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“Hey Big Q, you hear the news?”
Quackity turned to face Foolish as he walked through the doors to his tattoo parlor. He loved his store – classy, sleek, and stylish, with a touch of his own personal flair, it was his pride and joy. He had put in a lot of hard work into his business, and he was proud of its success. So, of course, he had a hunch of what Foolish had discovered and was concerned about. Not only did he do his research to stay on top, he also had eyes that noticed the set-up of a flower shop directly across the street from his store. Right across from the entrance he had just stepped through.
“Yeah, I noticed” Quackity sighed, “I wonder if it’ll be better than that jewelry store?”
“Well, we were here first – if you don’t want to sell your products around people with ink, don’t open your store across from a tattoo parlor” Foolish said.
Quackity patted Foolish’s shoulder, “Well entitled people don’t see the world the way we do. Have you seen the owner? Or anybody who works there?”
“Yeah, some guy around our age but ridiculously tall. Big friendly giant kind of energy, at least from what I’ve seen” Foolish answered.
“You guys talking about the new florist? We’ve started taking bets on how long he’s going to last” Sam said as he entered the store front.
Quackity laughed, “You’re all terrible people. We shouldn’t judge the new guy just because the last store tried to start shit.”
“Okay, if you’re so confident, why don’t you offer to help him?” Sam gestured behind them.
Quackity turned and noticed a truck had just parked outside of the flower shop, the owner appeared to be stuck by himself to sort out his new inventory. The tattoo artist wondered for a moment if the florist had anyone else employed under him, or if he was stuck doing everything alone. He felt a little bad for the florist who worked hard to get his stock into his new store. He looked over at his two employees and knew that he was the one who would be going to offer his assistance. With a glare he went to go give the florist some assistance.
So, he walked out across the street to the truck and waited for the florist to take notice of him. He also took the opportunity to admire the store’s design. The name of the store, ‘Soot’s Enchanting Flowers’, was written in a stylized calligraphy font. The style was more cottagecore and witchcraft vibes, which made sense based on the name of the shop, but had just a touch of class that Quackity could appreciate. The store was basically a place where you would want to take a selfie in every corner, it was just missing its flowers.
“Need a hand?” when the florist turned around, Quackity continued, “I’m from across the street and saw you struggling. I figured I’d offer to help.”
The florist smiled, “Thank you, I’d appreciate it, but I don’t want to take away from your work. My brothers were supposed to help me, but a bunch of things came up, so they’re delayed.”
“It’s no problem at all. We’re not even open yet, it’s all just preparations” Quackity replied.
“Alright, I guess I’ll accept your help. I’m Wilbur” the florist said with a grin.
Wilbur was a giant. That had been the first thing Quackity noticed about him. But, as Foolish had stated, he did give off friendly giant vibes. For starters, the flower shop uniform was a pale green, long-sleeved button up underneath a pale blue apron with flower embroidery trimming and the store name on the chest. His smile was kind and patient, and he had a sort of boy next door kind of charm to him. He would be the kind of man anyone would be glad to bring home to meet their mother.
“Quackity” the tattoo artist introduced, “Direct me where you need me.”
With that, Quackity followed Wilbur’s instructions as he helped unload everything the florist needed into his shop. He got to watch as what he had thought was a beautiful, cottagecore-vibe store had transformed into a fantasy paradise right before his eyes. Flowers covered every corner as if the store was the embodiment of spring itself. What caught Quackity’s eye was the stunning floral wreath behind the counter shaped to look like two crescent moons with a full moon in the center, with five crystals dangling from the center moon by decorative string.
Really, when Quackity thought about it, there were a lot of little details around the shop that made it stand out. Moon imagery was everywhere you looked in the décor – from shelving, to suncatchers, to mirrors. Behind the counter space were also a series of shelves, two triangles pointed upwards and two pointed downwards – with one of each of the pairs having a shelf that extended past the edge of triangle. There was also a charming set of bells on the door that would alert the florist if anyone entered, styled with a small pentacle on the very top of each bell.
“Is that everything?” Quackity asked.
Wilbur laughed, “Everything in that truck. Thank you, really. This would have taken forever without your help.”
“Just being a good neighbor” Quackity replied, “If you ever need anything else, you can always come bother me or my workers. We’ll be more than happy to help.”
“Still, let me get you a drink or something to make up for the hard work” Wilbur started walking into the backroom, “Do you have any preferences? Or dietary restrictions?”
“No, surprise me” Quackity called.
Wilbur made some kind of noise of agreement in the back, before he was silent for a moment, which allowed Quackity to admire the store a bit more. When the florist returned, Quackity did a double take at the two drinks he had on his tray. Through the clear glasses was a clear gradient in the drink, from a red to a bright gold. When Wilbur set the drinks in front of them, the tattoo artist wondered for a moment if this was an attempt of sabotage, or if his new neighbor had a problem with alcoholism.
“Did you just make a Tequila Sunrise?” Quackity couldn’t believe anyone would make anything alcoholic this early in the workday.
The florist laughed loudly, “It’s actually a Pomegranate Sunrise. Looks very similar, but it’s non-alcoholic. It also makes for getting a very good reaction from people who don’t know any better.”
“You are a man of chaos, Mr. Soot” Quackity grinned.
The florist hadn’t been lying to him, when Quackity took a hesitant sip, he realized from the taste that it really had been a mocktail rather than a proper cocktail. And the tattoo artist had to respect a man who intentionally drank mocktails just to get reactions out of people who thought he was drinking a proper cocktail before it had even reached lunchtime. It must have made for some good fun from time to time.
“Hey, can I ask you a question?” Wilbur’s expression had turned serious as he said this.
“Yeah, shoot.”
“So, you’re from the tattoo shop across the street, right?” Wilbur gestured towards Quackity’s store.
Quackity knew this was the moment of truth, “I own it, actually.”
“Oh, so you can tell me the prices of your services? Because ever since I started moving here, I knew I wanted to try you guys out” Wilbur said and shattered Quackity’s world.
Quackity tried not to sound too surprised, “You want to get inked?”
Wilbur returned that with a sly grin, “I would like to add to my collection, yes.”
“You have ink?” Quackity leaned forward, “You have to show me.”
“I don’t know, I don’t have much incentive too” Wilbur made a show of consideration.
“Come on, don’t tease me like this. It’s my job; I want to see what I’d be working with” Quackity said.
“How about a little deal instead?” Wilbur suggested, “I’ll show you mine, if you show me yours.”
Quackity gave a wicked grin, “There are far better ways to ask me to get naked.”
“I didn’t say that!”
“Considering how many tattoos I got, you might as well have” Quackity explained, still teasing, “I’d have to strip down to my underwear.”
Wilbur had gained a wonderful blush, “You can find some shorts, I’m sure.”
“Still, I think you should buy me dinner first before I start removing layers” Quackity continued.
“Are you asking me out?”
“Are you accepting, pretty boy?”
Before they could continue, Quackity’s phone chimed, “Damn I have to go back.”
“Duty calls” Wilbur gave a dramatic sigh, “I guess I’ll just have to agree on the date just to continue this conversation.”
Quackity laughed, “Well then I guess I’ll see you tomorrow night.”
“You haven’t told me where we we’re going?” Wilbur asked.
“Wear something casual, I’ll pick you up” Quackity paused for a moment, “Give me at least a little sneak peek? Before I go?”
Wilbur laughed, before he unbuttoned a few of his top buttons, then turned around and exposed his back a little bit. Just beneath his neck, spanning from shoulder to shoulder was a tattoo that spanned seven different phases of the moon. Different flowers surrounded the moon phases, with a set of crystals growing from one of the crescent moons, a lunar moth perched on another. While Quackity admired it, he couldn’t help but notice that there was another design that just peeked from the sleeve of Wilbur’s shirt.
“Do you have a sleeve?” Quackity asked.
Wilbur shrugged as he fixed his shirt, “You’ll have to wait and see.”