He hates roses the most.
His hands move steadily without his thinking about them, but it takes all of his concentration and strength to not let his eyelids fall shut. The swirl of the petals is distantly hypnotic, but while he knows he can very easily tear his eyes away, he is being paid not to. The needle moves up and down, up and down, another repetitive, droning motion to go with the dull hum of the machine powering it. The red of the rose bleeds slowly into the skin while small beads of red blood bleed out of it.
Aoyagi is so very bored.
It's a back piece: an enormous one with twelve roses, a sword, and a skull - he finished the sword and skull three sessions ago. It will probably take another two more sessions. He is almost done with the last rose, but the client has scheduled only a short session that day, and there are still a tangled mess of leaves to color in.
"Ow," she mutters softly, tensing just a bit.
Aoyagi pauses and lifts his head slightly to look at the back of his client's head. The needle pulls away from the skin, but the machine hums on.
"No, keep going," she says, a smile in her voice. "It just sort of tickles. I'm fine."
He nods, though he knows she cannot see, and goes back to work.
The alley behind the parlor is wide and spacious. It's bright with the late afternoon sun and smells pleasantly of flowers from the florist shop next door. The shared dumpster is always full of wilting blossoms of various sorts, and the mixed scents waft easily in the warm spring breeze.
On his break, Aoyagi sits outside in the shade of the awning and absent-mindedly sketches discarded flowers. Today, he's rescued a brilliant bouquet of pink and yellow dahlias and set it against the wall opposite him. The petals droop somewhat, but there's charm in the imperfections. It's a bouquet not good enough to sell, but the colors are still bright and bold. Aoyagi dips his brush into his portable watercolor set and paints vivid strokes of orange over his rough pencil lines.
He likes flowers. He likes drawing flowers. He remembers this every time he sits in the alley to draw and paint, even after hours long sessions where he's bored of inking flowers on skin. The sketchbook is filled with dried, warped pages and various half-finished studies, but none of them are roses.
The popular trends in flower tattoos are maddening in their repetition. It's roses, roses, roses, sakura, sakura, camellias, chrysanthemums, roses, roses, roses. On occasion, Aoyagi will get to work on some lilies, azaleas, gardenias, irises, the rare sunflower - the florist next door readily provides clients with hundreds of ideas, but still, most of the time, it's roses.
"That looks beautiful!"
Aoyagi startles to attention and looks up. A slender, wavy-haired man he hasn't seen before stands in the back door of the flower shop, smiling broadly and peering curiously at his sketchbook with bright bluish-purple eyes.
"Ah, I'm sorry," the stranger says, looking sheepish all of a sudden. "Do you not like it when people look at your sketchbook? I know some artists don't..."
Aoyagi blinks at him, then shrugs. "It's fine."
"Makishima-san mentioned that someone at the tattoo parlor was really good at flowers, but it's still funny to see such a tough-looking guy painting dahlias!" The stranger's face faltered immediately as he continued: "...Ahh, sorry! I don't mean anything bad by that! I mean flower tattoos are probably really popular, right? So it's not weird, but... Sorry, sorry. I hope I haven't offended you!"
Aoyagi shakes his head. It's a reaction he's gotten frequently, both from clients and previous employees at the flower shop, and Naruko teases him about it often, going on and on about flashier and manlier tattoos.
"It's fine," he says again.
"I'm Teshima Junta, by the way! I just started working here. I hope we can be friends!"
Though he's sure it's a habitual phrase, Aoyagi is a bit taken back by the statement. Regardless of his skill in drawing flowers, past employees from the shop next door avoided him for the most part, which he understands well enough. He rarely speaks and rarely smiles. He isn't very socialable, even with his clients. He knows these things are apparent just by looking at him. He is a typical artist: skilled, but incredibly awkward. Aoyagi has long since become comfortable with this stereotype.
Besides, he is "scary-looking," to boot. The hair on either side of his head is shaved in an undercut, and the long, bleach-blond hair from the top of his head falls forward to cover half his face. He has 16mm gauges in both ears, along with a variety of other ear piercings, and an eyebrow piercing, only occasionally visible under his hair. Antler tattoos crawl up the sides of his neck, and the bold English words of a collar piece peek out from under his shirt, along with wisps of an unfinished half sleeve on both arms.
Of course, Tadokoro and Naruko also look very much like they work at a tattoo parlor, more so than he does, even, but at least they were personable people.
"Aoyagi...Hajime," Aoyagi offers awkwardly. "It's nice to meet you."
"Likewise!" Teshima says, grinning.
"It's funny that all of us ride road bikes, isn't it?" Teshima muses, unlocking his black Cannondale from the rack. "Everyone rides bikes in Japan, but I don't see road bikes that often."
Aoyagi hums in acknowledgment. "Tadokoro-san and Makishima-san went to the same high school and used to ride in races together," he says, unlocking his own white Corratec.
"Ah, Tadokoro-san is the owner of the parlor, right? Big scary guy with the bear claw on his arm?"
Aoyagi smiles and nods.
"What about the redhead with the tiger stripes?"
"Naruko," Aoyagi says. "He started apprenticing under Tadokoro-san a few months ago."
"Ahh, that's so cool! You also apprenticed under Tadokoro-san, right? Have you been at the parlor a long time then?"
An other nod. "Since high school."
"Did you also road race in high school?"
Teshima grins when Aoyagi nods a third time. "Me too! I was never good at it and never won any races, but it was still fun I guess... Hey, you're heading towards the station, right? Maybe we can race? Just for fun?"
Sometimes, on slow days, Aoyagi would race around the neighbourhood with either Naruko or Tadokoro while the other held down the fort at the parlor. Though they'd pretend to be casual and easygoing about it, it's obvious enough that all three of them had a competitive spirit that pushed them to challenge each other and themselves. Aoyagi loses often. It would be nice to race someone new, for fun, or otherwise.
Aoyagi nods once more and mounts his bike, then adjusts his helmet strap one last time while Teshima mounts his.
"See you at the train station," the blond says, then kicks off.
Aoyagi is surprised when he wins, but Teshima seems even more excited.
"I'm so glad that other people like cycling this much too, even as non-professionals. We should definitely race again sometime!"
And so they do, every other day, after work. The new routine forms so quickly and naturally that Aoyagi thinks it's more strange that he wasn't already racing someone to the train station on alternate evenings.
He peels off his gloves, washes his hands, and goes to grab his lunch from the small refrigerator in the back room. To Aoyagi's surprise though, the refrigerator is empty except for a few emergency pudding cups and a six-pack each of soda and beer. He stares a moment, then closes the door.
"Ah, Quiet-senpai, sorry!" Naruko calls from the other room. "I forgot my lunch, but forgot that I forgot and ate yours instead! Sorry~. My hands are full right now, but I'll pay you back later, I promise!"
Aoyagi sighs and nods, then checks his back pocket for his wallet. "Be right back then."
Outside, Teshima is sitting on the back step of the florist shop, eating his own lunch. His hair is tied back today, though a few stray curls were still left loose to frame his face. Tiny beads of sweat glisten on his forehead. It's still early in the summer, but the heat is already relentless. The flowers rotting in the alley dumpster smell strong, but there's a sweetness to it, even as they decay.
"Hey, Aoyagi!" the other man greets, cheerful as always. "Where's your lunch?"
"Naruko ate it."
Teshima laughs lightly. "Do you want some of mine? I always pack more than I can eat... I like cooking, but I can never finish what I cook!"
"It's fine," Aoyagi says. "I was just going to pick something up from the store."
"Ah, you do usually eat a lot, huh? I guess my leftovers wouldn't be enough. You're still welcome to have them though! Something to tide you over while you walk to the store? I definitely made way too much onigiri."
Teshima holds out his bento box. Even half-eaten, the contents are neatly arranged, with carrots and hotdogs cut up like flowers and other little decorations that Aoyagi thinks are a little silly in a lunch made for yourself. There are two fat triangles of onigiri packed to one side of the box, next to an empty spot where a third had been.
"Are you sure?" Aoyagi wonders uncertainly.
"Yeah, definitely! I'm already pretty full." Teshima says, grinning. "Take them both! One's tuna mayo and one's plum."
Aoyagi nods and does so. "Thank you," he says quietly.
"Maybe I should just start making you lunch," Teshima laughs. "It's kind of a waste throwing away half the stuff I pack every day. Makishima-san usually goes out for lunch, and Onoda doesn't eat much either."
Aoyagi takes a bite of the tuna mayo onigiri and looks down, letting his hair cover his eyes. It isn't the first time Teshima has offered him parts of his lunch, but it's the first time Teshima has offered to make him lunch.
"What kinds of food do you like?" Teshima continues, as if there is nothing weird or embarrassing about offering to make Aoyagi lunch. "You usually have onigiri or sandwiches packed - is that because you like them best or because they're easy to make?"
Aoyagi shrugs.
"Even if you like those things, you should try different stuff sometimes. Who knows what else you could end up liking? There are so many good foods out there!" Teshima looks excited all of a sudden. "Well, that settles it!" he exclaims. "I'll make you lunch tomorrow and it won't be onigiri or sandwiches!"
"Y-You don't have to..."
"No, no, I know just what I want to make!" Teshima is grinning again. "I hope you like it though... I guess I'd have to swallow my words if you end up not liking it, haha. Maybe I'll make some more onigiri anyway, just in case?"
Aoyagi stuffs the rest of tuna mayo in his mouth and chews slowly.
"Ah, shoot. I should probably head back inside," Teshima says, glancing at his watch. He pushes himself to his feet and wipes his hands on his apron. "I'll see you later, I guess! Enjoy your lunch!"
Aoyagi finishes the other onigiri, sits and doodles absently in his sketchbook, and in the end, forgets to go to the store for more lunch.
"So I see Perm guy made you lunch today~" Naruko says, wagging his eyebrows and smiling toothily at him. The redhead is lounging at the tiny table in the back room, picking at remaining crumbs of his bologna sandwich.
Aoyagi washes his hands and pulls on a fresh pair of gloves.
"I never thought such a talkative guy would be your type, senpai! What did he make you?"
"Pasta."
"Ka ka ka! Italian, huh? So romantic~. Or is it French food that's romantic? French food is weird though... Anyway, was it good?"
Aoyagi nods, then ducks into the other room before the heat creeping up his neck can make it to his cheeks.
Teshima continues to make him lunch. Not every day, but often enough that it slowly becomes normal. He always lets Aoyagi know the evening before, though once he forgets, and Aoyagi ends up with two lunches that day. He has no trouble finishing them both, but afterwards, Teshima asks for his number, so he can always text him to let him know, even if he forgets to tell him when they leave work for the day.
In late September, the winds get stronger and the weather is gloomier, and even on days without rain, it's just cold enough in the alley that neither of them want to sit out there for lunch.
"Do you want to come over here a little bit?" Teshima asks. "There's a bit more room in the back of the shop now that a lot of the summer flowers are gone. The work table over here makes for a better dining table than the one you guys have, I think."
The smell of flowers in the alley is weaker in the chilly autumn air, but it's as strong as ever inside the flower shop. Aoyagi finds it a bit overwhelming, but nonetheless steps inside. A long work table stretches across one side of the room with a variety of in progress bouquets and flower arrangements pushed off to one side. Next to the table is a large refrigerator with three glass doors, filled end to end with flowers. A half dozen large buckets are lined up on the other side of the room, filled with even more fresh flowers. And all across the floor are fallen petals, leaves, various cuttings, packaging material, and ribbons.
"Sorry," Teshima says, smiling sheepishly. "I guess it's still kind of a mess, but trust me, it was much worse!"
"It's fine," Aoyagi says, sitting down at the table. "It's true it's still roomier here."
Teshima sits next to him and slides over a bento. "Here you go! Sorry it's a bit boring today. I forgot I bought a bunch of cabbage last week and needed to make something from them before they went bad, haha."
"Ah..."
It's shredded cabbage, sliced carrots, and green and yellow peppers, stir fried with dry noodles. It's a dish his mother made all the time when he was young, but Aoyagi doesn't remember the last time he's had it.
"Oh, maybe you don't like cabbage? Sorry, sorry! I haven't ever seen you eat it, now that I think about it... It's all right if you want to go grab something from the store. I won't be-"
"No, I like cabbage," Aoyagi interrupts softly. He smiles. "Thank you, Junta."
"Ah, that's good then," Teshima says, his voice a little higher than usual. "I'm glad."
Aoyagi can see him blush from the corner of his eye.
"What's your favourite flower?"
Aoyagi frowns and pauses a moment before laying down a few more lines with his pencil. He makes a noncommittal noise, leans back slightly from his sketch, then sighs and takes out his eraser.
At the other end of the table, Teshima is carefully pruning the thorns off a large pile of roses. There's a grin in his voice when he speaks again.
"I don't know mine either. There are too many choices. Lilies and orchids are pretty unique and come in lots of colors... Irises, too. I think at some point I liked peonies the best, but there was definitely a time when I liked lavender most, too. And ah, maybe it just makes me a big sap, but I also like roses a lot, haha. It's pretty silly, I guess - I mean, roses got popular because they're hardy and easy to transport. There were other flowers people thought were more romantic, but they died too easily and it was hard for florists to sell them for days like Valentine's. Roses are easy though. They can go a few days without water, so it's not as big a deal to ship them across the world and stuff.
"Whoops, I'm rambling," Teshima acknowledges, laughing. "Even if you can't pick one, you must have some flowers you prefer over others, right?"
Aoyagi shrugs. "Dandelions, maybe. Freesias. Salvia."
The florist chuckles. "Those are some pretty unorthodox choices, but I guess I should have expected that. I bet you get tired of the common stuff, huh?"
Aoyagi sweeps the eraser dust from his drawing.
"You're really good at drawing them though, even if you think they're boring. Naruko-kun showed me a bunch of the stuff in your portfolio - you've done a lot of roses, huh?" Teshima chuckles. "Maybe if I can ever figure out my favourite flower, I'll have you tattoo it for me... though I kind of don't think I'd be brave enough even if I could decide on something, haha."
Aoyagi looks up curiously.
"It hurts, right?" Teshima asks, looking away. "Getting a tattoo."
"Only a little, at first," the tattooist replies, smiling. "It's not so bad."
"Maybe someday," Teshima says, then stands up. "I should probably get back to the front though. What were you drawing today? The amaryllis?"
A second too late, Aoyagi starts to cover his sketch, but stops when it becomes obvious that the drawing is already in Teshima's line of sight. Aoyagi usually doesn't mind sharing his work, but in the comfortable lull of conversation, he'd forgotten that he wasn't drawing flowers today.
"Is that me?"
Aoyagi nods and tilts his head so that more of his hair falls across his face.
"It's really good!" Teshima tells him, and Aoyagi can hear both the smile and the slight embarrassment in his voice. "I don't think I've ever seen you draw people before! I think you made me look better than I actually do though, haha."
As he stands, Aoyagi closes his sketchbook and shakes his head, though he doesn't look at Teshima. Right before he steps out the back of the flower shop though, Teshima speaks up again.
"Um, hey, Aoyagi..." It's the first time Aoyagi has heard him sound uncertain or hesitant. "Are you busy this weekend?"
It is obviously not the first time they've eaten together. Most days, they eat lunch at work, whether in the alley or in the back room of the flower shop. Occasionally, they go to the ramen shop on the corner, or the cafe down the street. A few times, they had gone drinking after work, sometimes with co-workers, sometimes alone. This is different though.
This is definitely a date.
Aoyagi is nervous up until the moment Teshima opens the door of his apartment and greets him with a familiar grin (even if there is some nervousness to the grin, too), but after that, he can't stop thinking about how weirdly normal everything is.
After helping chop up vegetables, Aoyagi sits at the table in Teshima's apartment idly sketching while Teshima twirls about his small kitchen space, cooking and talking and singing in turn.
"You don't like stuff too sweet, right?"
Aoyagi hums and looks up, quickly catching the flow of Teshima's hair in his mind before looking down again to transfer it to the page.
It's his first time at Teshima's apartment, but it doesn't feel like it is. It's a tiny, tidy space: just one room, a bathroom, and a cramped little stove top in the corner. A futon's rolled up in the corner and various clothes hang from a collapsible closet opposite the little table. It's an intimate space, but it isn't any more so than the small room in the back of the flower shop.
It is a date, but at the very least, it doesn't feel like their first. They've done this dozens of times already. He's had Teshima's cooking before. He's heard him sing before. Aoyagi's shared his most personal of sketches with him before. Aoyagi is perfectly comfortable spending time with Teshima, regardless of where they were.
"Sorry to keep you waiting," Teshima says. He turns from the little prep table next to the stove and sets down a plate of cabbage coleslaw, followed by a bowl of spicy-looking cabbage soup and two other cabbage dishes.
Aoyagi laughs silently and Teshima grins.
"Do you even like cabbage?" Aoyagi asks when he's finished clearing every plate of every last shred of vegetable.
"It's okay?" Teshima offers. "I don't mind it! I'm not really particular about food though."
"What's your favourite?"
"Chocolate," the florist says, laughing. "Does that even count?"
Aoyagi makes a face. "Too sweet."
"How even!" Teshima tries to look offended, but isn't quite successful. "What about dark chocolate?"
"Too bitter."
"Unbelievable," Teshima says, shaking his head and trying not to laugh. He gathers up the dirty plates and stands.
Aoyagi starts to stand also, but Teshima shakes his head at him. "Ah, no, I've got it. You can pull out the laptop and find a movie you wanna watch though? It's under the futon, I think. Sorry I don't have an actual TV...there's definitely no room in here even if I could afford one, haha. Do you want some tea? I'll make some tea."
Teshima makes chamomile tea. They put the laptop on the table and settle in the corner of the apartment with the rolled up futon as a backrest.
It's a movie neither of them has seen. Teshima is attentive and interjects enthusiastically throughout the first half of the movie, but he gradually quiets as the second half progresses, and has fallen asleep with his head on Aoyagi's shoulder by the end of it. Neither of them planned for Aoyagi to spend the night, but in the end, it seemed easiest and most sensible.
Aoyagi unrolls the futon and moves Teshima to it, then lies down on the floor next to him. And still, nothing about the evening seemed weird or unnatural. Aoyagi does not feel intrusive staying, and he falls asleep almost immediately.
In the morning, he wakes to a minty kiss and the smell of eggs cooking on the stove.
On Monday, predictably, Naruko is relentless with questions and teasing, and even Tadokoro joins in with raised and wiggling eyebrows.
But Aoyagi is used to this and doesn't bother to hide the upward tugging at the corners of his lips because he knows that it, along with his usual quiet, is the clearest responses he can give.
On breaks and over lunch, Naruko presses Teshima for details, but the florist only laughs and hides his blush behind the flowers he's arranging.
"You don't have any flower tattoos," Teshima points out at lunch one day. "Is that just because you don't have a favourite? It's not like you don't have room for more than one though, right?"
Aoyagi shrugs and makes a face. "People always ask what they mean."
"I've never known you to have a problem not answering questions," Teshima says, grinning. "And I mean, flowers mean whatever you want them to mean. The language of flowers and all that symbolism stuff changes depending on who you ask, where they're from, what book they read. There are common interpretations, sure, and of course that's what I'll tell customers when they ask, but flowers can be personal, like tattoos, right?"
"Not everything has to mean something."
"That's true, too," Teshima agrees. "But that just makes it more surprising that you don't have one? You said the 'victory' on your shoulder doesn't really mean anything, right?"
Aoyagi finishes the rest of his onigiri. "Maybe when you decide on your flower tattoo, I'll decide on one too."
"Sure, sure," Teshima laughs. "Put all the pressure on me. I'll keep thinking about it."
December is a busy month at the parlor, though many of the pieces are small, and most of the work does not involve flowers. There is a complex geometric piece, a pair of rabbits, a pair of wings, two dragons, a bird, and several kanji pieces, including some lyrics and a few couples' names. It's a good variety, and Aoyagi is glad for the work.
He finds that he sort of misses the flowers though. With days booked open to close with sessions, his breaks are shorter, and as flowers go out of season, the variety in the shop next door dwindles, limiting his selection of reference. There are always roses, but Aoyagi sketches flowers out of his head instead. He sketches spring flowers. He sketches made-up flowers. He sketches the endless curls of Teshima's hair, which now fall a bit past his shoulders, if he leaves it untied.
"Here," Teshima says on Christmas night. He presses a small bouquet of white and purple freesias into Aoyagi's hands.
Aoyagi is quiet in the moment after. Even in the cold winter air, the smell of the flowers is strong and sweet. Aoyagi likes drawing freesias. He's forgotten how fragrant they are. It's not overwhelming though.
"Sage isn't quite in season anymore, and dandelions obviously aren't, but I hope these are-"
"Thank you," Aoyagi says. "I'm surprised you remember."
Teshima laughs. "I work in a flower shop. It would be more surprising if I didn't remember, wouldn't it?"
Aoyagi leans up to kiss him, careful not to crush the freesias between them.
Later, when Aoyagi transfers the bouquet to a vase in his apartment, he finds one red rose hidden in the middle of the freesias, and he can't help but smile.
The first week of February, all of his appointments are for flowers, and most of them are roses. They are in a variety of colors and designs, and Aoyagi finds that he actually enjoys working on all of them. Not everything has to mean something, but most of the time, things did mean something, to someone, most usually the someone under his needle. It isn't so hard to focus anymore.
Roses are not so boring, and neither are sakura or camellias or chrysanthemums. The stray bindweed and the random cactus are still pleasant surprises, but he doesn't mind the rest, either.
"How strange," an old client comments one day. "You're humming, Aoyagi-san. You've done more than half of my tattoos, but I've never heard you hum."
Aoyagi pauses to wipe a few drops of blood from the woman's skin, which quivers a little as she laughs lightly, but he doesn't stop humming.
"Are you going to get him chocolate?" Naruko asks in his most obnoxious singsong voice, chin on his hands, elbows propped up on top of the counter.
"Yeah," Aoyagi says easily. He isn't really sure why he ever wasted energy being embarrassed. He likes Teshima a lot. It has always been obvious to everyone around him. He picks up his bag and starts towards the back of the parlor.
Naruko grins. "What about flowers?"
"I talked to Makishima-san about setting some aside last week," Aoyagi replies, nodding.
"Are you guys going out tonight?"
"Probably not."
"I know the old man mentioned that their shipment of roses got in late, so they've been working overtime making all the bouquets. It must be rough dating a florist on Valentine's Day, ka ka ka!"
"It's fine," Aoyagi says, shrugging. "We'll do something another day." He waves goodbye without looking back at Naruko as he steps out into the alley.
The back of the flower shop is almost always littered with petals and leaves and other things, but on Valentine's Day at closing, it looks like a war zone. A large plastic trash bin had been rolled in and it's overflowing with ruined roses. There are broken stems and crushed whole flower heads all over the floor. Bouquet wrapping paper is strewn about the room and a few dozen empty ribbon spools sit in a heap in the corner.
Teshima sits slumped in a chair by the table, eyes closed. His ponytail is coming loose and there's tangled hair falling everywhere around his face. Aoyagi smiles.
"Alive?"
Teshima stirs, but it's another several moments before his eyes open. "Barely," he mumbles, though a weak smile appears as he lifts his head up.
"Tired of roses yet?"
"I think I just might be," Teshima says, stretching. "I'm so glad it's all over."
"Until next year," Aoyagi says fondly. "Come on. I'll walk you to the station."
Teshima flails his arms at him. "I'm too tired. Carry me."
Aoyagi pulls a box of chocolates out of his bag just far enough so his boyfriend can see, then puts them back.
"You're supposed to give those to me, you know, not bribe me with them," Teshima whines.
"I'll give them to you at the station."
With a dramatic sigh, Teshima pushes himself to his feet, teeters over to the door, then wraps an arm around Aoyagi and half-falls into him. The theatrics last for one block until Teshima decides it's actually more effort to drape himself over Aoyagi than to just walk properly.
It's cold for February. The streets are filled with other couples on their Valentine's dates. Aoyagi has never been jealous of them, walking alone, but neither did he feel strange now, walking amongst them with someone next to him too.
At the station, Aoyagi hands over the box of chocolates, and to his surprise, Teshima also fishes out a box from his bag.
"Junta..."
"Don't worry," Teshima says cheerfully. "It's not chocolate. I didn't forget how much of a weirdo you are. Open it."
Aoyagi considers the box skeptically. It's a box for chocolates, but there's no plastic around it, so it's been opened already. He shakes off the lid gently. Inside are two dozen Brussels sprouts. The blond laughs out loud, and Teshima beams.
"Here," Aoyagi say. He tucks the box of Brussels sprouts into his bag and pulls out a wrinkled bouquet of red roses.
Teshima grins. "I thought you didn't like roses."
Aoyagi shakes his head. "Never said that. And anyway, you do."
"I do," Teshima agrees, taking the bouquet. "...Thanks."
"You'll miss your train," Aoyagi says.
"You know if you want to come over, I can cook those weird little cabbages for you."
Aoyagi smiles. "I'll cook. You're exhausted."
At the end of the summer, Aoyagi has Tadokoro tattoo a string of gradually blooming freesias down his left upper arm, covering up the beginnings of the previous half sleeve idea. Other flowers are added later, the salvia, the dandelions, buttercups, spider lilies, mistletoe.
Teshima's first tattoo is not a flower, but 'certain' on his shoulder.
The day before their wedding, Aoyagi gets a rose tattooed on the side of his neck, behind his right ear, opposite the moon on the other side. Teshima's rose is behind his other ear, opposite the star.
The reception is carpeted with petals.