"That's it, deep breathes for me."
He glanced towards his client who remained motionless, his pierced face drained of all its color. The man had wanted a new piercing, after having his ears, bridge, septum, and eyebrow pierced, now he was paying for Snake Bites. The older male coached him through it as he slowly punctured a hole into his lip, trying to make it as painless as possible. The younger boy squirmed about uncomfortably and even moaned at the pain that flooded through his mouth. The male then took a ring and filled the wound with its metal, now working on the second incision. When all was said and done the boy paid and thanked him, and made his way out into the world, eager to show off his latest accomplishment.
The artist rested for a moment, tired of the work day. He had one client left, and surely he'd do it quick and effortlessly as always. He tucked a loose red strand behind his ear, and called in the last paying customer, seeming surprised when a young blonde entered the room.
The young fox seated himself at the chair sitting in front of the man, and smiled up at him. His skin was tan, flawless, bearing no marks except for three odd whiskers on each cheek. His hair was spiked and messy as if he had just woken, but the blues of his eyes were distant, almost lost.
'What luck?' Gaara thought to himself, 'A newbie.'
The two glanced towards each other and immediately Gaara could hear his thoughts. He liked to leave his skin fresh, untouched, except for the Japanese character tattooed in red at the side of his forehead. He never quite felt that piercings were his thing, but this was how he earned his cash and just about the only thing he was good at.
How had he known? It was a question every client asked him at least once. "How ironic" they always said. At first because of the lack of metal embedded in his skin they thought him to be unworthy of such a job, a rookie, but the redhead always proved them wrong by doing a damn good job at it. He was the main artist of the building, people paid to be worked on by those nimble fingers, he brought the cash in. But he didn't have the patience to deal with a virgin this late into the day.
As polite as possible he began to ask the blonde the usual questions, trying to seem the least bit interested.
"What can I do for you today?"
"Snake bites." Naruto answered in a forced tone. Gaara stopped himself from rolling his eyes and begin to focus on the bottom of the blonde's lower lip, trying to grasp the image within his own mind.
"You don't want to do something a bit simpler?" He asked, "Such as an eyebrow piercing, nose, even an ear piercing?"
Naruto took a moment to think this over and then shook his head. The older male sighed out of frustration and then began to organize himself, grabbing at the utensils they would need. He picked out a clean needle from a sterilized pile, and sorted through the many rings, deciding upon two. They were pure silver with balls at the end; something he thought would look nice on the blonde.
"So." He began at an attempt at small talk, "What made you want snakebites?"
"Well." He grabbed at the blonde's lip and began to examine the skin, marking the places with a felt pen at where he would his incisions. "I've always wanted them; I've just been to chicken until now." He quieted down as he noticed the artist's eye's narrow, and with a steady hand he placed the needle on the pink flesh of his lips, quickly pressing it through. Naruto had expected to cry out in pain, shed a few tears, but the pain subsided and heat clouded the wound. Gaara pushed the metal through and screwed on the ball before focusing on his next hole.
"The first one never hurts." He explained, his eyes meeting with an icy blue, "It's the adrenaline rush. But now you know what's going to happen, what you're to expect, this one may sting a lot more." He paused, "Now take a deep breath and it'll be over quick."
The blonde's eyes fell shut as he took in a breath, but as he did so Gaara took it as his chance to strike and effortlessly pierced through the skin. Naruto moaned in pain as he stuck the cold metal loop through his skin, tightening the ball around its edge.
He proceeded to clean the blonde by wiping away the blood that seeped from his holes, tossing his instruments into the nearest bin. He took a long look at his client, and admired his work; staring at the silver metal that protruded from the boy's bottom lip.
"Not too shabby." Gaara complimented, beckoning the blonde to look at himself in the mirror. His eyes met with his reflection and his finger's came to roam the irritated areas around his lip, he seemed somewhat impressed and turned to thank the redhead.
"No problem." Gaara said as the boy paid him up front, "What was your name again?"
"Naruto." The blonde answered.
"Well Naruto," He began, "Next time you need a piercing ask for Gaara. I didn't think you could but you actually pulled it off. Next time it's a bridge or septum, maybe even your ears."
Naruto laughed at this, "Only if you're paying."
"Hey," Gaara shrugged, playfully winking at the blonde, "If it means you'll come back around I just might, your face will bring good business. If your friends ask tell them you got it at Konoha's finest."
"You bet." He waved the male goodbye as he exited the building, brushing his fingertips along his new piercings. The artist watched from inside, deciding to close up shop as the boy was finally gone.
'Maybe it's about time I got one.' He thought to himself as he locked the doors and began to clean the interior of the room.