Antonio was curled up over his sketch pad, so intent on his work that Jayden was able to walk around the couch and sit down in the recliner without Tony even looking up. Jayden picked up the remote as the TV channel switched from one of those house renovation shows to a commercial. It was standard background noise for Tony when he was alone.
Jayden called up the channel menu and started browsing the other channels.
"At least wait until this is over," Antonio said. "I want to know if they keep the house."
"Sure," Jayden said, "I'll close this when the commercial ends."
"Thank you," Antonio said.
Jayden closed out the screen with a sigh and glanced at Antonio, "What are you drawing?"
"I'm thinking about getting a tattoo," Antonio said, "just trying a design."
"May I see?" Jayden asked.
Antonio hesitated, then held up his sketchpad. The page was dominated by two kanji, one for fire and one for light. Superimposed over fire was a calligraphy J and over light was an A. "What do you think?"
"I think it's amazing," Jayden said, "isn't it a bit complicated though?"
Antonio smiled as he resettled the pad in his lap, "Clearly you've never googled tattoos before. Some of them are incredibly complex."
Jayden nodded, "Maybe I haven't." He hesitated a moment, "Look, Tony, I'm not going to tell you not to get a tattoo, it's your choice. I just want to make sure you really want a tattoo. It is permanent."
"I've been thinking about it," Antonio said, "and I'm still thinking about it. I just had this idea and wanted to get it down."
"Well," Jayden said, "Let me know what you decide, and save that sketch. I'd love to have a copy of it."
"Yeah?" Antonio asked.
"Yeah," Jayden said, "You've got talent you know."
Antonio ducked his head and looked away. "Show's back on."
Jayden smiled as he turned back to the TV, one day he's get Antonio to take a compliment. It would just take time.