Work Text:
Sakuma remembered seeing the guy across the street on various occasions, always looking a tad too serious and intimidating to do anything more than wave when their eyes met. For the longest time, Sakuma was fine with that, thinking it would be as far as their interactions would ever go, as much as he would’ve liked to take closer look at the flower shop for the sake of some references.
Then, that day, that same guy walked into his parlor.
Sakuma's first thought was that this guy was very much as intimidating as he looked from far. His second thought was that, intimidation aside, he was very much attractive.
Sakuma was about to shove that thought into the back of his mind, when he saw him smiling. There was no way he should be able to go from scary to a literal sunshine so quickly, and yet…
He was most definitely not blushing.
“So, uh… I wanted to get a tattoo, figured I might come and ask?” He was grinning a bit more awkwardly than before, running a hand through his hair as he tried to get rid of the initial uneasiness.
“Yeah, sure- I’m Sakuma, by the way- Sakuma Jirou.” He offered his hand for a handshake, the guy taking and shaking it, now looking more relaxed and at ease than moments ago.
“Genda Koujirou- nice to meet you! So, how does this work now?”
“One moment-” Sakuma quickly pulled out his sketchbook, flipping the pages to find the first empty one he could scribble on. For now, he could forget about being a flustered mess in from of him. “So… what sort of tattoo do you want?” The question brought a bright smile to Genda’s face. Sakuma immediately promised himself to make this the best tattoo he could ever create.
“A lion’s head- all black lines, frontal view.” So he already had a pretty good idea of what he wanted. It beat all the indecisive customers, for sure.
“Alright…” He started taking notes, making sure of writing down what he would need to look up for this. Felines in general weren’t exactly his specialty- and no, that totally wasn’t the penguins’ fault, especially not when they took up at least a few pages of every sketchbook he ever owned. It was all on the customers who regularly came in for flowers and such, really. “And where do you want it?”
Then, with the grin suddenly looking more dumb than bright, Genda pointed to his back.
“Here- as big as it can be.”
Sakuma stopped writing, staring at him between shock and incredulity.
“… You want a near full back tattoo. For your first tattoo.”
Genda immediately nodded, not a bit of hesitation or doubt, just sheer excitement at the idea alone. Sakuma had to wonder if he was really brave or really stupid.
“Alright… if you’re so sure about this-” because not even he was sure about this. He just hoped Genda wouldn’t regret it as soon as they got started. “I’ll work on the design and let you know when it’s done so you can look at it- just give me your number to text you when it’s ready.” Genda didn’t waste any time, his phone already out and his number flashing on the screen.
“I’ll leave you to your job now, then! If you need anything I’m right there on the other side of the street- I’ll see you later!” He was already heading towards the door, waving back at him as he left. Sakuma could barely wave back at him, still dumbstruck by everything.
Then, he looked down at his sketchbook, his eye following the numbers hastily written in.
Well. That was one way to get a pretty guy’s phone number.
Once back to his own apartment, Sakuma took off his jacket, throwing his shoes to the side at the entrance and dropped on the couch. He was almost tempted to doze off right there and then, not even bothering to get up for an actual dinner that didn’t consist of cookies and snacks. Almost.
Glancing at his bag, he reluctantly decided to push himself to sit up and reach for it, pulling out his sketchbook and digging around for a pencil. As much as he wanted to just go to sleep, he’d rather get at least a first sketch for Genda’s tattoo done. With a tattoo that big it would end up costing a lot, sounds only logical to try his best to do this as nicely and as fast as possible, right? No other interest whatsoever, really.
And that was how he ended up getting off the couch to find his laptop, sitting cross legged on it with the laptop booting up at his side, some instant noodles in progress on his coffee table and the sketchbook on his lap, fingers tapping the hard cover and tracing the penguin stickers as he waited. Once everything was set, he opened the sketchbook, flipping through the pages until he found the notes he took earlier.
He wouldn’t admit that his eye lingered on the number before going back to reading.
A good hour or so later, and Sakuma was lost in a still growing folder of lion pictures, looking between the screen and the page as he kept sketching. What was supposed to be just a quick study to get a few ideas down turned into an intricate page of lions from various angles, from the simpler figures and shapes to some of the most detailed works he could manage. At some point, he caught sight of the hour when he glanced at the screen again, his eye widening at the bold numbers declaring it already was midnight.
With a muttered curse, Sakuma forced himself to close the sketchbook and turn off the laptop- even if he was the owner of the parlor and could just open at any time he wanted, he couldn’t just sleep in until noon in the middle of the day. And so he finally made himself go to bed, making a mental note of cleaning up his mess before going to work. Then, as soon as he was cozy and comfortable under the sheets, he groaned to himself. Somehow, he didn’t make any progress towards the one thing he was actually supposed to work on.
For a while, Sakuma had managed to forget about the big design he was supposed to be working on, busier with the rest of his work and difficult customers. It all went flying right out of the door once he spotted the messy hair on the other side of the street first, then Genda waving at him with the same bright smile as before.
Sakuma couldn’t stop glancing at the sketchbook sitting on his desk for the rest of the day, almost accusing him of not having anything done.
That night, as soon as he got home he was getting prepared, back on the couch within minutes with all he needed. He was determined to get something done now.
A few hours, some hair pulling failed attempts and some chips later, he had something that was finally starting to look like an actual design on paper. The clock read 00:23. Maybe it was good enough to get his well-deserved sleep for now- it was almost the weekend anyways, he could focus better on this by then.
Just as he promised to himself, as soon as the weekend started he was getting to work on that tattoo. Well, first he was finally letting himself sleep in and take a good few hours to get up and be a functional human being again, but still. He even got himself comfortable on the table instead of crouched over his sketchbook on the couch- that showed how dedicated and serious he was over this, right?
After much struggling with finding the right inspiration and looking at his old sketches over and over, Sakuma managed to get to work, finally seeing the full design come to life on the paper, a relieved sigh leaving him after how hard getting it just perfect had been. He didn’t hesitate to snap a pic and scroll through his contact list, finally finding Genda's number, quickly typing a text before sending the pic… and then he hesitated to press send. What if he didn’t like it? What if this wasn’t what he had in mind at all? What if he hated it- and him?
“… What the fuck am I doing-” shaking his head, Sakuma finally sent the message, immediately putting the phone down and deciding to watch the TV while he waited for an answer. He refused to admit that he was nervous, just quietly hoping that Genda would like his work.
He had almost managed to forget about the tattoo, sketchbook forgotten on the table as he just relaxed on the couch with a bag of chips and the first reality show he could find, when the phone buzzed. He almost decided to ignore it, still very much nervous despite what he told himself, when the phone buzzed again. And again and again.
He couldn’t keep ignoring it anymore now, could he?
Sighing, he picked up the phone, daring to unlock the screen and tap the notification. Against his best hopes, it was Genda who finally replied.
‘THAT LOOKS SO COOL!!!’
‘When can we get started on it???’
‘I want it so badly now!!!’
Oh no. He was even cuter than Sakuma could’ve ever expected.
‘Glad you like it’
‘I’ll clean up the sketch and we can start next week, alright?’
‘Just let me know when you’re free for the first session’
When it finally hit him that Genda was loving and gushing over the sketch, he allowed himself to breathe in relief, feeling pride swell in his chest for one more design well done. The rest of the conversation was brief and light hearted, just a few more questions and setting the date for the first session. He could feel Genda's excitement even over the texts, almost like a little child or a puppy rather than a grown man getting his first tattoo. As much as he didn’t want to admit it, Sakuma couldn’t deny that he was adorable.
With the conversation over, Sakuma picked up the sketchbook again and looked around for the rest of his supplies. Might as well get this over with and take a well deserved break over the weekend.
The date of Genda's first session had finally arrived, and somehow that knowledge alone had turned Sakuma into a nervous wreck. It wasn’t any different than any other tattoo he had done before, he wasn’t a newbie anymore, so he had no reason to be nervous, right? It would be fine, no reason to worry.
… Except then Genda had walked into the parlor with one of the brightest smiles Sakuma had ever seen in his life, already excitedly asking about the tattoo and where they were going to start and just so prepared to get started. Well, this might be a little bit harder than what Sakuma expected.
And then Genda took off his shirt to sit on the chair and- and Sakuma was sure he had stopped functioning entirely as soon as he took a good look at his toned muscles, his eyes struggling to look away from his biceps and abs and- he might need a moment before getting to work. And a glass of water. Maybe a few glasses.
“Is everything alright?”
Sakuma snapped out of his thoughts as soon as he heard Genda's concerned voice, blinking as he came back to reality and quickly shaking his head.
“I-I mean- yes, don’t worry- was just lost thinking, that’s all. I’m fine, it’s all fine. No worries, let’s just start.”
Genda didn’t look too convinced- Sakuma wasn’t even convinced himself of this, he could feel his cheeks burning and wanted nothing more than to bash his head against the wall until he landed himself into a coma for that awkward and awful excuse. After an even more awkward second of silence or so, Genda just shrugged, getting comfortable on the chair to let him get started. Sakuma had to take a quick moment to compose himself before he could even touch his bare back.
This tattoo might be harder to make than he expected.
… And just as he expected, Genda was most definitely underestimating just how much a tattoo could hurt. Sakuma was pretty sure that he was just trying to be tough and hold in all the complains, even when he could see all his relief as soon as he announced they were done for the day. Something told him that he would have to be reminding this idiot to take care of himself while the tattoo healed.
He wasn’t exactly against texting him more often, though.
‘So’
‘When’s the next session?’
‘Just asking’
‘You idiot’
‘Let it heal a bit first’
‘I know you were in pain last time, don’t try to hide it’
‘I WASN’T’
‘I WAS TOTALLY FINE’
‘Yeah, you sure were’
‘Just remember to take care of that, alright? I gave you the cream for it, don’t forget it’
‘I know, I know’
‘Don’t worry, I got this’
Two weeks were more than enough time for Sakuma to get himself under control and not be such a flustered mess that stopped functioning as soon as Genda took off his shirt. Or so he hoped. There was still the small fact that their shops were right in front of each other.
Turns out, now that they had broken the ice, Genda had been dropping by every once in a while whenever his schedule would allow him to… which, as appreciated as it was, only really helped Sakuma get more and more distracted in the middle of his work. At least he had the decency not to come in the middle of a tattoo session to interrupt, small miracles.
“What are you working on now?”
Genda tried to take a peek at his open sketchbook, despite Sakuma's best attempts at privacy. Had it been someone else, he might’ve yelled at them to back off and thrown a pencil for good measure. But it was still Genda, and Sakuma had to accept the fact that he was just too damn nice. Sakuma didn’t have the heart to tell him to go away. That and the company was nice to have.
“Just a few general designs for people that aren’t looking for anything specific. Helps either make things faster with something ready or make them decide what they actually want. ‘Sides, having some stuff ready helps the business.”
Genda just hummed in understanding, getting more comfortable on the desk to watch. Then, he smirked as soon as he had gotten a good look at the sketch Sakuma was now working on.
“A rose? Didn’t take you for that kind of guy.” Sakuma rolled his eye, huffing as he reached for the eraser.
“Shush, you- you should know better than anyone else how much people like roses.”
“I know, I know- you should see how the day goes when I forget to restock or they run out too fast. It’s not a nice sight.”
“I can imagine- valentine’s day must be terrifying.” Sakuma could hardly hold back a chuckle as he looked at Genda's vaguely terrified face.
“We don’t talk about valentine’s day.”
“Noted.”
When the day of the next session arrived, Sakuma thought he was ready. They had been talking and seeing each other for a while by now, he shouldn’t really get so flustered around Genda anymore, right? It would be fine, he’d just focus on start filling the tattoo’s lines and time would go by faster than he could keep track of, then Genda would be out and on his way faster than he would’ve expected. Easy, right?
And then Genda walked into the parlor, grin on his face and- and flowers in hand. Sakuma could already feel his face lighting itself on fire.
“What-”
Genda's grin just grew wider as he took in his bewildered and flustered face. He was enjoying it, Sakuma refused to believe otherwise.
“Just thought of bringing something as a thanks- besides, you could probably use a bit of inspiration, right?”
He was definitely enjoying it.
Sakuma somehow managed to stammer a thanks as he accepted the flowers, quickly looking around for a cup or something to put them in and get started with work. He couldn’t let this distract him anymore than it was already doing, damn it, he had worked hard to keep his composure-
Genda's laughter, so warm and beautiful, did not do Sakuma any favors.
Somehow, they had managed to get through the rest of the session relatively fine. Sakuma had tried to distract Genda from the pain that he was still stubbornly denying with some idle chat, nothing that would make him move around too much, and eventually the two hours had gone by faster than expected.
Sakuma could swear that Genda sounded almost disappointed when he had to leave. Almost- because there was no way it was true.
As he cleaned up and prepared to close for the night, Sakuma's eye landed on the flowers that Genda had brought him earlier. A small, but carefully prepared bouquet of yellow roses and lilies. He had read up on enough flower language thanks to certain requests to know what they meant.
This wasn’t exactly the way he had expected to make a new friend, but he welcomed it anyways.
That night, Sakuma didn’t leave the parlor without the flowers.
Sakuma thought the flowers would just be a one-time thing, not really expecting anything else to happen. They were on good terms, maybe on their way to becoming good friends, but there was no reason for Genda to do anything else, right? It was just work for him, there was no reason for Genda to think of it as anything else or feel like he owed him more than just the money.
Genda apparently really enjoyed to surprise people- or him specifically, at least.
“I… really? I mean- are you sure?”
Genda just rolled his eyes, handing him the new bouquet. Apparently he was also really good at arranging those. Sakuma was dying to find out something he was bad at other than handling pain, because really, it wasn’t fair how great he was.
“I wouldn’t bring them if I wasn’t sure.”
“Alright…” He couldn’t really hold back a smile as he accepted the flowers, the pink and purple hydrangeas a much welcomed splash of color to liven up the place. “Thank you. For these and the last ones, really- they’re really nice. I like them.”
“You’re welcome.” His smile was surprisingly soft, not quite like the big and bright grins Sakuma was growing used to, but still a welcome sight. He really needed to stop being so damn cute or the blush would never leave Sakuma's cheeks. “And… where did you put the last ones? Just curious.”
“Oh, I just brought them home, it’s nice to have some flowers there for once.”
Genda quirked an eyebrow.
“Not much of a flower guy?”
“Don’t get me wrong- I really like them and they make for interesting studies, I just don’t usually go buy some, that’s all. Succulents are easier to take care of, anyways.”
There was an interesting glint in Genda's eyes once he heard that, gone too fast for Sakuma to tell for sure what it was. He shrugged it off, just lining up and checking his tools, making sure the ink was the right one and so on.
“Come on, let’s get started.”
To his relief, he was getting better at dealing with having Genda sitting shirtless right in front of him as he worked more and more on that tattoo. Maybe he would actually survive all of their sessions.
‘Hey’
‘You there?’
Sakuma sighed as he put down his sketchbook, refusing to admit that he appreciated the interruption.
‘Yeah’
‘What is it?’
‘Your tattoo is healing fine, right?’
‘Yeah it’s fine’
‘Also looking good btw’
‘But that’s not what I wanted to talk about’
For a moment, Sakuma debated whether or not he wanted to ask or just let him keep talking. Genda had been typing for a while by then, stopping every once in a while only to keep going. Deleting and trying again, maybe?
‘Just wanted to ask if you want to hang out?’
Oh. Oh.
That’s… well, Sakuma wasn’t actually sure what he was expecting. Maybe some question about tattoos, or whether or not he was too busy for someone else, that’s usually the sort of things people would ask him. Hanging out, however? That never really crossed his mind. Sure, there were the flowers and all that, but actually hang out? Outside of work? Like friends?
Suddenly, he realized that he was taking too long to reply, a ping from his phone notifying him of a new message.
‘Wait nvm you don’t have to do that if you don’t want to it’s fine’
Oh fuck.
‘No, no, it’s fine really!’
‘I would like that, don’t worry’
‘Was just busy, you’re fine’
Because the last thing he wanted was to make Genda second guess himself when he had been nothing but kind and caring and just great to talk to. And look at. Not like Sakuma would admit that part any time soon.
‘Oh alright don’t worry!’
‘When are you free?’
‘But if you can’t that’s fine!’
Any more kindness and Sakuma might just melt.
In the end, they had decided to just meet at a nearby coffee shop early in the morning for breakfast, before either of them had to go to work. It was definitely not the best way of hanging out, but until they figured out something better, it would had to do. Sakuma couldn’t deny that just getting to see him was enough for him.
Sakuma had learned a few more things about Genda that morning, like how he liked his coffee with plenty of milk and sugar, how he preferred desserts and chocolate-heavy pastries, how he kept stirring his beverage as they chatted like he wasn’t even realizing it. How his hair was just slightly less messy in the morning, like he barely remembered to brush it, how he kept yawning a bit until he had finished his coffee and asked for seconds, how he really loved his cats- and cats in general, going by his phone lock screen and the few cat keychains hanging from the bag he was taking to work.
In turn, he had explained a few of his own tattoos when Genda pointed and asked, nothing but genuine curiosity in his voice, Sakuma even went as far as talking about the whole design process and showed him a few more sketches from his works, his heart skipping a beat whenever he saw the wonder and excitement in Genda's eyes as he looked at every sketch like it was a masterpiece.
“What about those?” Genda pointed at one of the pages as he flipped through the sketchbook. Curious, Sakuma peeked at the pages, his eye widening once he spotted the sketches of lions.
“I- I just- I was trying to get your tattoo right, it’s just something I do when I don’t draw much of the subject people ask.” He lied way too easily, not quite ready to admit that he wasn’t just taking time out of his day to do detailed studies of anything he didn’t know about and in reality he had just gotten too lost in his desire to make it all perfect for him.
Genda didn’t look at his now red face, just staring at the lions in awe, almost unwilling to touch the page in fear of ruining the strokes.
“They’re… they’re beautiful, you know? I mean it- they look amazing.”
“I… I’m glad to hear that…” Even when he felt that a few more kind words might just kill him by now.
Lucky him, it was starting to get late for work, the two of them packing and paying in a rush to leave the coffee shop. Then, Genda insisted on walking him there- not like there was a point on refusing when they worked so close to each other. Sakuma honestly felt like the universe, fate or whatever other higher bullshit there was, was just conspiring against him to kill him of a heart attack. Or whatever else someone could die of when dealing with someone like Genda. It wasn’t fair, really.
“Hello, what can- Sakuma?”
Genda hadn’t really expected Sakuma to walk into his shop in the middle of the day. Regardless, he smiled and approached him, always glad to see him.
Sakuma was awkwardly standing by the door, bag slung over his shoulders and fidgeting with the strap, looking away with a clear pout that he would deny if brought up.
“Hi… sorry to intrude, but… I was wondering if I could come here for a while? I need to look at some plants, so…”
Genda didn’t even hesitate to nod, gesturing at him to walk in.
“It’s fine! You’re not intruding, it’s always nice to have some company here.”
With a relieved sigh, Sakuma stepped into the shop, now a bit more relaxed as he looked closely at the various plants and flowers. As calm as he looked, Genda could tell there was a spark of awe in his eye when he studied so carefully some of his flowers. He didn’t even bother to hide his smile, just walking around the counter to get him a foldable chair and let him take his time with it.
“You like them?”
Sakuma snapped out of his thoughts, looking at him and then at the chair, muttering a thanks as he accepted it before nodding.
“They’re… they’re really pretty. You’re doing a good job taking care of them.”
“Thanks, that means a lot.” As Sakuma got comfortable and pulled out his sketch, Genda took a closer look at the flowers. “You like bellflowers?” Sakuma vaguely nodded in answer, already busy with a new sketch. Genda just decided to take that information for later, hoping it was correct and not just Sakuma too focused on drawing to really listen to him.
When he wasn’t busy with customers, Genda just sat down on the floor next to Sakuma, trying to make small talk when he didn’t look too busy with his own work to talk. Sometimes, he would peek over his shoulder to take a look at what he was working on. Numerous flowers covered the once blank pages, a few more refined than others, some just rough sketches, some going so in depth that every trace of light or shadow was perfectly portrayed on the page. Genda still loved each one of them all the same, they were all beautiful masterpieces to him.
“Your art is beautiful.”
Sakuma suddenly stopped, pencil barely touching the paper. Now Genda was worried- what if he had said something he wasn’t supposed to? Did he offend Sakuma? Would he be mad at him? What if-
“T-thank you…”
Genda blinked. Then, he gathered the courage to look at Sakuma in the face. He was clutching his sketchbook tightly with one hand, the other clenched around the pencil, his face turning an interesting shade of red.
“Sakuma…?”
He stood up abruptly, nearly knocking down the chair, his eye wide and his face slowly turning redder- if that was even possible.
“I- I think I need to go now before it’s too late- I-I’ll see you later-” and with that, he left in a rush, almost dropping his things in the process. Genda only stared in disbelief as he nearly ran out of the shop, confused and scared of having just screwed everything up.
His messages went unanswered that night.
When the day for the next session came around, Sakuma was ready to crawl into a hole and die there.
He screwed up. He just screwed everything up.
How could he be so stupid? How could he be such an idiot that a compliment like that had sent him into such a panic to make him run away? If Genda didn’t want to see him anymore, he deserved it. Some part of him told him that he should’ve cancelled their next session, but it wasn’t fair to Genda, not after all the time and money he had dedicated to getting this tattoo done. The least Sakuma could do was finish it. Then, if Genda didn’t want to talk to him again… it was alright, as much as the thought hurt.
When he heard the door opening, Sakuma steeled himself.
Genda had walked into the parlor, a somewhat awkward smile on his face and a potted plant in his hands. Sakuma's eyes widened as his eye fell on it. A blue bellflower.
“What…”
“I… I’m sorry for whatever happened the other day, I-”
“N-no, it’s okay, you don’t have to apologize.” Sakuma bit his lower lip, looking away, as much as he wanted to look at him in the eyes. “Y-you didn’t do anything wrong- I was the one who panicked and ran away for no reason-! I’m sorry, I shouldn’t…”
He expected Genda to get angry, to yell or say something or just leave without a word. It was such a stupid thing to do, how could anyone not take it the wrong way or think he was just making up excuses for being an idiot?
He should’ve known better by now. Genda still had the habit of surprising him when he least expected it.
“Is that so…? I’m glad… I was worried that you wouldn’t want to see me again or something…”
“N-no, that’s not it-! Sorry, I screwed up…”
“It’s alright.” Then, he offered the potted plant to Sakuma, soft smile back on his face and all previous awkwardness gone, like he really didn’t mind all the mess Sakuma had made. “Here- I figured you’d like something that lasts longer, so…”
Unsure of what to say, Sakuma took the pot, placing it as carefully as possible on his desk. He took a moment to just look at the flowers, a soft sigh leaving him as he watched them, a small smile on his face. They were beautiful, and Genda was right- he did appreciate them.
“… Thank you. They’re really beautiful…”
“I’m glad you like them.” Sakuma could’ve sworn there was a faint red on his cheeks. Must’ve been the light in the parlor playing tricks. “So, about the tattoo…”
“Oh- yeah, yeah- I’m ready if you are.”
Despite how tense and awkward things were at first, they eased into their tattooing routine a few minutes in, making small talk until they were comfortable enough to chat and joke around like usual. It was a relief, knowing that he hadn’t screwed up as much as he thought he did, that Genda still wanted to see him despite it all.
When the session was done and Genda was carefully putting the shirt back on, ready to go, Sakuma stopped him right before he could step outside.
“W-wait- one moment-” and with that, he quickly reached for his sketchbook. Genda just waited by the door with a raised eyebrow, trying to see what Sakuma was doing. Then, Sakuma returned with a paper in his hands, looking away as he handed it to him. “H-here. This is for you…”
Confused, Genda just accepted the paper, turning it around to look at what was on it- and a soft gasp left him as he watched the ink strokes on the paper, the lion staring back at him.
“What- isn’t this your page of sketches?” Sakuma nodded, his face now feeling like it was on fire. “I- why are you giving me this-? Are you sure-?” He loved his art, sure, but to just be given something so important like this…
“I wouldn’t be giving it to you if I wasn’t sure.” Genda blinked, not having expected his words used against him. “You really like lions, right? And you liked that page… so I just- inked it for you. Consider it a thanks for all the flowers.”
Genda just stared at the paper for a moment, still surprised by the gift. Then, he smiled, as bright as Sakuma remembered, his heart skipping a beat at the sight. He missed that smile.
“Thank you… I’ll take good care of this.”
“I-I’m glad you like it…” more than glad, but he wasn’t quite sure he could say anything else without feeling like he might die right there and then.
“Well, I’ll see you later then.”
Sakuma just waved as Genda left. Genda made a note of framing that paper later.
They had been texting each other a lot more often than before.
The bellflowers were sitting on Sakuma's table at his apartment now, close to the window to let them receive as much sunlight as possible. As soon as he had gotten home he made sure of finding the perfect spot for them, to then text Genda the following day to make sure he would be taking good care of the plant. Genda was more than happy to help him out with anything he could, even offering him to pass by the shop and pick up anything that would help the plant grow. Sakuma only accepted on the condition that he would be paying for it- it was only fair, right?
They could argue over that at the shop anyways.
‘Are you sure I won’t kill it by accident?’
‘Don’t worry, plants are more resistant than you’d think’
‘If you say so…’
‘When are we meeting up again?’
‘I don’t know’
‘Sorry, this week is busy with deliveries’
‘Wish I could ditch them for you’
That made Sakuma stop. He wanted to jokingly agree to it, but he had a feeling that Genda would be fully capable of taking him seriously.
‘Don’t skip work, you ass’
He just chuckled to himself at the series of exasperated emotes that followed.
‘Fiiiine. I’ll see you tomorrow for breakfast then?’
‘Please’
‘If I can’t see you this week I at least want to eat with you’
‘Fine. Same hour as usual’
‘See you there!’
‘Goodnight’
‘Night’
With a content sigh, Sakuma dropped the phone on his nightstand as he got more comfortable in bed. Going to sleep was so much nicer when his thoughts were occupied by him.
Over the following week, despite Genda claiming he was too busy with work to hang out, they had met each other at the nearby coffee shop for breakfast without fail. They shared stories from work, pleasant conversation about this or that, even some suggestions for some of the more stubborn customers if needed. Sometimes Genda would show up with a flower for him, delighting in his incoherent answer.
Sakuma couldn’t stop thinking about those encounters, especially when he sat at the table to work or eat and the bellflowers caught his eye.
He was surprised when he realized that he had, in fact, taken good care of the plant, new flowers slowly blossoming over time. He still thought back to that afternoon from time to time, the awkwardness of that situation fading away as soon as he remembered Genda offering him the flowers.
Thoughts trailing off as he sketched the flowers in front of him, Sakuma couldn’t help but think again about everything else that Genda had brought him. First, the yellow roses and lilies. Symbols of friendship. The hydrangeas, pink for heartfelt emotions and purple for the wish to understand someone. Genda couldn’t have spelt it out for him any better… at least they both got their wish.
Then, Sakuma looked at the bellflowers again.
His eye widened.
He… Genda couldn’t be serious, right? Right…?
Oh, fuck.
The last session went without a hitch. Sakuma was a tiny bit disappointed when Genda showed up with empty hands and a shit-eating grin on his face, but didn’t say anything- it wasn’t right of him to mention it when they were just gifts, he knew.
Somehow, he had managed to focus on just finishing the tattoo, so deep in thought he almost didn’t reply whenever Genda said something. He was sure he could hear a bit of disappointment in Genda's voice after not getting an answer a few times.
When the tattoo was done, Sakuma stepped back to admire his work. The tattoo was beautiful, rough and proud like a lion should look. It suited Genda perfectly.
“Here- take a look.” Showing him the mirror, Genda watched the tattoo in the reflection with awe, bright grin back on his face and almost tempted to touch it. “Just remember to take care of it while it heals, alright? Other than that you should be fine.”
“Thank you- I love it! You did great.”
“You’re welcome…” Seeing his smile made it all worth it.
With the formalities taken care of and Genda dressed again and ready to leave, Sakuma just tried to hide his disappointment when it all seemed to end there. Did he misinterpret the bellflowers…?
“Oh right, I almost forgot- wait here, alright? I need to go get something.”
Before Sakuma could reply, Genda sprinted out of the parlor. Completely lost and confused, Sakuma just waited inside, curiosity already gnawing at him.
A few minutes later, and he gasped when Genda walked back into the parlor. He was holding one of the biggest bouquets Sakuma had ever seen in his life, with as many different flowers as Genda could put in it without making it look like an unorganized mess. He could recognize roses and carnations in the deepest shades of red, the forget-me-nots and globe amaranths adding a splash of pale blue and soft violet in the bouquet, a sunflower in the middle of it like a crown to complete it all.
He knew what those flowers meant.
Genda wasn’t just offering a bouquet to him. He had put in the time and care to arrange it as best as he could. He was putting his feelings into it.
Genda had just confessed to him.
“You…” Sakuma didn’t know what to say, could hardly string some thoughts together, his cheeks tinted red and his eye tearing up a bit at the sight.
“I… I hope you like it… I’ve been working on getting it right for a while…” Genda was turning even redder than him by now, a soft, yet a bit awkward smile on his face.
Sakuma just hugged him, held him as close as he could, barely managing to be careful enough not to ruin all his hard work. He could feel himself shaking ever so slightly, his cheeks hurting from how hard he was smiling by now, but he didn’t care, just glad to know his feelings were returned.
He wanted to say something, but the words weren’t coming to him, almost choking on them. And so, he did the only thing he could think of by then. He leaned up and kissed Genda right on the lips.
Genda was still holding the bouquet in one hand, the other moving after a moment to hold Sakuma back and just as close, leaning into the kiss and smiling against his lips.
For a while, they both were quiet, not wanting to pull back just yet, doing nothing but enjoying the kiss after waiting for it for so long. Some part of Sakuma was suddenly so grateful for that lion tattoo that allowed them to meet. When they finally parted to look at each other, they were still holding the other close, exchanging a glance. Genda was looking at him with what had to be one of the dumbest, most love-struck smiles Sakuma had ever seen, and he could hardly hold back a laughter.
Genda might be an idiot, but he was his idiot now.
“I love you too.”