"Oh, fuck..."
Rubbing his head gingerly, Atem blinked at the room around him. Oh good, I'm at home. Despite the fact that his head was pounding from a well deserved hangover, he could still pick out the rug and coffee table that were in front of him as his own living room. Sprawled across the couch, the man tried to sit up as he rubbed his eyes. Sun was blaring through the windows on the other side of the room, and his first guess was that it was somewhere around mid morning.
Last night had been his best friend's 24th birthday, and so their group of friends had gone out and drunk until they'd passed out, or thrown up. Atem could remember bits and pieces, like dancing at the club, and feeling overly generous and shouting the whole group drinks despite the fact he probably wouldn't be able to pay for groceries today because of it.
From what he could remember, it was fun, and he at least ended up at home this time, so that wasn't so bad. After a few minutes, he managed to pick himself up off the couch and dragged his feet into the bathroom. He barely glanced in the mirror, already knowing how bad he probably looked, as he walked in and pulled his shirt off, throwing it into the basket in the corner.
What made him stop and turn to the mirror though, was something that he saw from the corner of his eye. Furrowing his eyebrows, he examined the dark markings on his chest that he certainly wasn't imagining. What the hell did I do last night?
Drawn across his chest in what must have been permanent marker, was the head of a dragon, breathing fire up over his collarbone. Despite the fact that he couldn't remember anyone drawing on his chest, he was pleasantly surprised at how well drawn it was. Sure, it was a little wobbly at some parts, but for a sharpie drawing on someone's chest it was pretty good.
He then noticed some writing underneath it, and had to blink and concentrate in order to read the backwards version of it in the mirror.
"Look in back pocket..." he read the words written on his abdomen out loud, before giving them an odd look, and reaching into his pocket as it said. He pulled out what looked like a business card. Turning it over in his hands, he gave the card a quizzical look. "Stardust tattoo parlor?" he couldn't find a recollection of any of this. On the back of the card though, were some more words. "Come back tomorrow for your refund..."
The man glanced back in the mirror at the dragon drawing for a moment, before looking back down at the card, and it all finally clicked into place in his head, and he let out a loud round of laughter. This would be a great story to tell Joey later.
...
Having just finished with a client, Yusei was moving around the studio, cleaning up supplies and trying to make the place look a little neater while he had the time. He didn't have any more clients booked in this afternoon, so his equipment had been put away, and he was able to pull out the broom to give the place a quick sweep. He was halfway through this endeavor, when he heard the door to the shop open, and footsteps echoed around the corner.
Placing the broom against the wall, Yusei walked out to the front of the shop, spying a man in his early twenties waiting by the counter. As soon as the face became familiar to him, he cracked a smile, and waltzed over to him.
"Afternoon," he greeted, as the man turned upon his arrival. "How's the hangover?"
Atem blinked at the man before him for a moment. He was slightly taller than him, had dark hair that hung over his eyes, a couple of piercings and-no surprise-tattoos covering his bare shoulders and biceps. Atem was sure he'd never met this guy before, yet he was acting as if they had. Well then again, perhaps they had met, which was why he was here. Well, he couldn't complain, he thought as he pulled the business card out of his pocket-the guy was damn attractive.
"Uh, yeah it's alright," Atem replied, before holding the card out. "I was hoping you knew what this was."
Yusei grinned as he took the card from the man, already knowing what it was. "Well, it's one of my business cards," he said, indicating to the counter where there was a stack of identical ones. "Only this one served a better purpose," he then continued, turning it over to the note he had written on the back. Upon the odd look he received, he decided to ask, "Do you remember anything from last night?"
Atem looked to the side, scratching the side of his neck. He hoped he hadn't done anything too stupid or embarrassing. "I uh, went out with some mates," he said, "But I don't recall this place."
Yusei chuckled, as he moved to lean against the counter top, folding his arms. "You stumbled in here demanding you got a tattoo of Elton John on your ass," he explained, not without amusement in his voice. Atem's face paled. "I tried to ask you to leave, but you'd already slapped the money on the counter and started pulling your pants off."
The man before him then turned a glorious shade of red. "Oh my god," he raised his hands to his face in embarrassment, "I am so sorry."
The chuckle Atem received barely helped to soothe his mind. "Don't worry, I've seen worse slights." At the horrified look Atem gave the tattoo artist, Yusei shrugged. "You were pretty insistent, so I sat you in the chair and bargained for a dragon on your chest instead, but I just drew it with a sharpie, you couldn't tell the difference."
Atem had heard of people getting stupid tattoos while they were drunk, and he let out a sigh of relief. "Thank you." It took him a moment to calm down, but he was then able to add, "I wouldn't hear the end of it if I actually had Elton John's face on my ass."
Yusei just laughed, "It's alright," he said, moving to walk behind the counter, "You're certainly not the first drunk idiot I've encountered."
While Atem reasoned in his head that it must have indeed been true, the tattooist opened the register, fishing out the money he had left there the night before. Not quite wanting to leave just yet, Atem leant forwards on the counter. "I must have been really drunk though to believe that dragon was real," he teased, "All the outline was wobbly."
Yusei glanced up at the man across the counter, before his smile returned. "Well you wouldn't sit still," he countered, closing the register and holding out the money. He then seemed to think for a moment, "Though next time when you really want a tattoo, just promise me you'll pick something better."
The grin on the man's face was enough to put Atem at ease over his embarrassment, as he gladly took the money from him. He glanced down at the man's arms, where several intricate designs were all carefully placed on his skin. He looked to the side for a moment, "So, if sometime soon I did want a proper tattoo..."
The artist leant over the counter then, plucking the card out of Atem's hand that he'd been holding, and turning it over to the front so he could point at something. "Then you can give that number a call," he replied. Atem looked down at the card, and underneath 'Stardust Tattoo Parlor' was a name and a number.
Taking a hopeful guess, Atem read the name on the card with uncertainty, as he looked back up at the man. "Yusei?"
He was met with a smile and a nod, but Atem still didn't want to walk out just yet. Biting his lip, he asked his last question. "And what if I were just after a dinner companion?" he asked hopefully.
Yusei let out a chuckle, and he smiled as he reached beside him to grab a pen, "Well in that case..." he pulled the business card towards him again in order to scrawl something on the bottom. "You can call that number." When he was done, he slid the card back over to Atem, who picked it up happily. "Try not to get the two mixed up," he then added with a smirk.
Atem laughed as he pocketed the card, "I'm sure I won't, thanks." He stood there for a moment longer, as they shared a content smile, before he turned to leave. "Alright, thanks again for saving my ass, literally," he chuckled.
Yusei laughed, "No problem."
Just as Atem began to walk towards the door, he stopped, pivoting on one foot. "Oh, I didn't tell you my-"
"Atem, I know," A smug smile sat on Yusei's face. Eyebrows raised in confusion at that. When had he-
The artist shrugged, folding his arms over his chest comfortably. "You told me last night."
"Oh." Of course. Feeling his cheeks growing warm again, Atem said goodbye, and walked out the door. He glanced at the red motorcycle parked by the curb as he walked towards his car, and smiled. He was suddenly very glad that he'd opted for a stupid tattoo last night.