Chapter Text
Izuku slowly tilted his neck back and forth, left to right. He had been sitting in this backless chair for hours, and his neck was suffering greatly due to his horrid posture.
You would think that as a tattoo artist with years of experience, he would have forced himself to sit straighter, or maybe have bought a more comfortable chair. He always swore he'd do one of these things, but it never happened.
"All right, you're finished!" He informed, pulling the tattoo gun away from his customers wrist and placing it on his cart. He was almost sure that he was more excited about finishing the tattoo than the client was, it had taken a dreadfully long time and it was getting late.
"Sick! Thanks man, it's perfect." His customer exclaimed, studying his new ink with a grin and stepping out of the chair.
"Yeah, no problem." Izuku responded, giving a tired smile back out of common courtesy. He walked the man to the counter and closed out any lose ends regarding the payment, and he left a few minutes later with a wave and second thank you.
Izuku sighed and his shoulders slumped into themselves. Squinting his eyes shut, he leaned backwards with a hand on his lower back, earning loud pops and cracks he had been waiting to feel all day. It wasn't technically closing time yet, his shift was supposed to end at 3am, and that was half an hour away, but maybe it would be ok if he went home early.....
"Todoroki!" He exclaimed, hoping his voice would reach to the back of the shop where his co-worker would be resting. The man in question turned around the corner of the back wall, pulling off a pair of gloves.
"Yes?" He asked, and Izuku noticed a strip of shiny plastic on the mans arm, covering a brand new tattoo. Shoto Todoroki was one of the only people Izuku knew that could confidently give himself his own tattoos flawlessly.
"When does your shift end?" Izuku asked.
"Three. Yours does as well, I believe. Shinsou will be here to pick up the next shift." Todoroki responded, sighing blandly and leaning back on the wall behind him.
"Yeah, I was wondering if I could go home early, I'm completely spent." Izuku pouted, puffing out his cheeks and pursing his lips like a child. He heard Todoroki chuckle at his overdramatized expression.
"I don't know, Midoriya. You've got a a whole..." he paused to look at his watch, "twenty eight minutes." Izuku frowned at his co-worker.
"Please Todoroki, it's not like I'm going to be able to tattoo anyone in twenty minutes — unless it's something super simple..... but still!" He begged. Todoroki looked rather amused at the fact that he had the power to let Izuku go home or stay at work.
"Ok I'll make a deal with you," Todoroki began, looking at something behind Izuku that he couldn't see, "if no one comes in in the next thirty seconds, you can leave." He said with a small smile. Izuku lit up.
"Ok! I can work with that!" Izuku grinned. There was no way anyone would come in in the second thirty... now twenty seconds; Izuku was going home!
*Ding!*
Izuku's heart dropped to the soles of his feet at the sound of the bell above the door. He watched as Todoroki broke into laughter, smiling evilly at his partner. Izuku realized what Todoroki was looking at earlier.
"You saw them outside the shop! You cheater!" Izuku whined. Todoroki bit his lip, trying to conceal his laughter and slinked to the back of the building. Izuku prayed to any god that was listening that this new costumer would be absolutely shit-faced and he'd be forced to send them on their way. It was late, a Friday night, and that happened often enough that it wasn't foolish to wish for.
He turned around to see two men that definitely didn't look drunk enough to send away, and Izuku held back a groan.
"Hey!" One of them exclaimed, and even though he didn't think it was possible, Izuku was even more upset when he heard how overly enthusiastic this customer was. He had bright red hair that shot up and practically defied physical law, and bright red eyes to match. He looked to be in his early twenties and Izuku concluded by his mannerisms, he was at least a bit tipsy.
"Do you do piercings here?" He asked, grinning with pointed teeth. Izuku mentally rejoiced, a piercing was much easier than a tattoo.
"Yeah, we do." He responded, taking his place behind the desk at the front.
"Sick! Me and my friend here want piercings." The red head continued, practically bouncing off the walls with excitement that simply drained Izuku. Suddenly, the mans friend decided to speak up.
"Hell no, Kiri. I said I'm not getting a fucking piercing." He growled. This man was slightly taller with blonde spiked hair and a expression that made Izuku shrink into himself. His face could only be described as angry.
"Ok... so one piercing. What typ—" Izuku began, but he couldn't finish.
"No, two, he's getting one." The red head pushed. Izuku stared awkwardly at the friends, not sure what to do. He moved his gaze specifically to the angry blonde, asking a wordless question. The man seemed to falter under his stare, flicking his eyes away.
"I said no." He mumbled, shoving his hands in his pockets with force. Izuku was almost glad that he was refusing, because he didn't want to provide any services to someone so aggressive and intimidating.
"Oh come on! What's the issue? You have other piercings and we're out and it'll be fun!" The shorter friend exclaimed. Izuku's eyelids were drooping.
Maybe I can just let them argue until my shift is up... He thought.
"The issue is that I'm tired as shit. All I want is to go home and sleep." The blonde grumbled, and Izuku said a mental 'amen'. The red head looked genuinely upset that his friend didn't want to get a piercing with him, and he looked over to Izuku with pleading eyes.
Does he want me to convince his friend to get a needle shoved in his skin...?? Izuku thought.
He sent a panicked look back and the red head sighed.
"Ok, give us a second?" He asked, and Izuku nodded. The two walked to the front of the shop and Izuku tried not to stare as they started furiously whispering at one another. Well, the red head was whispering, the blonde made no attempt to hide his annoyed replies.
Izuku thought it might be best to leave the two on their own, and walked to the back to find Todoroki sitting on a chair with his feet propped up, sucking on one of the lollipops that was used to sooth clients who weren't very tolerant of pain.
"Why aren't you with the costumer?" He asked, grinning slightly. Izuku glared.
"There's two of them.." he replied.
"You need me to handle one of them?" Todoroki asked, starting to sit up in his chair.
"I don't know. They are currently arguing at the front. One of them wants the other to get a piercing with him but the other guy doesn't seem particularly into it." Izuku explained.
"Couple?" Todoroki asked.
"I don't think so. The shark toothed one called the angry one his friend." Izuku replied.
"Huh?" Todoroki laughed.
"What?"
"The shark toothed one? The angry one?"
"One has sharp teeth, like a shark," Izuku explained, making the shape of sharp triangles with his fingers, "and the other one just looks like a ball of anger." These descriptions seemed to peak Todoroki's interest, as he stood up and headed for the front, still working on his lollipop. Izuku followed him.
"Great timing!" Shark man exclaimed, back to smiling ear to ear with those teeth. His friend still looked angry as ever, almost more now. Todoroki looked over to Izuku with a look that said 'Wow' and Izuku sent one back to say 'Told you.'
"We're both getting piercings." The red head said happily, and Izuku could practically hear the sound of the other rolling his eyes.
"Ok," Todoroki began, walking up behind the desk, "I'll need your identification please." The two men handed over their driver's licenses and waited as it was arranged. Izuku notes the duo's names were Ejirou Kirishima and Katsuki Bakugou.
Kirshima wanted his ears pierced, and Bakugou wanted a tongue piercing, since his ears were already pierced. Izuku hoped that Todoroki would take the blonde, because tongue piercings weren't his best area, neither was dealing with angry people.
Todoroki started walking to the back and Kirishima decided to follow, and before he knew it, Izuku was left with the brooding blonde, who was now staring at him so intently that Izuku could feel it on the back of his skull. He told Bakugou to follow him to the back, and he did. When they got back, he sat in the chair and looked quite in his element. Izuku guessed he had gotten more than a few piercings or tattoos.
Izuku pulled on his gloves and fell into his normal routine.
"Nervous?" He asked. He asked everyone this, as it was an easy way to start conversation.
"Tch, no. What do you take me as? A pussy?" Bakugou grilled. Izuku recoiled. Typically, people didn't respond in that way.
"No, I didn't mean it like that. It's just that people usually are." Izuku explained. Bakugou scoffed.
"People are stupid." He grumbled. Izuku couldn't help but chuckle lightly at the childish statement. Bakugou flicked his head up.
"The hell you laughing at, shorty?" He clipped. Izuku actually paused a second at that. Izuku was short, and it was something that bothered him. Leave it to this angsty stranger to pick out one of his biggest insecurities within minutes. Izuku let go of the glove he was stretching over his hand and it snapped on his skin.
Typically, he would apologize for laughing and tell the customer what his meaning was for it, but he was exhausted and this man was really testing his patience. He poured a small cup of mouthwash and practically shoved it at Bakugou, glaring at him.
"Take it and swish it around. Then spit it out." He explained.
"I know how to use mouthwash, dipshit." He growled.
God! Could he be any more rude. He should be more careful on how he talks to the person who's about to stick a needle through his tongue.
Izuku stayed silent even though he wished he could retaliate. The blonde stood back up from the chair and swiped the cup from Izuku's hand, grumbling under his breath. Izuku watched the man. He was fairly tall, which meant he towered over Izuku.
The shorter male took the time that Bakugou was working on the mouth wash to simply study what was in front of him. Bakugou was wearing a simple black tee and a big windbreaker jacket over it in a burnt orange color. The puffy appearance of the jacket was contrasted by the tight, black, and ripped jeans he was wearing.
As he gripped the edge of the sink, Izuku spotted black ink on his wrists and wondered how far up his arms the tattoos covered. He hated the mans attitude, but he had to compliment his overall aesthetic, it was one that appealed to Izuku. It also helped that he was attractive.
Lost in thought, Izuku missed Bakugou spitting out his mouthwash.
"The fuck you looking at?" He suddenly asked, and Izuku jumped up and made a tiny squeak, to which Bakugou quirked an eyebrow.
"Nothing. Sorry. I'm spacing out... it's been a long day." Izuku replied with a sigh. It wasn't a lie, he was still exhausted. Bakugou walked over and plopped back into the chair. Izuku sat down in his chair as well.
"Should I be letting you stick a needle in me when your exhausted?" Bakugou questioned, and Izuku chuckled, but this time the blonde didn't grill him on why.
"I think you'll be fine." Izuku said with a small giggle, grabbing his supplies and putting on his glasses so he could see a bit better.
"Did you just fucking giggle?" The blonde questioned, leaning towards Izuku. Izuku paused.
Who talks to people like this?? Especially people they don't even know?
Before Izuku could reply, Bakugou continued.
"You don't really fit the whole 'tattoo artist' type." He informed. Izuku stared at him, which Bakugou obviously took as a ok to continue. "You have tattoos and shit but you're small and cutesy. Not to mention you're definitely a pushover." He explained. Izuku blinked, how was he supposed to respond to that?
"How would you know that I'm a pushover? You've know me for like five minutes." He mumbled, scooting up to his client and grabbing a small flashlight. Suddenly, Bakugou leaned forward towards Izuku.
"I just know." He said with a smirk, and Izuku could've sworn he smelled alcohol on the blonde's breath. Izuku gulped, leaning away from Bakugou, who looked very satisfied with himself.
He's tipsy too... just like his friend. I just didn't notice until now.
"O-open your mouth please." Izuku stuttered, and Bakugou complied. Izuku prodded Bakugou's tongue for a bit with his gloved fingers and checked under his tongue for any major blood vessels that could be at risk. There wasn't any in the way, so he grabbed his forceps and began positioning them. Bakugou stayed silent, but he was sort of forced to with things constantly in his mouth.
When Izuku had the forceps in their place, he grabbed the needle.
"Ready?" He asked. Bakugou made a small noise that sounded like "uh huh".
"Ok... 3, 2, 1... and it's done." He said, the needle now already through Bakugou's tongue. Bakugou hadn't even flinched at the pain, which surprised Izuku. He thinks he would have definitely flinched, but he wasn't much of a piercings person.
Bakugou didn't say anything, but again, he had fingers and mental in his mouth. Izuku felt the blonde looking up at him as he screwed on the knobs and positioned the piercing. It only took a few moments, and he let out a sigh when it was done.
"You're good." Izuku announced, and Bakugou closed his mouth and moved his tongue around. Everyone usually did that after they had gotten this specific piercing, eager to see what it felt like.
"Jesus fuck that's annoying as hell." He suddenly said, sticking his tongue out and crossing his eyes, trying to look at it. Izuku had to stifle a laugh, he looked very funny.
"Here, look at it with this." Izuku said, grabbing a handheld mirror and passing it to the blonde, who snatched it eagerly. It took about 30 seconds of Bakugou wiggling his tongue around in odd positions for him to announce that the piercing was 'tolerable'. Izuku was glad, because if it wasn't, there wasn't much he could do.
"It might take some getting used to." Izuku said, removing his gloves and disposing of them in the wastebasket.
"No shit. It feels horrible." Bakugou responded. Izuku frowned. He hoped that Bakugou didn't just get the piercing because his friend told him to, and now he'd hate it. Maybe Izuku should've made sure he really wanted it before giving him the piercing. A tongue piercing wasn't exactly as easy to just let close up as say... an ear piercing would be. And it was possible that he had been drinking as well... Could he be held accountable for this? Could Bakugou sue him for sticking him with needles while he was under the influence? Would the whole shop be forced to close down because of Izuku's carelessness?!
"Hey!" Bakugou suddenly yelled, and Izuku squeaked, realizing he had been so lost in thought that he couldn't even hear Bakugou calling him.
"The fuck is your problem? Why are you talking to yourself like I'm not here?" Bakugou questioned, his visage contorted into one of confusion and borderline fear. Izuku mentally facepalmed, he had been speaking out loud!!
"S-sorry! I have a bad habit of mumbling out loud when I think that I'm thinking." Izuku groaned, rubbing his hands down his face. He was too tired for his own good.
"Goddamn.... I'm not 'under the influence' dumbass." Bakugou grumbled, still toying with his piercing by shifting his tongue around. Izuku shrunk into himself as the two walked back out to the front.
"Sorry... I-I just thought.." he began.
"Don't give a damn what you thought. And I wanted the shitty piercing, I'm not that stupid that I'd let that idiot talk me into something I didn't want." He continued, motioning over to his friend Kirishima, who was walking to the front with Todoroki.
"Look Bakugou!" Kirishima exclaimed, a smile on his face much too big for three in the morning. He was motioning to his ears, and Izuku was waiting for a aggressive insult to find it's way out of Bakugou's mouth.
"Yeah yeah, looks good." The blonde said with a small, tired smile. Izuku was a bit taken aback, but the two were friends.
"Wait! Lemme see yours!" Kirishima said, running over to his friend and sending his hands towards Bakugou's face. Bakugou flinched backwards and grabbed Kirishima's hands.
"Jesus, calm down. Look." He said before sticking his tongue out. He had only gotten a simple silver sphere, which was recommended for when it was first pierced, but Kirishima acted like it was the coolest thing on the planet.
"That's so manly." He said in awe. Bakugou chuckled, rolling his eyes. Izuku watched from afar as Todoroki handled the final details and watched the two men leave. It was almost as if a weight was lifted off his shoulders when it happened. Good riddance.
"I'm sorry." Totoroki suddenly said, but the laughter in his voice showed that he was lying.
"No you're not.. and you just had to leave me with the difficult one!" Izuku whined, slouching over the desk in fatigue. Todoroki patted his head and the two heard the back door open. Moments later, Histoshi Shinsou walked in with an energy drink in hand and dark circles under his eyes.
Shinsou being here meant next shift! Izuku checked his phone. It read three oh five in the morning.
Finally... he could go home and get some rest.