James looks up from his folder as Sirius walks into the shop, arguing with someone who is with him.
"I don't care if they're looking at me—I'm only going for a tattoo, Sirius."
"I'm not letting you get inked by those dirty old men when I work with a perfectly reputable tattoo artist, and I'm absolutely positive he isn't going to be leering over you like those old letches were."
It was Sirius's little brother, Regulus, who had come into the shop with him. James knew Regulus from school, but he hadn't seen him for a good few years. He'd certainly...blossomed...over the years. He was slightly taller and fitter than he had been, though still slender and lean like his brother. Regulus's hair fell around his face in soft waves, unlike Sirius's unruly, curly mop.
Regulus rolls his eyes at Sirius and turns to face James. "I didn't know you were an artist, Potter."
Something about the way Regulus says his surname makes James tingle all over. "I-I'm not," he replies, and gestures down to the open folder. "Remus does the art. I just tattoo what he creates."
"And what beautiful art he creates," Sirius swoons, and snatches the folder off the desktop. "Remus designed all of mine." He pulls up the sleeves of his shirt to display his illustrated arms.
"Are you going for a look like your brother?" James asks, raising an eyebrow.
Regulus rolls his eyes. "Not in a million years. I just want something...small. Something meaningful to me."
"You better not get Mum in a heart on your arm or something," Sirius says. Regulus scoffs at him, and takes the folder out of his hands. He starts to flip through, pouring over the pages thoughtfully.
While he looks at the folder, Sirius walks over to his side of the shop and nods for James to follow him. James does, and steps over the threshold into Sirius's section.
It's a strange set up that they have, but it works for them. About a year ago, James decided randomly that he wanted to be a tattoo artist. It wasn't really planned—Remus was great at drawing and Sirius really wanted his art tattooed on him, but Remus almost fainted at the sheer idea of bringing a needle to Sirius's skin. So James agreed to buy a tattoo gun and ink and learn the ropes.
It was easy, and he still has the same tattoo gun to this day—a wireless, navy-blue device that he fondly calls Sheila.
Despite being covered in tattoos, Sirius has no interest in the same career line as James. He'd always had a passion for gardening, and his green-fingered talent resulted in a great interest for flower-arranging. Of course, James and Sirius couldn't bear to work apart from each other, so they had bought a lease on a single shop, and simply split it straight down the middle.
Sirius works on one half, where the walls are pastel pink and lined with shelves displaying plant pots and bouquets of flowers. He arranges bouquets and flowers behind a tidy white counter which also serves as the till and meeting point for when his customers come in.
James's half is decorated with garish graffiti, and he has a single tattoo chair behind his desk, which keeps all of his tattooing equipment and ink.
Between them, they offered a discount to customers who came into the shop and made purchases from both James and Sirius. Surprisingly, many people who came in for tattoos were interested in checking out the flower shop, and there had been several patrons of Sirius's flowers that would later book in for a tattoo.
James leans against Sirius's counter and grins at his friend, once again bemused by the strange picture of Sirius, with his messy hair and decorated skin, delicately placing three white roses together on a sheet of brown paper. People often assume that Sirius is the tattoo artist, as James doesn't have a single tattoo on his body.
"Listen, don't get offended if he doesn't go through with it," Sirius says, not looking up from his flowers. "I don't know what's going through his head. He just randomly decided he wanted a tattoo like, yesterday." Sirius lowers his voice. "I reckon he's just trying to make a point of being more like me and less like the straight-laced little boarding school boy that Mummy raised."
"Right."
"He'll probably pass out in shock as soon as you go at him with the needle," Sirius continues. "So, just don't take the piss, alright? He's sensitive. That's why I didn't want him going to all those other arseholes. I can trust you with my little brother, can't I? It's not like you're going to hit on him."
James glances back over to his side of the shop, where Regulus is leaning against the desk, flicking through the folder of tattoo art. His dark hair is hanging over his forehead, almost in his grey eyes. His fingers are long and deft, tracing various tattoos on the pages as he admires the art. His pale pink lips look soft and full, and James can't help but wonder what it would be like to kiss them.
"James!" snaps Sirius, breaking him out of his Regulus-induced trance. "Don't make me regret bringing him to you."
James smirks. "Don't panic. He's in safe hands with me."
…
"This is the one," Regulus says, tapping his finger on a page. He's looking at a page of runic flash designs, and pointing to a simple protection rune, surrounded by small, decorative stars.
"Algiz," James says. "The elk rune. You know what it means?"
"Of course I do," Regulus replies haughtily. "Protection. Why would I get a tattoo of something I don't know the meaning of?"
James laughs. "Honestly, you'd be surprised at the amount of Chinese calligraphy tattoos I've had to cover up because the text doesn't actually translate to what they thought it did."
Regulus cracks a small smile, and James feels his stomach lift at the knowledge that he's amused him.
"So, do you want some coffee before we get started?"
"Sure."
"Great. Sirius!" James roars, and Sirius peers his head around from his section of the shop. "Go make your brother and I some coffee."
"Fuck off, I'm working."
"You don't have an actual customer though, do you?"
James hears Sirius groan, and he knows he's won. A screwed up tea-towel suddenly hits James in the back of the head, and James flings it back. Sirius manages to dodge it expertly before dashing into the kitchen.
"Do you usually mess about so much at work?" Regulus asks.
"Not at all. We are the picture of professionalism." James grins. "So, where do you want the tattoo?"
Regulus puts a hand over the left-hand side of his chest. "Here. Over my heart."
James nods. "Okay. Well, take a seat on the chair and get comfortable."
Regulus sat down on the chair and slowly pulled his black t-shirt over his head. James can't help but drink in all of Regulus's creamy, unblemished skin. When did Sirius's little brother get so attractive?
His thoughts are stilled by Sirius slamming two cups of coffee down on James's desk. "Your coffee, sir," he grumbles.
"Don't be so passive aggressive," James breezes. "I'm always making you coffee."
"That's because you're better at it than me."
"At making coffee?"
"Will you two stop bickering like an old married couple?" Regulus interrupts. "I'd really like to get my tattoo today, if that's doable."
James grins and starts to set up. He pulls on a pair of vinyl gloves and rubs on some hand sanitizer, then uses a wipe to clean the area where Regulus wants the tattoo. It's not unpleasant touching Regulus, James realises. He lays a transfer of the rune tattoo down on Regulus's skin, and then switches on his machine.
"It'll hurt some," James warns, fiddling with some of the attachments to his machine and checking the right ink is in place. "Just let me know if you want me to stop at any point."
Regulus looks straight into James's eyes and smiles. "Just make a start already."
James nods, and starts to work. He carefully draws out the lines with his tattoo gun, listening to the steady hum of the machine. Regulus's pale skin starts to bleed under the needle, and scarlet dribbles down his skin, mixing with the black ink. James intermittently wipes away the blood and the ink.
All throughout the process, Regulus stares straight ahead, barely making a sound. When James takes a moment to rest his arm and wipe Regulus's skin, he glances over at Sirius, who looks bewildered as he stares at Regulus.
"What are you staring at me for, you weirdo?" Regulus mutters. "Go back to your flower arranging."
"Isn't it hurting you?"
"Little bit."
Sirius scoffs. "Did you put numbing cream on him or something, James?"
"You know I don't use numbing cream." James turns back to Regulus. "Are you jealous because you normally cry like a baby?"
"That's a complete lie," snaps Sirius, and he storms back over to his side of the shop. James can hear angry rustles of paper as he aggressively sorts his flowers.
"It's not a lie," James murmurs over the buzz of the machine. "It takes hours to do his tattoos. You're taking it much better than him."
Regulus smirks. "He's never had much of a pain threshold."
James continues his work, carefully tracing the lines on the transfer until the rune is completely finished. He wipes down the tattoo one last time, and Regulus looks down at his chest. "Wow," he whispers. "It looks great."
"Do you mind if I take a picture?" James asks. "For my portfolio," he adds quickly, when Regulus shoots him a curious look.
"Okay," he replies. "Though, feel free to keep it for your personal collection," he adds with a grin.
James laughs and pulls a camera out of his desk drawer, then snaps a few close-up shots of the tattoo. "Thanks. I'll wrap it for you now." He pulls out some clingfilm and carefully binds Regulus's chest with it, covering the tattoo neatly. "There. You can put your shirt back on, now." Though, he certainly wouldn't mind if Regulus didn't want to.
Sirius came back over just as Regulus was pulling the hem of his shirt back down. "Are you finished flirting with my brother, James?" he asks, sounding disapproving. "Don't think I can't hear you over here. The gun isn't that loud."
"It's all part of the job," James replies. "But seriously, your brother is a champ at getting a tattoo. I wouldn't mind getting to work on you again, mate."
Regulus slides off the chair and smirks at James. "How much do I owe you?"
"Nah. This one is on the house."
"Free tattoos?" interrupts Sirius. "Free tattoos? Why does he get free tattoos?"
"First tattoo discount," James lies on the spot. "And for being such an excellent recipient."
Regulus smiles brightly at James, his eyes bright and full of sparkle. "Thank you!" he leans slightly closer to James. "I'm sure we can arrange for you to...work on me again, some time." He adds. James doesn't miss the slightly sultry tone to his voice.
"Right, that's enough!" Sirius claps his hands and drags his brother away. "You, back home," he orders, and starts shoving Regulus through the door, who laughs and spreads his fingers in a wave. James shakes his head, bewildered at the entire exchange.
Once Regulus was out of sight, Sirius points a finger at James. "Don't you even dare try to date my brother, Prongs."
"Can't promise that, I'm afraid."
Written For:
- Assignment #9/Geography Task #4: Write about one or more characters goofing about at work.
- Race to the top of Mount Potter/Checkpoint 7: (theme) Tattoos
- Writing Club/Gotta Catch Them All: 8. (word) Sparkle
- Writing Club/Written in the Stars: 8. (color) graffiti
- Writing Club/Film Festival: 16. (item) Camera
- Writing Club/Elizabeth's Empire: 10. (drink) coffee
- Writing Club/Hobby Hole: 3. (colour) Scarlet
- Writing Club/Artist Appreciation: 30. (emotion) passive aggressive
- Writing Club/Buttons - Emotions 2. Regret
- Writing Club/TV Spree: 14. (action) Taking off t-shirt
- Autumn Seasonal/Days of the Year: 2nd October - Name Your Car Day: Write about naming an inanimate object.
- November Monthly - Insert Title: 19. (dialogue) "It's all part of the job."
- Sandwich Time/Toppings: 6. (relationship) coworkers
- Moony's Neon Cafe/Drinks: 16. (action) smirking
- Fortnightly/Equals: 2. Write about someone feeling physical attraction
Word Count: 1,950