Archive of Our Own ^beta

The first part of Jeremy’s daily routine as he comes through the door of the tattoo parlor  he works at is to double check his daily appointments. In fact, all of the employees seem to have that habit and Renee always already has everyone’s individual schedules pulled up at her computer behind the receptionist desk. 

“Good morning, Jeremy. You’re here early today,” she remarks as he glances over her shoulder. A couple consultation appointments and then a larger tattoo at 4pm  that keeps roughly the rest of his afternoon into the evening blocked off. Not a bad day, overall. 

“Really?” He looks around the shop in surprise at her statement. 

“You are the first one in today.” Renee  gestures to the studios, which are all dark still. Jeremy hums curiously; he hadn’t felt like he was ahead of his normal morning schedule in any kind of way. 

Almost as soon as he forms that thought, two giggling forms come stumbling in the door, all smiles and laughter this morning. If it was not ten in the morning and Jeremy hadn’t recognized the two people coming in, he might have been more concerned. Afterall, a good tattoo parlor doesn’t do any work on drunk people. Instead, it is his coworkers and friends, Laila and Alverez, coming into work, simply drunk on life and possibly love itself. 

“Good morning, you two,” Renee greets them and the couple greets her in return. Jeremy gives them a wave and steps back from the desk to allow them room to check their own schedules for the day. The preliminary details for his consultations today would already be in his studio anyway, so he sets off to his space. 

There is something about the simple act of entering his studio, flipping on the light and seeing everything where he left it yesterday, that fills him with excitement. The passion that he has for tattooing, for the chance to ink art into someone’s skin, is something that makes every day of his job worth it. 

In preparation for  consultation appointments, the studio has people send in a few images for reference and a brief description of what they want so that each artist has an idea of what they are getting into. It also helps Renee initially recommend a specific artist for each tattoo as they each have different styles and work that they prefer. Overall it’s a helpful way to organise clients before they come in to specify their commision.

Most of the files that Jeremy has saved for today’s consultations  are simple enough and perfectly in his wheelhouse; either geometric designs or new school tattoos. However, one of the files for consultation sticks out amongst the rest, and Jeremy is almost certain that a mistake has been made. 

Jeremy sticks his head out of his studio and says to Renee, “Hey, are you sure that two o’clock consulation is for me? For, um, Cross?” He has to duck his head back in to double check the name, and it is only when he peeks back out that he notices that Dan and Matt are now here, chatting with Renee. 

“I’m sure, you’re the best fit for that one, Jeremy,” Renee says with a soft smile. The one that she can always maintain somehow, no matter how rude the customer behind the desk might be to her. Matt gives Renee a small pat on the shoulder in sympathy, and in solidarity as the only other member of the parlor that isn’t a tattoo artist. Instead, Matt handles any and all piercing appointments that they might get. 

“What’s the tattoo?” Dan asks curiously as she comes over to Jeremy. She has a coffee for him in hand, just like she does every morning. She insists on bringing one for everyone, even when he has tried to tell her that she doesn’t need to. He has… well he has a  shitty coffee pot at home, but it functions. Dan just brushes him off every time, saying it isn’t a big deal and that it gives her a reason to swing by her favorite place and visit with the owner in the mornings. 

Jeremy, figuring it would just be better to take the discussion out here instead of his studio, grabs his laptop off his desk that has the references for this tattoo pulled up. “It’s a floral, specifically poppies, I think?” He double checks the description he was given, and it indeed says that the flowers to be in the tattoo would be California poppies. 

Laila popped her head out of her studio upon hearing the word floral, seeing as it is one of her specialties. “Jeremy is doing a floral?” There’s audible excitement in her voice, which almost surprises Jeremy given that he feels as though he’s stealing a job from her. 

“Double check the description of what the client wants,” Renee says patiently, and he looks at the description given for what is at least the third time, probably more like the fifth or sixth. He could feel Dan reading it as well over his shoulder, and she smirks at him. 

The description asks for a floral tattoo of California poppies in... a geometric style. Ah, that’s why the consultation was given to him. 

“Man, you must be tired this morning if you missed the word geometric. Usually, you are falling all over yourself for those,” Dan teases. Then she shoves his cup of coffee into his free hand emphatically.

Jeremy just gives out a small laugh, letting the teasing settle between them comfortably, “I suppose so.” 

Laila bounces out of her studio and immediately heads into Jeremy’s. “Come on, I’ll help you out on this one. I’ve helped her out plenty with floral cover ups and if I can help her, I can help anyone.” She gestures back at her girlfriend as she speaks, smiling at Jeremy.

“Hey, I resent that!” Alvarez calls from within her studio.

“Love you too, babe,” Laila says in response as she sits in the big chair usually reserved for clients getting tattooed . Honestly, Jeremy doesn’t blame her; that chair is by far the comfiest seat in the studio, made to keep clients content as they sit for hours getting ink injected underneath their skin. “So, are you ready for this?”

Jeremy snorts as he takes his seat at his desk again. “You act like I’ve already started this thing. I haven’t even had the consultation yet, Laila.” 

“I know, but it’s exciting, you know? Florals are a lot of fun.”

Jeremy pulls up the reference photos that the client had sent to Renee. They are… well they are definitely flowers, but none of the references are of other tattoos done in the style that the client had in mind.Jeremy has to find a geometric style that works with the poppies pictured and figure out how to blend them into something killer himself. No pressure or anything. 

“You’re frowning. I didn’t even know the golden boy could do that.” Laila cracks a smile at him, picking up a teasing tone like the one Dan had earlier. “Don’t think you’re up to the challenge?”

This has Jeremy cracking a smile of his own. Everyone here knows that he has a bit of a competitive nature, and Jeremy would never back down from a blatant challenge like that. “Of course,” he stresses, looking her dead in the eye, “I am up to the challenge.” 

Besides, Laila is already going to help him out if need be and all the proof he needs that Laila knows her shit is on his half sleeve. It’s no accident it features her flower designs, after all.

“Hell yes!” she exclaims and pumps her fist in the air in victory. 

“Calm down until I actually have designs for you to see.” 

“Oh we both know they’ll be great,” she quickly assures as she shifts, then makes grabbing motions towards his laptop. “Let me see the references you got.” After a moment of inspecting the images he has been provided, she sighs. “These are alright, but I have a feeling you might need something else.”

“Something else like what?” 

“It would be best to get live references for this one. Pictures are fine, but your style will benefit more from being able to inspect the flower from all angles, and these pictures just don’t cut it.” 

“So, you want me to go buy some flowers?”

“Exactly,” she responds. With a grin she moves to hand the laptop back to him. 

“And where would I go to buy specifically California poppies?”

“I might know a place,” Renee chimes in, appearing in the doorway to Jeremy’s studio. “There is a florist a couple streets down from here that has a great variety of stuff. It’s called Daysies and More.”

“Really? I’ve never heard of it before,” Jeremy says in surprise, at both Renee’s sudden appearance and her suggestion. 

“Yep, I know one of the employees; it’s a good place. Oh, and Jeremy? Your eleven thirty consultation is here.” Renee gives him a smile before she moves back to her post at the receptionist desk. 

“Well, there you go! You can check out the flowers there after your consultation  with this person, Cross or whatever their name was.” Laila leapt out of the chair  to return to her own studio in preparation for her own appointments today. 

Jeremy just nods at the suggestion as he sees her out of the studio and greets his first client of the day. As he welcomes the client into his studio and goes to close the door, he can overhear Dan ask, “Is that where you’ve been buying flowers for your new girlfriend, Renee?” Interesting office gossip, but now, it is time for Jeremy’s real work to begin. He throws himself into it with as much enthusiasm as he can.

Jeremy only had an hour or two between his consultation appointment with one Ms. Robin Cross and the tattooing appointment that would take up the rest of his afternoon and evening, so he figured that he would make the best of his time. This, of course, meant he was leaving the tattoo studio in the middle of his workday to go find Renee’s flower shop.

The shop itself was hard to miss, even amongst all the other store fronts that also lined the block. Most of that was because of the large sign hanging proudly over the front windows exclaiming the name of the business, Daysies and More. A bit of an odd name, but not something that Jeremy would really question. 

The door of the flower shop had a quaint little bell attached to it that announced his entrance . The bell is quickly followed by a voice from behind the counter greeting him. 

“How can I help you?” The voice seems to be a bit soft spoken, and Jeremy looks for the person behind it. He doesn’t stumble when he sees a handsome man leaning against the counter, but it’s a near thing. 

If you asked Jeremy, he would love to say that he is smooth in the face of people that he finds attractive. However, all of Jeremy’s friends know this is at best an exaggeration and at worst a flat out lie, given how long all of them have been working together now. “I uh… I need a flower,” he says as he brings himself fully into the shop. 

The man behind the counter gives a ghost of a smile at Jeremy’s statement, and Jeremy can already feel a desire within him to try and get a real smile out of this man. 

“I figured as much. What kind of flower? Are you looking for just one, or a bouquet?” 

Jeremy is  fumbling a bit in front of this handsome man, but he manages to reach into his bag. He had worked up some basic sketches during his meeting with Ms. Cross, so he figured they might be helpful. “Well, you see, I am going to be doing this floral tattoo, and I figured that getting a live specimen for it would help me with the planning process for it.”

The man takes a glance at the sketches that Jeremy shows him and nods along to Jeremy as he speaks. “I see, so you need a-”

Before he could continue speaking, another voice came from the back of the shop, and Jeremy silently laments him getting cut off. 

“Jean, do we have any more roses up front? This order is going to be short if we don’t.” 

“We have some up here, how many do you need still for the arrangements?” The man behind the counter replies to the voice in the back, and with the mention of his name, Jeremy belatedly notices the little name tag pinned to his apron that reads Jean. 

With a confirmation that the desired roses are in the front of the store, the new voice comes into view of where Jeremy is standing. There is something vaguely familiar about the man who just entered the display room, though Jeremy can’t think of where he could’ve possibly seen him before.

“Probably about half a dozen or so- oh, you’re helping a customer,” the new arrival says as he notices Jeremy for the first time. After a second, there is a dawning recognition in his eyes and a smile grows on his face. “Oh, you’re Jeremy Knox from Trojan Ink, right?” 

Now, Trojan Ink is not a small parlor by any means, but that does not mean that Jeremy is at all prepared to be randomly recognized. He takes in the name of this man from his name tag, Kevin, and then sees the tattoo of a queen chess piece on Kevin’s cheek. A piece that gives Jeremy that wave of familiarity again, but definitely not one that he personally did. 

“Yeah that’s me, you know our parlor?” 

“Oh absolutely! The work that you all do there is amazing. I follow your social media and it seems like every time something new is posted, my breath is taken away. That last tattoo you did, the balloon with the mouse, looked so beautiful, especially with how simple design you did, but still getting complex colors in it.”

It is a lot to take in at once, and Jeremy is shocked to find such an… avid fan of their work. He looks over at Jean for help, but the man behind the counter merely rolls his eyes at his coworker. 

“I uh… thank you so much. It’s good to hear that the social media is doing well under Renee’s management,” Jeremy replies, sort of grasping at straws in the conversation. 

“What kind of tattoos are you working on now?” Kevin asks curiously and Jeremy cannot help but notice that he seems to have completely forgotten what he came out to the front for, roses. 

“Well, I got a request for a floral tattoo in a geometric style, which is why I am here, and I am doing a tropical themed tattoo this afternoon.” He glances at the clock on the wall of the flower shop. “Speaking of which, I need to hurry back soon.” 

Jeremy then just grabs the first potted flower he sees that looks vaguely similar to the flowers he needs and brings it back to the counter and Jean. 

“Ah, of course. Good luck with your tattoo.” That is the last thing Kevin says to him, and Jeremy quickly buys the plant in his hand before rushing out of the flower shop. He has plenty of time to head back to the shop, still a half an hour until his appointment actually arrives, but he felt the need to get out of there. He had already been fumbling, and then Kevin being an obvious fan of both Trojan Ink and Jeremy himself was just added pressure.

As Jeremy walks back to the tattoo parlor, he examines the plant in his hand. It doesn’t seem right, and upon closer examination his suspicions were confirmed. He had gotten the wrong flower after all and he would need to go back again. Jeremy remembers the handsome man behind the counter, Jean, with his ghost of a smile and figures that maybe going back wouldn’t be such a bad thing.

“Kevin, did you fall asleep getting the roses we needed?” Neil asks as he joins Jean and Kevin in the front of the shop. He takes one look at Jean,  still in shock about their customer’s abrupt departure, and then at Kevin’s almost starry-eyed face, and sighs. “Alright, what did you two get into while I was actually working on the arrangement orders?” 

“Customer was here,” is all Jean can really get out in his mild shock, but Kevin is more than happy to take up the reins from there. 

“Jeremy Knox was just here,” Kevin supplies excitedly and Jean sees Neil roll his eyes just as Jean had when he first got started.

“Oh, you finally met your man crush that you are always going on about,” Neil teases with a wry smile and Kevin grumbles at him, grabbing the roses that he had originally come for and returning to the back to continue working. 

Neil and Jean share a quick look before Neil has to go back to working with Kevin on the arrangements and Jean is once again alone in the front of the flower shop. So that was Jeremy? It had not been an exaggeration when Neil had said that Kevin raved about Jeremy and his work frequently, but Jean had not expected him to be so… cute. And of course, he works with Renee of all people. That just proves how some things are just too good to be true. 

It has been several days since Jeremy has visited the shop, not that Jean has been counting or anything; it’s not like he expects him to become a regular. No, the only one who seems to be counting the days and then looking like a kicked puppy at the end when Jeremy doesn’t show up is Kevin. Jean and Neil both agree that it is pathetic enough that Neil drags Kevin off and out of the shop for their break to get some food. Years ago, it would have been Jean distracting Kevin, with Neil not there yet, but things had changed. Jean and Kevin have a bit of a rift between them nowadays, but Neil worked well as the bridge between them throughout their shifts together in the shop.

It isn’t like Jean hated Kevin or anything, but both of them know that they can’t go back to how they used to be, not after everything that’s happened. 

Jean tries to shove any bad memories that threaten to well up back down again as he idly rearranges some of the stock flowers in front that had a few of the nicer blooms taken earlier that morning. No use thinking about any of that now, it was over and Jean was safe here. 

The bell on the door chimes and Jean looks up to greet the customer, just to see that Jeremy is back. 

“Good afternoon, what brings you back in again?” Jean asks curiously as he takes in Jeremy’s posture in the doorway. He seems to be a touch nervous, though not exactly like he had been the last time he was here. 

“I um… I need another reference. For a tattoo.” 

“Okay, what type of flower?” Jean asks him with a small chuckle, just as he had asked him the first time Jeremy had been in here. 

To Jean’s surprise, rather than flat out telling him the flower that he needs, Jeremy hands him a slip of paper that has the words ‘California poppies’ written on it. “I figured it would be more helpful to have it written down than just bring you some sketches.” 

Jean feels himself smile a touch at the cute action as he says, “Well it certainly helps. Wait here a moment.”

With that, Jean heads into the back of the shop. They had just gotten a new shipment of flowers yesterday, and not all of them have been put out yet. He spots a couple of potted poppy plants that certainly look nicer than the ones up front that needed watering soon. After all, if the plant is to be a reference for a tattoo, Jeremy would want the nicest looking flowers possible. For a second, Jean hesitates on whether or not potted poppies would be better than a simple bouquet of them, but then he remembers that Jeremy had bought a potted plant last time he was here. Must be more useful as references if you can keep them longer, Jean resolved.

“Here you go,” Jean says as he presents the potted plant onto the counter in front of Jeremy. 

“Oh wow, those are pretty.” Jean hears  excitement in Jeremy’s voice as he picks up the pot and begins to look at the flowers from various angles. 

“They are definitely bright little flowers. And of course, this little card here will tell you all the care instructions for California poppies.” Jean points out the little plastic card that was stuck into the soil of the pot. Most customers don’t pay the card any mind and likely threw them out immediately when they got home, but Jeremy actually takes time to inspect it. 

“So when it says here that it needs full sun, what does that mean?”

The question surprises Jean. Both from how genuinely curious Jeremy seems to be when asking it and by how much it seems that he cares about the specifics of the instructions. 

“It simply means that you should try to keep it in direct sunlight for at least 6 hours a day.” 

“And what are the alternatives to full sun?”

“That would be partial shade and full shade. It varies from plant to plant which one the flowers prefer,” Jean easily supplies, it’s information he had to learn quickly when he first started working here. Even if not many customers ask, he still needs to know all of this when it comes to taking care of the flowers in the shop.

Now, Jean is pleasantly surprised by the care in which Jeremy is taking by asking questions for a simple reference plant and now the two of them are just sort of making random conversation. Despite the fact that Jean wasn’t sure when the last time he spoke this much with a customer was, he finds that he doesn’t mind it. The conversation is pleasant, and despite himself, Jean finds each question on plant care mildly endearing. 

In the end, Jeremy ends up having to return to his own work before Neil and Kevin get back from their break, and Jean is a bit grateful. He is spared having to listen to Kevin practically grill the man for a second time this week, and that is nice.

After Jeremy has gone to the flower shop again and made sure to get  the right reference flower this time, he finds that he quite enjoyed it there. He enjoyed the quiet but pleasant energy that came with conversing with Jean about different plants, and so Jeremy starts making excuses to go back. These excuses of course took the form of made up floral tattoos. 

The only true floral tattoo he has actually done is the poppies for Robin Cross, which ended up turning out fantastic if he says so himself. Laila praised him for a job well done with a slap on the back and a nudge at the ever growing collection of plants that has become part of his studio. 

After all, he won’t just leave the plants to die, and it would be rude and suspicious to keep going to the flower shop without buying something. It is usually Renee that notices him first when Jeremy walks into the parlor with another plant, but she doesn’t say anything, just gives him that soft smile as if she understands exactly what’s going on. 

Jeremy supposes that she just might understand. She had been the one to recommend the flower shop and she frequently gets flowers from there for her girlfriend. 

Now, Jeremy has met Renee’s new girlfriend, Allison, he thinks, a handful of times now, as she stops by to take Renee out to dinner on the late evenings of work or to bring Renee her own bouquets. Which, from what Jeremy has seen of them, if anything deserves to be called a bouquet, then it’s the extravagant flowers that Allison brings Renee. 

In fact, the flowers are so extravagant and over the top that Jeremy had felt compelled to share about them to Jean, his own personal florist. 

“Seriously, they were like this big,” he illustrates the size of the bouquet by making a circle with his arm. “And it’s not like we have spare vases just laying around the parlor, so she has to keep them on the- what?” 

Jeremy cuts himself off when he notices Jean is  almost  smirking as he talks. 

“Oh nothing.”

“Not nothing, you’re smiling, what is it?” Jeremy is about to lean closer to Jean to poke fun at him until he tells him, when the bell on the door chimes, quickly followed by an all too familiar voice. 

“Kevin, I need you to make me my usual.”

When Jeremy glances at the door, Allison, and he is certain that is her name now, is standing in the door in an authoritative manner. 

“Allison? I thought I told you to order them ahead, those bouquets take a lot of expensive materials to make. Besides, why do I have to make it for you?” Kevin calls out from the back room, where he seems to be more often than not. 

“Because your boy toy out here is already busy with someone,” Allison shouts back, sending a wink in Jeremy and Jean’s direction. Kevin emerges from the back room with a huff, and Allison continues, “besides, I might as well make your perfectionism good for something.” 

This is not the first Jeremy has seen Kevin since his first visit, but he can still tell that Kevin is surprised to see him. The second time Jeremy had seen Kevin, he did manage to apologize about rushing out, since he had felt bad about his behavior in the face of a fan. Since then, they have had a few pleasant conversations about tattoos, during which Jeremy had learned that Kevin’s tattoo had been done by Alvarez as a cover up, which would be why it seemed familiar. Though, Jeremy has had to be cautious with those tattoo conversations, just to make sure he doesn’t slip up and give away that he’s been lying about more floral tattoos. 

Kevin and Jean pipe up at the same time in response to Allison’s first jab to say, 

“He’s not my boy toy.”

“I’m not his boy toy.”

The unison protest causes Allison to start laughing, which just leaves both huffing at her. 

“Well, I can see that now, right Jeremy?” She now turned her wink towards Jeremy and he could not have been more embarrassed at her insinuations. 

“Leave him alone and get your expensive flowers,” Jean says, surprising him before pointing her over to where Kevin has already started  making her large and outlandish bouquet. 

Jeremy finds himself silently watching the process as Kevin works, realizing that he hasn’t actually seen a bouquet being formed before. The actual flowers that go into it are gorgeous, even if Jeremy can only really name a few of them. In the time that he has spent here buying himself new plants, he has picked up on a few names that he didn’t know, but most of those aren’t going into this bouquet. 

A bouquet that is going to his coworker. To Renee. 

With that, Jeremy has a realization and begins to chuckle as he watches. When Jean hearshis muffled laugh, he looks at Jeremy and just from the look in Jean’s eye, he knows that they are both in on the  joke. 

It isn’t until after Allison has left with her bouquet that Jeremy stops holding back his laughter, and he dissolves into a fit of giggles. “I- I can’t- I can’t believe, hahaha.” It takes Jeremy several tries to get enough oxygen to truly get his statement out, but Kevin and Jean seem to share expressions of amusement as well. 

“I cannot believe that those two have been buying flowers for each other from the exact same place and haven’t realized it yet!” 

“We’ve all been taking bets on how long it will take them to notice,” Neil chimes in from the back. Jeremy had not officially met the third employee on shift with Jean and Kevin until two visits ago. Neil seemed like an okay dude, but it was clear that he preferred spending all of his time in the back of the shop rather than managing the counter. 

“When did that even start happening?” Jeremy asks between smaller bouts of giggles. 

“Renee is a friend, so she started getting her bouquets for Allison right as they started dating,” Jean supplies and it almost feels weird, gossipping with Jean. However, this situation is too damn funny to pass up. 

“And then I think Allison was in here the next day, ordering the most expensive bouquet that I have ever put together,” Kevin finishes as he begins cleaning up the extra supplies that he had out from constructing Allison’s bouquet. 

“How’s that bet going so far?” Jeremy asks out of pure curiosity towards the back room where Neil remains out of view.

“We cycle it weekly, I think this week is Nicky’s,” Neil calls and Jeremy laughs again. If their bet has gone on long enough that they started cycling weeks, Jeremy definitely does not want to spoil it now. 

 All too soon, in Jeremy’s opinion, it is time for him to get back to the parlor and back to work. He can’t stop a few giggles as he enters the parlor and sees Renee’s latest bouquet, but he manages to not give the game away. Afterall, where is the fun in that?

Jeremy finds himself going to Daysies and More on a semi-regular schedule. The same days each week tend to be slow, therefore allowing more time to hang out and chat.

This week however, Jeremy’s schedule is thrown off and he ends up going to the flower shop a day later than he usually would. The shop is completely different than he’s used to.

The bell on the door chimes like always, but there is no voice to greet him. Just another man, who definitely isn’t Jean, sitting behind the counter and staring at him blankly. His name tag reads Andrew, though it looks like someone had made it as hard to read as possible while still counting as legible. 

With this change, Jeremy isn’t exactly sure what to do, so he drifts over to the potted plants section that he had familiarized himself with over his past visits. He spends about ten minutes browsing the plants while trying to sneak glances into the back to see if Jean is in today before a voice startles him. 

“Are you going to buy something or what?” The words come from a different man standing off to the side, who looks exactly like Andrew, but his name tag reads Aaron.

Before Jeremy can even respond, a third, significantly bubblier voice comes loudly from the back as a new figure joins the other two employees in the front of the shop. “Aaron, don’t be rude to customers! Andrew, you are supposed to greet people that come in.”

Aaron just scoffs at the scolding and Andrew just shrugs at the other employee, a bouncy type of man whose name tag places him as Nicky. 

“I’m so sorry about those two. What can I help you with?” Nicky gives Jeremy a bright smile as if trying to offset the attitudes of the other two employees. Jeremy gives him a small smile in turn in the hope of alleviating his tension a bit. 

“I um… I’m looking for something different I guess,” Jeremy replies unhelpfully, still a bit disappointed that he didn’t catch Jean working today. 

To Nicky’s credit, it seems to be enough for him to work with. Nicky begins to question him about the kinds of plants he currently owns, what kind of environment he is looking to put the new plant in, light levels, water schedules. They really talked about anything and everything that seems to come to Nicky’s mind, but it is a pleasant conversation overall. Not the same kind of pleasant that Jeremy feels during his conversations with Jean, but a similar feeling for sure. 

“Alright, who are you looking for?” Nicky bluntly asks, cutting off his own previous  plant suggestions. 

“What do you mean?” 

“Well, you are obviously looking around for someone, and given that I’m right in front of you, it can’t be me that you have the hots for,” Nicky says playfully, and Aaron makes a point of faking a gagging noise at Nicky’s flirt. 

“I’m not looking for anyone,” Jeremy tries to deny, but Nicky just shakes his head. 

“Now, now, no lying. I guess I’ll just have to guess. Hmmm, for your sake, let’s hope it’s not Neil, so that just leaves Kevin and Jean.” When Jeremy raises his eyebrow at the comment about Neil, Nicky simply tips his head towards Andrew. “Now, nothing against Kevin, Kevin Day, our glamorous boss, but I would put my money on Jean, am I right?”

Jeremy is left stuttering at Nicky’s assumptions, but denial is harder to pull off when someone is dead on the money like that.

“Aw that’s so adorable.” Nicky claps his hands together as if he has an idea. “Oh, I can help you out if you want, a little matchmaker Nicky, at your service.”

Jeremy regains himself enough to respond to Nicky’s last statement. “Oh no, you don’t need to do that. I have it handled.” Jeremy isn’t even one hundred percent sure Jean is into him in the same way that Jeremy is into him. He definitely doesn’t need another person meddling in the middle of it.

“Really? But I’m so good at it! I even helped Ne-” Nicky’s statement is cut off by a glare from Andrew behind the counter.

“He said no, Nicky.” 

Nicky looks like he wants to say more on the subject, but he quickly drops it after Andrew’s input. 

In the end, Jeremy does end up getting something different from everything he had bought previously. Nicky suggests a cactus  to him, and it is just so adorable that it is too hard to walk away from. Overall a strange and completely different day to what Jeremy had learned to be his normal, but not inherently a bad one.

Once Jeremy Knox has left the store and Nicky has settled into the back to stop pestering his cousins, Andrew pulls out his phone. He typically just stares into space when he is forced to man the counter, but he feels like having a bit of fun. 

In a group chat that Andrew had been forced into by Neil that contains him, Neil, Kevin and Jean, Andrew sent a single message.

Jeremy Knox came into the shop today .

Immediately, there is a flood of messages from Kevin that Andrew cannot be bothered to actually read, knowing they are probably on the subject of tattoos. He does not say or add anything else to the group chat, but he does see the single message sent by Jean.

Huh?

That response is enough to get the tiniest hint of a smile onto Andrew’s face as he puts his phone back down on the counter again.

It seems like weeks pass quickly after Jeremy’s strange visit and he has made no progress on the whole asking out front. By now, his plant collection is undeniable and starting to take over his whole studio. In fact, it is to the point that when Jeremy walks in with yet another plant, Laila and Alvarez start laughing at him. 

“I have no idea how much more your studio can take of this pining, my dude,” Alvarez says through her laughs, as she leans against Laila’s shoulder. 

“Seriously, this is getting ridiculous. When I said buy a live reference, I did not mean buy the entire store, Jeremy!” Laila chimes in and Jeremy feels his face burn. 

“I think it’s sweet,” Renee chimes in from her spot behind the desk. Dan shakes her head. 

“Of course you do, Renee. You and your girlfriend are literally always buying each other flowers,” Dan says, but she isn’t quite laughing it up at Jeremy’s situation like Laila and Alvarez. 

“Ha ha, you’re all such comedians,” Jeremy gives Laila and Alvarez a pointed look as he quickly sets his new plant in his studio before  rejoining his friends. Despite how obnoxious their teasing is, he also knows that he needs their ribbing to get his ass in gear.

“You just need to man up and ask him, Jeremy. You are starting to rival Matt in how long this is taking,” Dan adds and they all  laugh. One of the groups favorite jokes is how it seemed to take Matt nearly a year to work up the balls to actually ask Dan out. 

“Hey, it might have taken me a long time, but look where it got me,” Matt chimes in happily as he joins the group gathered in the front of the parlor, arriving from his piercing area. The client that Matt had been working with follows him up, but immediately approaches Renee’s desk to pay. 

Jeremy is surprised to see that the client is Andrew, but even more surprised when Renee gives Andrew one of her warm smiles reserved for her friends, rather than just a customer service smile. 

Dan lets out a laugh at Matt’s statement, obviously unbothered by the added person in the room. “It got you a girlfriend at least a few months later than you should have.”

Matt scoffs at the teasing he receives from even his girlfriend, and Jeremy smiles as Matt points to him. “Seriously bro, you should definitely take the leap though, even if it is scary as hell.” 

Jeremy makes a vague gesture with his hands in response to Matt, when he hears support from someone he least expects. 

“Do it.” Andrew is finished paying for the new piercing that he had gotten and looks Jeremy dead in the eye.

Jeremy isn’t exactly sure how to feel about something like Andrew’s support, or whatever this is. It is unexpected to say the least, but just as quickly, Andrew turns away from Jeremy and looks back at Renee. 

“Also, your girlfriend’s bouquets are driving Kevin mad, so good job.” 

With that final, monotone statement at Renee, Andrew takes his leave. Renee looks surprised by what he said, and Jeremy can’t hold back his laughter about the situation again. 

“What does that mean?” Matt is the one to finally ask through their mute surprise and Jeremy’s laughter. 

“They both- ha ha- Renee and Allison were both ordering flowers for each other from the same florist,” he manages to get out around his laughs and everyone begins to laugh with him. Even Renee laughs along with them, even if it is sort of at her expense. Though, Jeremy can tell that Renee seems  eager to text her girlfriend about the entire situation. 

After that, the conversation devolves until each of the tattoo artists has to get ready for individual appointments.

It isn’t until a few days later that Jeremy even gets a chance to ask Jean out and the ribbing amongst his friends has not stopped in that time. He tries to use that ribbing as a confidence booster going into it, yet somehow it is Andrew’s words that stick with him the most. Confidence from the most unlikely corner and all of that, he supposes. 

Jeremy opens the door to Daysies and More and is immediately hit with the sounds of Kevin and Neil arguing in the back of the shop. He looks to Jean with concern, but Jean is simply ignoring the chaotic sounds coming from the back room. 

“Hey, is everything good?” Jeremy asks hesitantly, and Jean rewards him with one of those ghost smiles. 

“Oh yeah, Andrew ruined the bet, so the two of them have been bickering like that for the past few days.” 

Jeremy feels his cheeks heat up a touch as he remembers that whole conversation at the parlor, but he knows that he has to use it. “Okay, um… I had something that I wanted to ask you.” 

“Alright, I am literally all ears right now with those two fighting.”

“I was wondering if you wanted to go out for coffee or something like that sometime. Like on a date.”

There is one beat, two, and Jeremy could swear that he can hear his heart beating directly out of his chest. He honestly can’t remember a time when he was this nervous in the past. Even the first tattoo on a person that he did was not this nerve wracking, since he had practiced tattooing plenty before that. 

“Sure, that sounds like fun,” Jean replies and Jeremy can’t help but let out a gigantic exhale of relief. 

“Awesome, are you free this Saturday?” As much as Jeremy wants  to double and triple check that Jean is sure about agreeing, he also doesn’t want Jean to change his mind either. They work out the details of their date with the sounds of ongoing fighting in the background, and Jeremy doesn’t manage to see either Kevin or Neil before he has to leave again.

Jean does not have work on the day that Jeremy suggests their date be, so there isn’t much to distract him beforehand. However, Jean also refuses to do the stereotypical thing of spending hours before the date agonizing over something like what he is going to wear. Sure, Jean has not really been on a date before, but his wardrobe is mostly black anyway so it isn’t hard to pick out an outfit that matches. 

Instead, Jean makes sure to leave early since he has to walk there. They had agreed upon a coffee shop that both of them mutually seemed to know, The Foxhole. In Jean’s case, he has never been there before, but Kevin talks about it frequently enough, given that his birth father owns the place. Still, having never been there before, Jean wants to leave himself extra time to make sure he finds it alright. 

Once he arrives at the appropriately named hole in the wall type shop, it is clear that he has arrived there first. Given the time of day and the present state of the line, it seems smarter to just order his drink now and find them a comfortable place to sit together. 

Jean finds himself lightly tapping his finger on the table,  a nervous habit that had gotten him in trouble in the past, when Jeremy arrives at the coffee shop. He isn’t late, but he still looks like he is in a rush when he arrives, so Jean waves him over. Jeremy comes over and places his coat on the back of the chair across from Jean. 

“Hey, sorry about making you wait.”

“Not a problem, what’s the rush?” Jean can’t help but ask when he notices the slight flush to Jeremy’s cheeks and slight shortness of breath. 

“Oh, my last consultation ran over so I found myself rushing out the door a bit,” Jeremy replies,  then gestures for Jean to give him a moment while he goes to order himself a drink. 

Jean lets him go, taking the opportunity to simply watch Jeremy as he waits in line. Despite all the times that they have talked at the flower shop, Jean cannot recall a single time that he’d had the chance to do so. They were always conversing, and while that was always pleasant, he is enjoying his chance to just look. 

Not too long after that, Jeremy returns with his drink and a large smile on his face. “There we go, alright. So how are you today?” Jeremy almost seems to collapse into the chair after he has been rushing around and Jean returns his smile with a small one of his own. 

“I am doing well, and you? Aside from the consultation running over, I guess.”

“Oh, it’s all fine. Even the consultation running over was not a bad thing, it mostly happened because the client and I got into a great brainstorming session over the tattoo they wanted. It just meant timing to get here was a bit off.” Jeremy answers his question easily and it seems like with each sip of whatever it is that he ordered, Jeremy is able to relax a bit more. 

The two of them continue to make small talk that seems  appropriate for a date. At least, Jean thinks so, he wouldn’t know from personal experience. It has a similar feeling to their countless conversations  in the flower shop, but at the same time it feels rather different too. If Jean had to guess, it is probably because he is not on the clock right now and they are actually labeling this as a date. 

“So I am curious, what led you to working as a florist?” Jeremy asks him suddenly,  taking Jean out of his mental musings. 

“It was mostly because Kevin was willing to give me a job. The two of us have known each other for a long time, but I suppose that it all has grown on me in time.”

Jeremy gives a chuckle and responds with, “Was that- was that a pun?”

Jean frowns and says in a flat voice, “Of course not, I would never.” Then, a smile cracks on his face and he has Jeremy full on laughing. This is not the first time that he hears Jeremy laugh by far, but he doesn’t think that it will ever get old. “What about you? Why did you become a tattoo artist?”

Jean watches as Jeremy’s face softens and he can see  fire spark in his eyes like it does anytime  Jeremy talks about his tattoo work. “If you asked my mom, she would have said that I always was going to grow up to be an artist, and by the time my first tattoo was done, I was in love with tattoos as a medium.” 

The conversation briefly lulls as they both take a drink of their beverages. “Speaking of tattoos, can I ask you about this?” Jeremy is pointing to his cheekbone, where Jean knows all too well a number three is reflected on his face. 

Jean has to swallow back a bit of bile that threatens to rise in his throat. He refuses to have a bad reaction to a simple question being asked . It had been years now, since Renee had saved him, and he is safe, he is okay.

He can’t stop the way that his breathing has roughened, but he chooses to ignore it. “Oh that? Just a dumb mistake of the past. Kevin used to have one too, before he got it covered.” Jean tries to speak as evenly as possible, forcing the words out. 

A silence falls between them, and Jean finds himself so focused on his own breathing that he doesn’t notice Jeremy has gotten up until he comes back again. He  places a fresh, warm cup into Jean’s hands, and Jean looks up at him. 

“Sorry, it’s just… You seemed stressed from me asking so I got you some tea to maybe help you relax,” Jeremy fumbles over his words  and it surprises Jean enough that he gives a broken chuckle through the tightness in his chest. 

“Thank you,” Jean replies with a small smile before he takes a drink. Both the flavors and the heat of the fresh drink did wonders to melt the tightening coil of anxiety that has formed in his chest. 

It is not long after that that Jeremy has to once again return to work. However, this time, it is Jean that actually suggests that they go on a second date sometime soon. He can tell from Jeremy’s surprised expression that he had thought Jean would not want to go on another date with him, but when Jean asks, Jeremy quickly and happily says yes. This time, they exchange phone numbers for easier date planning before Jeremy has to dash back to work. 

In the end, their date at the Foxhole is just the first of many great dates between him and Jeremy. They frequently return to that coffee shop as it becomes their place. First date, first kiss and later, first ‘I love you.’ When it is first said, it is an accident, a slip of the tongue on Jean’s part, but Jeremy is quick to reassure Jean that he had been thinking the same. The feeling is mutual, has been for a while, and now the two of them have spoken it out loud.