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Day 4 ~ Plants/Animals ▪︎ Tattoo Artist AU!
"I can't thank you enough for these designs, Bokuto-san."
"For the last time, you can just call me Keiji. Bokuto-san is Kōtarō."
"I mean it though, Keiji-san. If being an editor doesn't work out, I'd hire you full time in a heartbeat. Everyone loves your pieces."
"That's all because of you."
"I just do the ink. I can't draw with a pencil for crap."
Keiji shrugged. "I've always enjoyed doodling, even in high school. It was a stress reliever."
"I always used to draw little pen tattoos for the team whenever we got bored. It was Tsukki who suggested that I open a tattoo parlor."
"Speaking of Tsukki," Keiji put his pencil down with a smirk. "You'll be a Tsukishima soon, right?"
Yamaguchi blushed, his smile growing. He nodded. "It still caught me off guard when he asked me to marry him. Said he even went to Hinata, Kageyama, and Yachi for help."
Akaashi laughed at that. "It's like how Kōtarō went to Kuroo. I'll never understand men."
"Men indeed." The door to his shop opened. He looked up at the signature chime from the bell. "Welcome in!"
"Keiji! Mini Tsukkipoo!"
Yamaguchi put his rag down, looking up at Bokuto with a lopsided smile. "Mini Tsukkipoo?"
"Yeah! You're marrying Tsukkipoo so now you're Mini Tsukkipoo. At least until you have kids."
"We just got engaged a few days ago," Yamaguchi shook his head. "And besides, we haven't even started planning the wedding. The weddings not for another six months since it's going to be a bit smaller and we still have to go through getting our certificate and finding a place to have a ceremony-"
"Point in case," Keiji interrupted before they could both start going off on tangents. "You can still call him Yamaguchi." He stood and moved from behind the counter so that Bokuto could kiss him. "How was practice?"
"Tsum-Tsum is crazy when it comes to sets. Not as good as you though."
"Kōtarō, that was like three years ago. And Atsumu was named Japan's best setter when we were second years. He's probably way better than me now."
"I'm sure if I asked Meian if you could set for me, he'd be okay with it!"
"He'd be okay with it because he knows I can keep you under control," he mumbled under his breath. He grabbed Bokuto's hand and frowned. "Where's your ring?"
Kōtarō looked down at the diamond silver band on Keiji's finger. "Meian told me to stop wearing it cause he was scared I would damage it," he pouted.
"I don't blame him. You are an outsider hitter. Not only could you damage your ring, but you could hurt your finger."
"But I always kiss my ring during games! Now I can't."
Keiji smiled, placing his husband's face between his hands. "It's alright, Kōtarō. I'd rather you not wear it than get hurt."
"If you'd like," Yamaguchi interrupted, flipping through a binder that he kept at the front counter. He didn't continue until he found the page he was looking for. "You can get a tattoo of your ring. People do it all the time."
Bokuto and Keiji looked through the pictures. Keiji was the first to speak. "That's actually really smart." He turned to the volleyball player. "If you want to."
"Will it hurt?" Bokuto asked, looking at Yamaguchi.
"It will…but it's a good alternative to wearing a ring. It's not uncommon for athletes to do it but I won't force you."
"Why don't we head home and you can think it over?" Keiji asked. Bokuto nodded in response.
"I'd be more than happy to do it free of charge." He began closing the register. "Just let me know what you decided."
"I'm home…"
Yamaguchi smiled, standing up from his spot on the couch. He almost laughed when he saw how exhausted Tsukishima looked. "Welcome back, my lovely fiancé. How was practice?"
He kissed Yamaguchi's forehead. "The team was hounding me all practice about the engagement. I don't even know how they found out but I don't like that they did." He combed his fingers through Yamaguchi's hair. He'd decided to grow it out during college and Tsukishima was glad he did. It brought him comfort.
The tattoo artist laughed. "It's because I posted about it and Koganegawa follows me."
The blonde rolled his eyes. "And we all know he can't keep his mouth shut. By the way, Coach wants you to drop by when you get the chance but there's no rush."
"I swear that I'm basically just a part of the team now."
"That's because nearly everyone there likes you more than me. They also all just wanna see the ring."
Yamaguchi wrapped his arms around the middle blocker's neck. "Is my Kei jealous?" He then processed what Tsukishima had said. "You didn't show it to them?"
"I didn't bring it. I didn't want to lose it or damage it so I just left it here. It's sitting in the box on the dresser."
"Oh…" He thought back to what Bokuto had said. "I get it. Now go wash up so we can eat. I'm starving."
Later that night, Yamaguchi brought up his conversation with Kōtarō and Keiji. "Once we get our official wedding rings, would you ever consider getting it tattooed?"
To Tsukishima's credit, he actually stopped to think about the answer. "Maybe. I've seen some people use silicon rings and some people have tattooed them. Kyōtani has his tattooed on actually. Why? Does Bokuto wanna get his tattooed?"
"He's thinking about it. But I just thought…you're twenty-four. You'll probably play for a while unless you get injured—which I hope you don't! And plus, I…I think it'd be special if I tattooed my husband's wedding ring, you know? It'd be like combining two parts of my life."
Tsukishima chuckled, grabbing Yamaguchi's hand across the table. "You're such a romantic, you know that?" He shrugged. "If you really wanna do it, then I'll think about it."
"Really?!" He got up to hug his fiancé. "I love you."
Tsukishima laughed again. "I love you too."
A couple of months later, the Bokuto's came into Yamaguchi's parlor. The twenty-four year old smiled. "You decided to get your ring tattooed?"
Bokuto nodded. Yamaguchi could tell how excited he was. "Yeah. I tried wearing a silicon one but it just wasn't the same. So I decided that I wanna tattoo it."
"Alright, let's get you set up." He guided Bokuto over to a chair before grabbing everything he needed. "I'm gonna hold on to your ring to see it for reference, okay?"
"Do whatever you need to, Mini Tsukkipoo!"
Yamaguchi laughed before starting on Bokuto's tattoo. "That's such a pretty ring by the way." Talking helped distract the customer and honestly, it stopped Yamaguchi's mind from wandering.
"I picked it!"
"Really?" Yamaguchi glanced up at Keiji, who nodded.
"I wanted to get him something extra special. It's white gold."
"With diamonds?" He could practically hear his wallet crying.
"I told him that he didn't need to get me anything that fancy, but he wouldn't listen." He heard Keiji sigh. "But I absolutely love it."
There was a comfortable silence (filled with Yamaguchi's light humming) before the ravenette spoke again. By now, Yamaguchi was nearly done with the tattoo. "How's wedding planning?"
"We have our venue and we've sent our invitations—did you get yours?"
"We did. We sent back the official RSVP this morning but we're coming."
"Awesome! We're letting Asahi design our kimonos for us and he's going to tailor our suits so he should be done in the next couple of weeks. Tsukki was looking into the venue for the reception so we should be hearing back soon. Now it's just waiting for the day to come."
"What about the rings?"
"I haven't shown you?! Grab my phone." He heard Keiji leave as he finished up a few minor details. He then turned to Bokuto. "You took that like a champ."
"You know I've been through worse pains. You played volleyball."
"That I did." He applied some ointment before wrapping his finger with plastic wrap. "Some tattoo aftercare: don't put your ring back on for a few hours and don't touch the plastic. I'd say give it about four hours just to be safe but a minimum of two because it's so small. Afterwards, wash your hands and then just let the tattoo heal and breathe. Your finger might hurt for about a day but don't pick at the tattoo. It'll fade over time and then you can decide if you want me to touch it up or just let it fade. Keiji-san knows basic tattoo care so if you have any questions, you can ask him or even text me."
"Awesome! How much do I owe you?"
"Absolutely nothing," Yamaguchi said as Keiji came back with his phone.
The ravenette grabbed his husband's hand. "It looks good. How long for the plastic wrap?"
"Like two to four hours." He wiped off his hands before grabbing his phone. He tapped a few things before he showed it to Keiji.
The ravenette let out a low whistle. "That's nice. It's fun and unique. Kinda like you two."
"Tsukki let me pick them since he chose the engagement ring." He looked down at his finger. "I told him I wanted something more than a plain band."
"Speaking of rings and fingers, you have someone else waiting up front who wants a finger tattoo."
He checked the clock on the wall. "I have four hours before my next appointment. Send them back."
"Yeah. I'll text you later, okay?"
"Sure! See you Keiji-san, Bokuto-san!"
"Later, Mini Tsukkipoo!"
There was about another ten minutes of silence before he heard footsteps. He didn't look up from the supplies that he was currently cleaning and setting up. "Go ahead and take a seat and I'll be right with you. You're doing a finger tattoo today?"
"Yeah, my fiancé really wanted me to get one since I don't wanna risk damaging my ring."
Yamaguchi turned so fast he nearly gave himself whiplash. "Tsukki!"
"Hey…it's been a while since I've been in here. The place looks good."
"You actually wanna get the tattoo?!"
"Yeah. I thought about what you said and it is a good idea. Kyōtani also told me to do it when I told him that you were the one who suggested it."
"He's a smart man."
"I swear everyone on the team just kisses up to you and you're not even a member." He watched as Yamaguchi planted a kiss on his finger.
"You sure you want this? 'Cause once I start, there's no turning back for a long while."
"Why would I back out?"
"Because once I tattoo this ring, you're stuck with me forever…or at least until it fades."
Tsukishima smiled. "I see no problem with that at all."