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Cyno had once read in a book that some people were the personification of sunlight, capable of making the world around them shine and of soothing any soul they engaged with. He never indulged in this sort of romantic fantasy, wondering why he still held that memory close despite it being so different from his usual narrative choices. But for some reason, it stuck with him, like a fairytale motto or a lie resting at the back of his mind.
That was, until he met that man.
It was impossible not to notice him. His long, blonde braid seemed made of pure gold, reminding him of the first rays filtering through the windows in the morning. He greeted all passersby as he walked, and old people and children equally smiled at him, stopping in the middle of the sidewalk to have a chat together. He truly caught everyone's attention, and even Cyno wasn't immune to his spell.
Most of the time, he stared at him from afar. He had come to learn the basic details about him thanks to observation and overhearing, or occasionally through his own customers. He worked as a florist at the end of the street. Their shops had compatible opening and closing hours, meaning he had the chance to see him twice a day, as he opened the shutter in the morning and as he put away the signs and price list in the evening.
His name was Aether, and he doubted they'd ever get the chance to speak. First of all, Cyno himself wasn't fond of conversation overall. One of the many perks of his job as a tattoo artist was the lack of meaningful talks. He was too focused on drawing, and the customers were either quiet due to the pain or lost in their thoughts. The silence was the true monarch of his routine.
Secondly, why would someone like him even want to approach him - the aloof, quiet man whose shop just happened to be in the same area? A cheerful, bright florist was possibly the least likely person to interact with him. Their lives couldn't be more different, and he guessed their hobbies and interests didn't coincide either. Not that he'd ever find out, anyway.
Until, one day, he understood that impossible things don't actually exist.
He had to hold back a surprised gasp when he saw Aether step through the glass doors of his shop. At first, he thought he had made a mistake, that he would apologize for the inconvenience and leave, headed to his real destination. Instead, he walked up to the counter with nothing but a hint of shyness, his eyes nervously glancing around the room, until they were face to face.
Cyno's throat suddenly went dry. « Welcome », he managed to say.
Aether seemed surprised to hear his voice. « Huh, good morning », he cleared his throat. He was somehow uneasy, something Cyno was used to seeing - most people came there with a vague idea of what a tattoo was or implied, and he had the tough job of filling them in and putting them at ease. « I'd like to book a tattoo session ».
« Sure ». Although he acted calm as usual, fully sunken in his professional attitude, he was terribly curious. Not that he enjoyed enforcing stereotypes of any sort, but that he would come to ask for a tattoo was honestly something he didn't expect to happen. « Do you already have something in mind? ».
He pointed at the table on the other side of the room, gesturing to him to sit down. Aether obeyed his silent command and awkwardly sat on one of the black couches, fidgeting with the zipper of his bag. Cyno grabbed his notebook and a catalog before joining him.
« I was thinking of something small », Aether said, « Like a flower on the lower wrist ».
Now, that was an interesting choice. Wrist tattoos weren't the most painless, despite their popularity. « I have a few floral designs here », he said. He opened the booklet to the right page and handed it over, showing him some of the pictures. Flowers were a common subject and he was quite experienced, having tattooed roses and daisies for a good portion of his career. « You can choose one of these if you'd like, or I can design a custom one for you ».
Aether had a thorough look at all the drawings in the catalog. Cyno unconsciously found himself staring at his face, trying to peek at the emotions in his eyes. He didn't look too convinced of his own decision, or maybe he was simply shyer than he thought.
« I think anything simple would be alright », he said in the end.
That hardly solved anything. « Is there anything else that comes to your mind? », Cyno pushed. Aether looked more and more uncomfortable, sinking in the fabric of the couch, his bag tightly clutched to his chest. At that point, Cyno felt compelled to abandon his usual quiet nature to at least try and reassure him. « Sorry if I'm asking many questions, but I need more information to make the perfect design for you ».
Aether smiled at him, clearly calmer. Cyno had to admit he rarely met such… fragile customers, and he was taken a little off guard. But he felt honored that such a gentle, cheerful boy wanted a tattoo from him, that he would be the one to grasp the honor of marking his skin forever. He wasn't sure whether he was chosen for a reason, or simply out of the vicinity.
« It's alright », Aether said, « I'm just a bit unprepared ».
« Is this your first tattoo? ». He didn't need to ask. Professionally speaking, he didn't require that answer - he was confident enough in his skills to know he'd do a great job at calming his nerves when the session would begin. What pushed him was genuine curiosity, something he rarely experienced towards other people. And he didn't know why that man had such a weird effect on him.
« Yes », Aether laughed awkwardly, « Is it so obvious? ».
« It's normal to feel insecure », Cyno reassured him, « After all, there are many rumors about tattoos ». Unpleasant memories ran across his mind, reminders of how hard it had been to convince his family to let him walk down this career path, how many struggles he had faced to attract customers with his original designs, how deep-rooted some misconceptions are inside people's heads. He shook his head, chasing them away. « Anyway, if it's the first one, maybe it's safer for you to pick something easy. Any specific flower you'd like? ».
« Yes », the total lack of hesitation surprised Cyno, « A hydrangea ».
He wasn't the expert about flowers in the room, nor did he know a thing about their meanings and symbols. Even so, he figured that if he was so determined, sheer confidence glowing in his eyes, it must have held some special meaning. Prying didn't seem appropriate just yet.
He leaned forward to grab the book. Their fingers brushed together for a second and he tried his best to ignore the tingling feeling running through his entire hand, radiating from where their skins had touched. He flipped to the appropriate page, where a few small designs of hydrangea flowers greeted them.
Aether's eyes attentively scanned all the pictures, before pointing at one of them with his index. « This one would be great », he said.
Cyno took a peak. It was a basic design, delicate and clean, with a scroll under the flower to write a custom name on. « And what name should we add? », he inquired.
« Lumine ».
Cyno's agenda wasn't fully packed for that week, so the day of the session came around quite fast. After applying the gel and transferring the design onto Aether's skin, he was then getting ready to ink.
The blonde man looked as pale as a ghost, so he had no choice but to break his own work ethic and indulge in small talk to keep him calm. Despite his hate for idle chit-chat, strangely enough he didn't mind the idea of doing so with him. Finally, he had the chance to be like those people stopping him in the middle of the streets, desperate to catch his attention. He wanted to see what his power was, why everyone loved him so deeply.
« So », he began inking, « Is this Lumine your wife? ». He didn't wear a ring, but who knew what reason he might have not to. Perhaps he kept it in his pockets, or he didn't take it to work in fear of losing it. Cyno knew some people like that.
« Oh, no, not at all », Aether eagerly shook his head, causing his entire body to tremble. Cyno had to silently tell him " Don't move!" by pushing a hand against his shoulder.
« Then », he took another guess, « Your girlfriend? ».
« Nope! », Aether failed to hold back an amused chuckle, « She's my twin sister ».
Why was Cyno relieved to hear his words? It was shocking to know such a well-known and appreciated person didn't have a partner by his side. Or maybe he did, and it simply wasn't Lumine. After all, didn't everyone fall for the pretty florist in romance novels and movies?
Luckily for him and his poor social skills, he didn't need to push the talk or inquire any further. Aether opened up naturally, like a blooming flower in spring. « We've mentioned getting a matching tattoo for the longest time », he said, « But we never managed to ».
« How come? », Cyno asked.
Aether shrugged slightly, earning another gentle push from Cyno. « She's studying abroad », he said, « We haven't met in forever. She's always busy with a part-time job and her university, so… We didn't have the chance ».
The conversation died for a while. Cyno thought it was alright this way - they had said enough, he had all the information a regular stranger should know, and perhaps even a little more. But then Aether flinched in pain, so he scrambled to find a new topic, to keep his mind busy and distract him from the thought of the needle.
« Does this flower have a special meaning? », he asked.
Aether hummed. « It symbolizes deep emotions for your siblings », he explained, « I'm getting this tattooed so that I'll always think about her, even if she's so far away ».
Cyno smiled. « That's sweet », he said.
There was a new, bright light in Aether's eyes when he talked about flowers. It was endearing, to say the least. It didn't last long, yet Cyno felt as if he could spend days listening to him gush about his passion, flooding him with useless (but somehow interesting) data about plants.
And he wondered what was the feeling starting to form at the bottom of his chest.
No matter how hard he tried to forget about it, the image of Aether's excited smile refused to disappear from his mind. He rarely had the chance to meet someone as bright as him, someone who'd send a thrill down his spine with the mere use of his voice. The memory of their conversation as he tattooed his wrist, despite being mostly small talk with no big surprises, was carved line by line inside his chest.
Now he understood many things. At first, he craved a conversation with him in order to find out why everyone seemed desperate for his attention, and perhaps he had thought he would be able to escape his spell, to see him for what he truly was instead of being charmed. Unfortunately, his plan was doomed to fail: a couple of hours of his company had proven to be enough to completely lure him in.
And now all he wanted was to meet him again. Not just because he had a beautiful face and a calming presence; those were sides of him he was interested in, sure, but not his main goal. What he truly needed to see was his eager expression, the passionate tone of his voice as he explained things about his interests, the gentle trembling of his lips when he mentioned his family. That was indeed the Aether that Cyno was longing for.
It felt slightly silly to fall for a person he barely knew the basic information of. But that was a constant in all the books he had read and all the artist biographies he had skimmed through - no matter what genre the authors were keen on or what personal hobbies they had, love was always a life-changing twist in their lives.
Luckily enough for him, the right excuse to see him again came around quite soon. As Aether had pointed out himself upon walking inside his shop, there were a couple of decorative plants scattered around as decoration. He had bought them at the start of his activity and, although he had given them all of his love and attention, the petals were starting to wither and refused to bloom even at the peak of spring. Almost as if they had perceived his need to visit a florist, and had chosen to sacrifice themselves to grant him that wish.
While he walked to the door of the flower shop, Cyno's heart raced. He had never seen the inside before, failing to find any occasion which would justify his presence there. Sure, browsing was free and encouraged, but he knew Aether would be curious about his reason to get lost among flowers, and he wasn't sure he'd be able to face him without spilling the truth - "I just came to see you" sounded like an awful mistake.
He entered. The room was the perfect reflection of Aether's soul: everything was brimming with light, and flowers lined up on the shelves and hanging from the ceiling in perfect, colorful compositions gave the entire place a shiny and joyful aura. Cyno didn't truly believe in heaven, but he was sure that was a close representation of what it would be like.
« Oh, it's you! », Aether's voice caught him off guard, dragging him out of his daydream, « I didn't expect to see you here! ».
" Neither did I" , Cyno swallowed back his answer, greeting him with a nod of his head instead.
Aether was indeed in his natural habitat, radiating pure sunshine as he showed him around. Rather than a customer, Cyno felt like a guest visiting a friend's house, or a tourist being guided through a museum. And, as he had imagined, Aether's smile was as bright as he remembered.
« Are you looking for something? », Aether asked after dragging him by the sleeve across the entire shop.
« Kind of », Cyno answered, « I was planning to change the flowers in my shop, and thought this was the best place to find ideas ».
He noticed Aether's fingers still locked around the fabric of his shirt, and gently pulled away. The blonde man blushed at that gesture and hid his arms behind his back. « I'd be glad to help! », he said, « What kind of flower did you think of? ».
And that's when Cyno's mind went blank. All the ideas he had considered and the research he had done (only to impress him with his freshly gained flower knowledge) disappeared in the blink of an eye, leaving him gaping in search of the right words. He never felt so pathetic in his life. Just how could another person have this devastating effect on his sanity?
« Actually », he improvised, « I thought you might suggest something special ».
His sentence seemed to breach right through Aether's heart. He blinked in confusion for a moment, before his entire face lit up in joy and excitement. There it was again, the smile that had stolen his heart, once more reserved to him and him only.
« Oh, sure », Aether began rambling, happily bouncing from one potted plant to the other, « Let's see what we have. There are purple orchids, for example - they symbolize royalty, but from a purely aesthetic point of view I think they would look great in your shop. Or else, what about tulips? ».
Cyno heard and understood half of what he was saying, and ended up purchasing the flowers that made Aether smile the most when gushing about them. Somewhere along the conversation, he found himself thinking that he'd do anything to see that happy face forever.
Aether waved at him as he passed in front of his shop. Cyno greeted him back, still unable to believe this was seriously happening.
They met more and more often. After he visited him to buy flowers, he didn't expect their encounters to go much further. After all, they had exchanged trades and a few sentences, that was about it. What more could he aspire to share with him?
But then, he had to take back his words. The day after that, Aether had come at lunchtime, asking to see the plants he had recommended to him in their new home. While Cyno hurriedly hid the sandwich he was munching, he clapped his hands in joy, seeing his suggestion had been spot-on. The tulips contrasted harshly with the color scheme of the shop, but in a surprisingly harmonic way.
Since that moment, Aether's visits had turned into a scheduled appointment. Whenever he had small doubts, random thoughts, insignificant things to say, he stormed through his door like a hurricane, leaving Cyno more and more confused. And, unfortunately, more and more infatuated as well. If initially Aether's smile was but a transient memory buried in his heart, now it was a stable fundamental in his life that he wanted to keep close.
He wondered if Aether was being sincere. Did he consider him a friend and sought him to have pleasant small talk, or was he simply looking for excuses as Cyno did as well in the past? But despite the hours he spent thinking and pondering about it, he couldn't come up with a reason why someone like him would be so desperate to stick around.
One thing Cyno didn't fail to notice was the way Aether's eyes continuously dashed between him, sitting behind the counter, and the walls of his shop. Unable to decipher his mood nor to understand whether he was peeking at the framed drawings out of awkwardness or interest, one day he chose to solve the mystery and ask him straight ahead.
« Aether », he said, « Is there anything you'd like to tell me? ».
Aether blushed and laughed uncomfortably, like a thief caught red-handed. « How do you always see when I'm being hesitant? », he asked, « But yes, actually, there's something I wanted to ask ».
Cyno gulped, trying to keep his heartbeat under control. « And that is? », he dared to pry.
« I'd like to get a second tattoo ». Cyno was about to deem that dialogue as underwhelming and against his expectations, when Aether added one more question. « Are those your original designs? ».
Their glances met, and Aether nodded towards the wall, filled to the brim with countless framed drawings. « Yeah », Cyno said.
« You're so good! », Aether exclaimed. Cyno looked at him with furrowed eyebrows, not sure if he should accept the compliment or dismiss it, afraid his flushed cheeks showed his real feelings well enough. « If you don't mind, I'd like you to design a tattoo for me ».
Cyno had never struggled so hard to design a tattoo before. For some reason, he was perpetually dissatisfied with any idea he came up with. Flowers, animals, frames… he had tried anything that flew across his mind, to no avail.
He rarely cared about people as much as he did for Aether. This realization had come to his mind on his closing day, as he sweated and grew increasingly irritated over his request, scrapping sheet after sheet. It was easy to make up a random motive for a stranger, the highest effort being matching it to their appearance and general taste, but finding something that suited Aether's personality was extremely challenging.
There were so many sides of him, and Cyno had gotten acquainted with most of them. He knew the professional Aether, a serious and reliable grin on his lips as he welcomed customers and satisfied their needs. Then, there was the annoyed Aether, who pouted when it rained unexpectedly or when snow caught him off guard, his shoes sinking in the white wet mantle as he dashed across the street, almost forgetting to greet Cyno on his way. He couldn't forget about the nostalgic Aether either, a sad veil clouding up his eyes when he mentioned his sibling or his family. And, of course, his personal favorite, the one that kept him up at night - the enthusiastic, happy Aether smiling when talking about what he loved.
That's when an epiphany struck him. Perhaps, instead of portraying all of Aether in a single drawing, he had to capture his deepest essence on paper. Not just anyone's Aether, but his vision of him.
Before he knew it, his hand was moving on its own, tracing firm lines on the sheet. He remembered what had caught his attention upon first meeting him, how he considered him to be the personification of sunlight itself. Flowers would be unoriginal, frames or motifs would be impersonal - no, the sun was perfect for him.
What mattered, though, was the client's approval.
Impatient, Cyno dressed up at the speed of light, before running out of his house and rushing to the flower shop. There was no time to waste, no way he could sit around and wait for their next encounter. He needed to know if his inspiration was right, or if Aether would hate the design he had come up with.
He was lucky enough to enter the shop in a moment of quiet, with no queues or customers inside. A private space only for the two of them, for his muse and his masterpiece. He slammed the piece of paper on the counter, and Aether stared at it in confusion.
« What do you think? », Cyno asked, only now realizing he was completely out of breath.
Aether's reaction was priceless. His cheeks flushed red, and his eyes sparkled like stars in the night sky as he picked up the sketch with shaky fingers, unable to stop smiling.
« I... », he stuttered, « I, huh, this is definitely not what I was expecting. But it's... ».
« It's? », Cyno urged him, eager.
Aether looked up, and their glances met. Cyno's heart skipped a beat, and his face caught heat in the span of a second, like a sudden fire in the woods. Small, glowy tears pooled at the corner of Aether's eyes, leaving him breathless.
« It's amazing ».
Cyno was… happy. It was the first time in a very long while that he felt so light, so full of joy he could almost jump up and touch the sky with his hand. He needed to keep his cool, though, or else he'd risk too much. Now that he had come to terms with his emotions, that he had accepted he was head over heels for this silly sunshine man, he had to keep it a secret. That was the only way for him to be allowed to stick around, to enjoy the warmth radiating from him without exposing himself too much.
« I'm glad to hear that », he said, « Then come by to book an appointment when you can, and we'll get it done ». Contrary to his previous logical thoughts, Cyno ended up following the pure flow of his feelings. His fingers ran down Aether's hair, gently grabbing the soft braid and bringing it to his mouth. He kissed its end, with only a feathery brush of his lips, before looking up at him again. « See you ».
And he left without waiting for his reply, completely unaware of Aether's flustered reaction.
Although he was more than delighted that the tattoo session had gone by smoothly, a vague fear still lingered at the bottom of Cyno's heart. What if, in spite of everything they had shared, of their little fleeting moments together, that was the last true chance they got to properly hang out?
Aether had been clear about not wanting a third tattoo, at least for the moment being. And Cyno had no further need for plants or flowers, his precious tulips still glowing with life. So, what else could they need to say to each other? What else could he hope to bring in Aether's life?
But like any other negative feeling, all it took for his doubts to dissipate was a glimpse of Aether's smile. That was what he needed to feel safe, to make sure their bond was still solid and unaltered. And that was the reason leading him there, pushing open the glass door to the flower shop, a couple of days after the tattoo session.
He was playing his last card. The last formal excuse he could find, his final resource. It was only natural for a tattoo artist to make sure his client's skin was healing properly, wasn't it? It didn't matter that he was going to run out of pretexts to meet him after that.
Aether greeted him with his usual bright smile. « Cyno! », hearing his voice saying his name always sent a pleasant shiver down his spine, « Look at the flowers I just received! They'd look great in your shop ».
He led him to the side of the room, among the colorful petals of a million plants. Needless to say, he was breathtakingly beautiful, way more than the flowers he contentedly praised.
« How's your tattoo? », he finally found the courage to ask.
Aether tossed a quick glance at the entrance to make sure no customers had entered the shop. Once he was sure they were alone, he lowered the collar of his shirt, exposing his collarbones. The small inked drawing of a sun with its rays greeted him, standing out so vividly against his pale skin. It was possibly his best creation so far, and every part of it fit Aether in an impossibly perfect way.
« Do you like it? », Cyno asked.
The atmosphere between them was thick, weirdly intimate. He didn't realize he was whispering, his expectant tone making it seem as if he wasn't talking about the tattoo, but about something else. Was he asking him if he liked the inking job, or if he liked him ?
« I love it », Aether whispered back. And his voice, too, seemed to hide many secret meanings.
Cyno found the courage to take a step closer to him, his pleasant scent of flowers instantly hitting his nose. « So... », he hesitated, « You don't regret it? ».
« Not in the slightest ».
Their eyes locked together in the most awkward moment of silence Cyno had ever experienced before. He had no clue where the metaphor began and where the truth was concealed, all he knew was that he loved Aether, very much so - and that his questions were his desperate attempt to get validation for his feelings.
He grabbed Aether's braid like he had done last time. He regretted not stopping by, fleeing in shame before he could check his reaction. What kind of face did he make when he had brushed his lips against his hair? Was he disgusted, or happy?
The answer came unexpectedly. Aether stepped on his tiptoes and leaned forward, erasing any distance between them with a gentle kiss. It took Cyno his best effort not to faint, his heartbeat racing at impossible speed in his chest - but then, he returned the kiss. It was no more than a brief, silent moment of intimacy, yet it felt like a precious treasure.
Perhaps he didn't need to find excuses to visit him anymore.
And when they parted, Aether was smiling. That cheerful, adorable grin that had stolen Cyno's heart at first glance.