noon rolls around it’s back to working inside the greenhouse, setting up plants in their individual table gardens. At least the staff is spread out a little more, so Sam isn’t feeling so self-conscious, all sweaty and sneezy and gross.

“Sam, are you feeling alright?” Beth asks as she approaches his table, casually leaning over the patches of dirt and flora once she reaches him.

“Yeah, uh,” Sam clears his throat, wishing his hands were less dirty so that he could tug at his collar. “Yeah. It’s just mby allergies.”

“Mmm, I don’t know,” she says. “You look like you have a fever, your cheeks are awfully red. You sure you don’t want to take the day off?”

Not an option. He really needs the money. “I’mb just warmb,” he explains. It’s true; his cheeks and nose always flush in extreme temperatures even when he’s not allergic. Dean used to tease him about it all the time. “All the flowers just mbake be sdeeze a lot. I dod’t feel too bad. I cad work.” Great, and now the letters m and n have disappeared, even when he’s medicated to the brim with that prescription stuff Jess got for him and an over the counter pill on top of it.

“Since you’re still more efficient than the rest of my staff, I guess I’ll just have to trust you,” Beth says with a bright smile. “Besides, you’re going to come in handy when our next shipment of juniper shrubs comes in later this afternoon.” Just before she turns to walk away, she tells him, “Seriously, though. If you want to call it quits early, I’ll understand.”

“Thadks, I’ll huh… hh’uhKNTCHH’EW! I’ll keep that id bide.”

Just six more hours.

Edited April 15, 2014 by Sen Beret

[AngelEyes]

Mmmmm. Lovely!

[Pyrus_Fangmon]

Ohhhhh I likey this. And that link just hit the spot

[Nola]

Gosh dang it, Sen! Why did I read this?? I have shit to do today, haha, and know I'm all...well...distracted...okay, so it's not your fault, exactly, hahah

so Sam isn’t feeling so self-conscious, all sweaty and sneezy and gross.

I love the honesty in this line, it's so inner-monologue...and I love inner-monologues of any type

It’s true; his cheeks and nose always flush in extreme temperatures even when he’s not allergic. Dean used to tease him about it all the time.

D'aww...I want to keep him...

[Sawyer]

Mmmmm. Lovely!

Thank you!!

Ohhhhh I likey this. And that link just hit the spot

I'm glad! It was a great meme... lasted such a long time!

Gosh dang it, Sen! Why did I read this?? I have shit to do today, haha, and know I'm all...well...distracted...okay, so it's not your fault, exactly, hahah

so Sam isn’t feeling so self-conscious, all sweaty and sneezy and gross.

I love the honesty in this line, it's so inner-monologue...and I love inner-monologues of any type

It’s true; his cheeks and nose always flush in extreme temperatures even when he’s not allergic. Dean used to tease him about it all the time.

D'aww...I want to keep him...

Aww, thank you!! Sam in college is so cute, I think, like a little more awkward and lanky and trying to figure himself out. Love the temperature change thing too... Jared's skin is sooo sensitive, always going pink! My favorite!