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You’ve finally built up the courage to get your first tattoo, after much persistence from your friends and even some family members. You’ve asked them for shop recommendations, done lots of research for designs, and even watched videos in advance about tattoo aftercare. After the pleasant meeting with a tattoo artist who had a friendly personality and comfortable aura, your appointment is finally scheduled in three weeks.
Coming into the shop, you spot Komori, your tattoo artist, at the front desk talking to someone. You patiently wait until he finishes his conversation with the intimidating yet handsome man, taking your time to admire the antiques and vintage items around the shop. Komori finally spots you, standing stiffly by the entrance and calls your name, “Hey, sorry for the wait! But I’ve made a few adjustments to the design, come take a look.”
You timidly walk over to the countertop, nervously smiling at your tattoo artist as you feel another pair of eyes staring daggers at you. Komori doesn’t notice your unease and starts to explain his design, “These are yellow daffodils and they mainly symbolize new beginnings. And in your case, your new beginning is getting your first tattoo.”
You smile as you look at the finished drawing, it is definitely lovely, the intricate details and choice of color are exquisite and exceeds your expectation, “I love it.” You mutter to yourself, but both men definitely catch your words.
Sakusa blankly stares at you, definitely out of place in this tattoo shop, and his judgment was right when his cousin mentioned this being your first tattoo. He takes a closer look at you, but Komori clears his throat, making you both look at him, “Well then, if you’re happy with this, let’s head over to my station.”
You give Komori a smile to hide your nerves, following him towards the chair despite still feeling the curly haired man’s orbs following your every movement. You didn’t have the courage to tell him off or even look at him, afraid that you might accidentally lose a client for the shop. “Which side of your ribs are we placing the tattoo again?”
“This side please.” You gently tap your right side, feeling your hands tremble and immediately twist them behind your back.
“Alright. Please lift up your shirt while I prepare the stencil.” Komori talks to you, maybe he finally noticed how stiff you are compared to your other consultation session. He casually asks about your week and talks about his, forming a comfortable atmosphere that distracts you from the impending pain. “I’ve placed it at a nice spot. There’s a mirror over there so you can check if you’re fine with the placement.”
Looking at your side, you confirm that Komori is an expert at his craft. You can see every detail he put into making the tattoo, even neatly placing the medium-sized drawing on your ribs, “This looks good, Komori-san.”
“Please, no need for formalities here.” He smiles at you.
From the corner of your eye, you spot the handsome man browsing around the shop, tinkering with the various antiques. This is the first time that you’ve given him a proper look, from his sharp jawline to his beautiful angled nose, and the beauty marks on his forehead that just adds to his already handsome side profile. You scan his all black outfit, noticing its simplicity but definitely screams designer and expensive.
You force yourself to look away, too hypnotized by the mysterious aura he has. You lay down on your side, as Komori preps your skin, “This tattoo will take at least two hours to finish, that already includes coloring and shading.” You nod at him, and he continues, “Just inform me if you wanna take a break, especially since this is your first.”
You take a deep breath, readying yourself to feel the pain from the constant pricks from the tattoo gun. “I’m starting.” Komori informs you, and you wince when the needle hits your skin. Pain is subjective, this is how your friends reassured you, saying that their tattoos did not hurt at all. But now, you want to cuss them out for lying to you. Pain is pain , you think to yourself, clenching your mouth shut to avoid screaming in agony.
“Oh? Brave of you to get your first tattoo on the rib.” It was an unfamiliar voice, and taking a peek, you see the handsome stranger in front of you. A small gasp escapes your lips, tightening your hold on the shirt you have lifted up. You see him up closer, his pretty dark eyes that are staring at your exposed skin, making you feel self-conscious.
“Sakusa, don’t scare away my client.” Komori proceeds to rant about the multiple times clients ran away from the shop because of his cold demeanor, and even made one cry because they thought that the devil was about to take them. You can’t help but let out a tiny chuckle at the stories while Sakusa just rolls his eyes at the over exaggeration.
“It isn’t my fault for being born with such an intimidating face.” He shrugs his shoulders, eyes shifting from looking at your tattoo to your contorted face. Sakusa frowns when he notices your discomfort and is suddenly talking more, “That’s a nice design you’ve got.”
But before you could respond, his cousin beat you to it, “Of course it is, I’m the one who made it.”
“Don’t get too cocky now.” Sakusa’s tone is laced with venom, disliking how Komori interrupted you. But Komori is used to how Sakusa is, one of the few people who could stand his brutal words.
“Mhm, I guess I’ll make your next tattoo extra ugly then.” He knows that his cousin was only joking, but Sakusa stays silent just in case.
A genuine smile finally makes an appearance on your face, enjoying the banter they are having. Your eyes slowly drift towards Sakusa, taking in every tattoo design that covers most of his arms. Admiring the masterpiece on his skin, as it helps take your mind off the needle stabbing you. He catches you looking at his sleeve, extending his arm closer for you to inspect, you look up and finally make eye contact with him. He gives you a nod, permission to take a look at them.
You look down back down on his forearm when you feel a blush forming on your cheeks, recalling the glimpse you had of his pretty eyes. “Your tattoos are so beautiful.” You reach out and immediately retract your hand, knowing that anyone would be freaked out if a stranger touches their tattoos out of nowhere.
“All of those are thanks to me.” Komori smugly says as Sakusa snorts at how arrogant his cousin sounded.
Sakusa enjoys the attention you give him, and he’s glad that he soothes some of your pain, letting your mind wander off from the tattoo being branded on your skin. He shows you his other arm too, giving you more areas to look at. Your different facial expressions are what he enjoys watching, how quickly it changes from amazement to shock as you admire every single piece on his tattoo sleeves.
“Can I ask, which is your first tattoo?” Your curiosity gets to you.
You notice the corner of Sakusa’s lips lift up, “Actually, my first were also daffodils.” He twists his arm to show you his inner forearm, there you see his tattoo of three stemmed daffodils, looking very similar to what is being inked on your skin.
“Are you alright that we share almost the same design?” You cautiously ask him, maybe Komori hasn’t asked Sakusa about it, maybe Sakusa dislikes sharing the same design with a weird stranger, maybe you’ll be stuck with an unfinished tattoo on your skin from now on.
Sakusa shrugs his shoulders, “I don’t really mind it. It would honestly make a nice story to tell friends, how I have a matching tattoo with a stranger.” It’s the first time you see him smile and your heart can’t help but flutter at the sight.
“Did you also get it because it meant new beginnings?”
Sakusa usually did not offer much when it comes to sharing the meanings of his tattoos, but he’ll make an exception for you. “Initially no. Daffodils usually last for many months, and are usually the first flowers to bloom after winter. They survive the harshest weather conditions but still persist to survive and enjoy the warmth of the next season. It’s my constant reminder that I can endure everything because spring will definitely come.”
A tranquil silence surrounds you both, only the buzzing of the tattoo gun can be heard. You are amazed at Sakusa’s extensive knowledge on the flower, definitely did more extensive research compared to you. During your first session, you only asked Komori to design you a flower that would hold some sort of meaning behind it.
Sakusa starts to chuckle, “That's actually my second reason for choosing daffodils.”
“There’s more meaning to it?”
“Yeah, but it sounds more stupid than my previous answer.” The shine in your eyes urges him to spill the truth behind his tattoo, “I got daffodils because it was the birth flower for March, and my birthday falls on that month. Also explains why there are three stems.”
“I don’t think that’s a stupid reason.” You smile at him, loving how your knowledge on daffodils grew dramatically, that there were so much more meanings behind the said flower.
Sakusa returns your smile, “I don’t usually share this information with anybody. But if you must know, I also have twenty daffodils scattered all over my arms to signify my birthday, March 20th.”
“Yeah, and it was a pain to find the perfect placements for 17 buds of daffodils after having tons of tattoos already covering your skin.” Despite scoffing at Sakusa’s words, Komori’s steady hand continues to outline your tattoo.
“But you made it work, and that was how you became a great tattoo artist.” Sakusa grabs an extra chair, sits in front of you and beside Komori.
“Yeah yeah yeah, you’re still paying for your next tattoo you know.”
You giggle at their conversation, finally finding solace inside the shop and can completely ignore the pain of the needle on your side. Sakusa moves his arm again in front of you, “Want to find the other 17 daffodils?” You nod at him.
It takes you a while before you find all 17 of them, as you keep asking about the stories behind his other tattoos. You also share some of your similar experiences, opening up more about your personal life to a total stranger.
Komori ended up finishing the tattoo in exactly two and a half hours. But he can’t find a way to sneak in and break your conversation. Seeing the pleasant expression on Sakusa’s face as he talks and willingly opens up to you, Komori wouldn’t dare interrupt this cute moment of his cousin. Komori is sure to tease Sakusa about the tender gaze he has on you, but right now, he leaves you two be.
Komori remembers one more meaning behind daffodils, ‘ the sun is always shining when I am with you. ’ Maybe the next time you come in, he’d suggest putting that quote next to the daffodils. He definitely sees how both you and Sakusa are shining brightly because of each other, because you are each other's daffodils.