Flower Tattoos:
Emil knew the moment the empty shop next door was sold that it would mean trouble for him and his business.
At first he had been anxious to see the empty space filled. Compared to the once occupied bookshop, the dark, empty building next to his bright colourful shop did nothing to his sales. Of course, books and flowers did not necessarily go hand in hand, but it definitely caught the city's Princess Belles' attention. There have been enough couples that have wondered into the book shop and left the block with a flower or two for their partner.
Therefore it was sad to see the other go when the elderly man passed away. Emil loved to visit him and listen to his stories of romance, war, fortune, and adventure while bringing him a variety of flowers to brighten up his space as a payment. He was a great storyteller and would always remain in a special spot in Emil's heart.
Now that heart grew heavy with dread when a sign in bright, red, block letters was plastered against the windows next door that read: SOLD. It even felt like his heart had dropped into his stomach when he could hear renovation take place and the new shop's name appeared next to his own.
However, soon that neurotic feeling morphed into indignation. How dare they name themselves The Orchid Tree! His flower shop of five years was named Mountain Avens! There could not be two flower shops in such close proximity! Once the owners of the shop finally made themselves known, Emil was going to let them have it!
The young man was not usually the type for confrontation, but he had worked too hard to give up now. That shop was finally a creation of his own. It wasn't given to him because of who his parents were, nor handed down to him because his brother was bored of it, Mountain Avens was his life's dream come true. He would not just stand there to see it all burn down before his eyes.
As the days passed by, he expected to see moving vehicles loaded with ceramic pots, vases, mini greenhouses, decorations, and loads and loads of flowers pull up in front of the new establishment, but they never came. Instead, large trucks arrives with couches, dentist chair facsimiles, what appeared to look like medical equipment, and artwork were crammed into the building. Even home appliances were take upstairs, meaning Emil had residential neighbors as well.
The mid-20s shop owner was distracted from his depressing thoughts one day when a new patron entered through his doors.
He looked to also be in his early-20s, but could be older or younger. Emil always though Asians looked younger than what they really were, especially on how they dressed or presented themselves. This young man that had walked in sported a denim jacket over a dark polo shirt, formfitting khakis, dark brown ankle boots, and a beanie. Normally, the florist didn't pay much attention to what his customers wore, they all varied in fashion, but this young man took his breath away.
Emil wasn't fond of tattoos, especially sleeve tattoos, however the guy who had just walked in made him reconsider. The denim jacket was rolled high enough that Emil could see the sleeve wasn't completed which only left the forearms tattooed, but he could only assume. Who knew how many more the other could have hidden away.
At just the thought of it, a shiver ran down the blond's back, and he was thankful the other was occupied with his phone. Emil mentally chastised himself before opening his mouth to welcome the customer.
The young man glance up alongside his response, but did a double-take, staring at Emil for quite awhile before the florist began to squirm under his gaze. Compared to the Asian, the Icelandic was in a simple button-up shirt, jeans, and an apron. Boring in comparison, making him even more self-conscious.
"C-Can I help you?"
"You're beautiful."
A blush spread across Emil's face like a forest fire. He had never been called beautiful before except by Lukas, his older brother, but Emil always though Lukas was the beauty in the family.
"E-Excuse me?"
Seeming to get a hold of himself, the young man straightened up and walked over to him with his hand outstretched.
"Oh, right. Hi, I'm Xiao Leon Wang, your new neighbour."
Hearing this, Emil should have gone off on him. He should have chased him out of his own shop, but he couldn't, and he was too ashamed of himself for swooning over a few simple words mentioned before the introduction.
"Uhm," he released Emil's hand and stuck it in his pocket. Xiao felt as if he had been burnt, his hand was scorched with an imprint of the other man's hand in his.
"Emil Bon-Steilsson," he went with his father's name rather than his step-father's. It was a complicated mess, but it just felt right. "I'm Emil Steilsson. So, uh, you're from next door?"
"Yeah!" Xiao was usually never at a loss for words, but there was something about Emil that took his breath away. "Uh, I was hoping to see if you had any orchids or maybe even the Hong Kong Orchid. I know it's a long shot, but I figured I'd, like, ask seeing as you're a flower shop..."
"...Aren't... you?"
Xiao blinked in confusion until it dawned on him. "Orchid Tree? Oh, no, no. I'm a tattoo parlor. The name is... Did...Did you think I was another flower shop, like, moving in or something?"
This time, a steady rose bloomed across Emil's face, denying it would have only made his face even redder.
"God, you're so cute when you blush."
"Ack!" Emil chocked on air.
"Fuck, I, like, swear I have this curse, but Cheng says I just lack a filter, but sometimes it's better to just say stuff right out, you know? OMG, I swear I don't talk so much, okay maybe a little, but not like this. Definite not like this. I think it it's 'cause you make me nervous... Oh, that's not cool..." It appeared as if the Hong Kongese was having difficulty shutting up, which Emil found amusing and somewhat comforting. It was good to know he wasn't the only one feeling skittish.
"Well, uh, to answer your question, no I don't have the Hong Kong orchid, but I could order a few for you," Emil moved back towards his resister in search of a pen. "I have other orchids if you wanted one right away."
Still searching for a writing utensil, Emil momentarily forgot about Xiao until he felt a hand brush against his hair, causing him to jerk away. The other had pulled his pen out of his hair and offered it to him with a smile.
"Yes, I'd like that, and could I have you number?" He leaned his chin on his palm, resting his elbow on the counter to stare at his new neighbor. "It'll be a pain in the arse for me to constantly leave my work to chat you up."
"And who said I wanted to chat back?" The words slipped from his mouth, but they held no bite. It sounded more like flirting to Emil's ears and that's how Xiao received it as anyway because he grinned.
"Oh, I'd wager by the way you were looking at me when I walked in. Hell yeah, I noticed. I think worry even flashed across your face, but don't worry, Em, I've been legal for quite some time," he had the gall to wink. "I'll even let you find all of my tattoos, if you like."
To say that after those comments Emil wasn't the least bit turned on would an understatement. The poor man was ready to close down the store for the day and take Xiao upstairs, but he had a few customers coming in later in the day to pick up a few orders. They did, however, have all the time in the world to explore each others bodies after work and during each others breaks.
Cheng is Macau, I don't know if he had a fandom name, so I borrowed it from GydroZMaa (I hope she doesn't mind!) I also hope Guest likes their request! I wanted to add more about the tattoo parlor, but I didn't want to mess it up, so I'm leaving it as it is.
I absolute loved the idea of Hong Kong being a Tattoo Artist and Iceland as a Florist! OMG I may have had a little too much fun imagining all sorts of Tattoos on Hong Kong's body. Especially a large dragon tattoo on his back with its tail wrapping itself along one side of his ribcage! Of course, his next tattoo would be something to do with Ice, but I don't think he'd let Hong Kong put his face on him so maybe their flowers entwined together or something? Oh yeah, Mountain Avens are Iceland's national flowers and the Hong Kong Orchid Tree flower is the flower on the Hong Kong flag.
Happy New Year everyone! May all of you have a great year! Thanks for reading!
