Have a totally self-indulgent tattoo artist/florist/piercer AU. Feel free to send me requests for Ash/Eiji/Shorter! (No NSFW though, and I haven't read the manga yet.)
Eiji jerked his shoulders back and, attempting to squash down a flutter of nervousness, forced his mouth into a smile. "Welcome!"
Smile and look confident, even if you're not. He repeated the flower shop owner's advice in his head as two customers entered the store. Hands clasped together, he caught himself watching them perhaps a bit too intensely and hastily flicked his gaze away.
To be fair, he had been expecting women or older men, not—
"Don't worry, we don't bite," the one wearing sunglasses indoors reassured.
The other, a blond with piercing green eyes, idly glanced around at the assortments of flowers and decorative plants as they sidled up to the counter. "We come in here sometimes. Flower tats are pretty popular, so I like checking real ones out here." Then a friendly grin with a hint of mischievousness cut across his features. "Plus we heard there was a new guy, and we got curious."
"Ah…" Eiji fumbled under the attention. Thankfully the tallest male casually leaned against the counter to interject.
"We work at the tattoo parlor on the other side of the street. I'm Shorter, and that's Ash." He pointed his thumb at the guy next to him.
As he spoke, Eiji caught glimpses of a silver ball piercing on his tongue. He wondered what that felt like—having a tongue piercing, not Shorter's tongue in his mouth! Oh god, now was not the time to let his mind run wild.
He shot his gaze up. Shorter's hair was done up in a messy purple mohawk, and a stud shone on his nose. He also had an eyebrow piercing and several hoops in his earlobes. A dark edge of a tattoo peeked out from the top of his tank top.
Ash, on the other hand, had no visible piercings. Instead ink designs covered most of one arm, and on the other a couple smaller graphics decorated his skin. Eiji spotted another tattoo on the side of his neck, but from this angle he couldn't make it out.
"See, I told you everyone loves my eyebrow piercing," Shorter boasted after a moment, and Eiji realized with no small amount of mortification that he had been staring without responding.
Ash rolled his eyes. "Then why don't you wear your sunglasses less so people can notice it more?"
"It's part of my aesthetic, man."
Ash huffed in amusement before plucking said accessory off his face. Releasing an ungraceful squawk, Shorter grabbed for them. When the blond hid it behind his back, the other lunged forward and nearly knocked them both down. In the ensuing struggle for balance, the Chinese male managed to reach behind the other and grasp his glasses.
Amusement took the edge off Eiji's apprehension, and he stifled a laugh behind his hand. "What just happened?"
"I won, that's what happened." Shorter smugly placed his sunglasses back on the bridge of his nose.
"Yeah yeah. Thank those long arms of yours," Ash retorted, but there was no bite behind the words. "Sorry about this idiot, interrupting you and all. So what's your name?"
"Okumura Eiji." He rubbed the back of his neck. "Sorry if I was…staring. There aren't many people in Japan with tattoos or piercings." And those who did were usually associated with yakuza, he made sure not to say.
"It's fine. Pretty cool, aren't they?" Ash said as he lay his arm on the counter and slowly turned it so Eiji could see the tattoos in their entirety.
The black-haired male observed the ink with awe. How long did it take to tattoo a whole arm? How much did it hurt? He lightly ran his fingers over a particularly intricate design. It felt the same as regular skin.
Wait. It was probably weird for him to be stroking the other's arm without asking. Pulling away, he glanced up at Ash, and he was surprised to see that the man's expression was…gentle.
Shorter didn't seem bothered by the scene either. "You can come watch us at work sometime if you want. Ash is a tattoo artist, and I mostly do piercings. Hey, maybe you can let him practice on you by letting him give you a sweet tat of my face—"
Both Eiji and Ash gave a flat "no."
"Yeowch." Shorter helplessly shrugged his shoulders. "I guess I can't blame you though. A face isn't the best thing for a tattoo virgin to start with."
"I don't know about that, but there's no way I can return home with a tattoo. Plus Ibe-san would kill me."
"Ibe-san?" Ash questioned as he tentatively prodded a vibrant tiger lily sitting in a vase on the counter. Around it lay an assortment of various other flowers to show off some of the flashier or most common sells.
Eiji nodded. "I'm living with him right now. He's a good friend of my parents, and I'm pretty close to him. He's going to be working in America for a while, and since I've been in a slump lately, he asked if I wanted to go with him for a change of scenery," he explained.
"What kind of slump?" Shorter asked.
"I'm sort of a professional pole vaulter? I do small competitions here and there, nothing big. The money I make isn't enough to support me, so I got a job here. Anyway, I…haven't been improving how I'd like, lately." He rubbed the back of his neck.
"Being a pole vaulter is absolutely a big thing," Ash said.
"That takes some serious dedication," Shorter agreed.
Ash pulled out his phone to glance at the time. "Our break's almost over. We better get going."
"Yeah. Our offer still stands; you can check out the shop whenever you want."
"Thanks. I doubt I can this week, but I'll take you up on that." And not just because he was curious about tattoos and piercings. He hadn't expected to make friends—or, well, he hoped he was at least heading toward friendship with guys this fun to talk to—so soon after coming to America.
The two started walking to the door. When they reached the entrance, however, they paused to glance at each other, nodded, and then looked back at Eiji.
"Want to join us on lunch break tomorrow? Our treat," Shorter offered.
"Sure! Where at?"
"We'll come pick you up. Oh, and one other thing." Ash's sharp grin returned. "We like that cute smile of yours right now better than that shitty excuse of one from when we walked in."
Heat threatened to rise to Eiji's face. He hadn't even realized he was smiling, but now that it was pointed out, he wondered if it really looked that different.
Shorter gave a thumbs up. "Take it easy. We'll see you later!"
They exited the store and shut the door behind them. Through the windows he watched them cross the street and return to the tattoo parlor.
The air conditioner hummed in the quiet atmosphere. Eiji reached up to feel his mouth.
…today is a good first day so far, he decided, and he didn't miss how the corners of his lips turned upwards again.