Work Text:
Nervous wasn’t the right word for what he was feeling.
No…. reserved, very cautious optimism was probably closer.
Flexing his hand as he got out of his car, Kaiser looked down at his left hand, and the now sadly splotchy crown that covered his skin. Kaiser frowned, remembering the shifty tattoo artist that had done a fairly good job with the design he had in mind, but had done shit on the execution. From wrist to shoulder, the color stayed strong, the blue veins of the leaves contrasting well against the dark black of the thorny vines. But the two arguably most important parts of his entire vision, the crown and the sharp blue roses on his neck, were faded and splotchy and honestly just pathetic.
He hadn’t even had the tattoo for a year, but he had started to notice how uneven it all was as soon as the damn thing healed. He had gone to this guy because of the recommendations of his friends and teammates, but even so, Kaiser had had a less than stellar experience. His tattoo artist seemed more interested in talking about himself and his accomplishments and asking Kaiser if he could take pictures with him after it was done, which Kaiser wished he could retroactively decline, than actually doing his job.
Ah well, at least one small grace is that the design was solid and there were no blowouts. Easy for a tattoo artist that didn’t create the original design to touch up and fix.
Easy to do, but also easy to mess up. Which led Kaiser once again to his state of worry… checking his phone as he walked down the street to make sure he had the right address, date, and time.
This artist had also come to him “highly recommended” by his friends who enjoyed getting tattoos. Which at this point, Kaiser could only trust these recommendations as far as he could toss a grain of salt seeing as these friends were the ones who sent him to the first artist. But, his own research did prove fruitful.
The artist, Hyoma Chigiri, was new to the area but had already started making a name for himself at his one man shop in downtown. Specializing in touchups, coverups, and re-designs on top of his original pieces, Kaiser was at least slightly hopeful that he wouldn't mess this up.
And if he did… well then Kaiser would just find another artist who hopefully wouldn’t botch his entire arm.
Kaiser would consider leaving a bad review too, but that wouldn’t really look good on him… so alas, he could not use the weight of his celebrity to push back against someone who didn’t do their job right.
Finding the shop wasn’t difficult, though it was tucked away neatly in a little corner of the street that would be easy to miss if you weren’t looking for it. A big, clean window gave a view into the pristine shop interior, and Kaiser had to respect that just a little bit. He preferred the white, open lighting of the shop to the dark, dingy interior of the one before. No one was at the front desk waiting for him when he entered, but a voice called out to him, indicating that he would be seen soon.
Perusing his way around the waiting area, which was nothing more than a plush couch and a coffee table,Kaiser observed all of the framed portraits on the walls, filling the space that would normally be covered with a dime-a-dozen flash pieces available for purchase. Rather, the artist was proudly displaying his work from real customers, unique and perfect and definitely something to be proud of. A few he recognized from the pinned posts on Chigiri’s instagram, and he had to admit, they were even more impressive in person. He could only imagine what they looked like on the client’s skin…. Maybe he was in good hands.
Maybe. Because Chigiri really seemed to have a special talent for doing animal portraits (particularly what seemed to be pet cats), and had very few flower pieces in his portfolio.
As he was inspecting a very detailed cheetah arm sleeve, he heard his name being called.
“Michael? You can come on back if you’re ready.”
Turning around, Kaiser noticed a pretty little redhead had stepped out from behind a partition, and was waving him back towards his table, hidden from the big open window in the front of the shop. Kaiser nodded, undoing the top button of his shirt as he prepared to remove it to give the artist ample space to work. Kaiser half wondered if the redhead was simply the artist’s assistant, as he didn’t really fit the look. Long red hair, done up in a low braid and slung over his shoulder. Casually cute clothes, and a pretty face not blemished by a single tattoo nor piercing. Honestly, upon a quick inspection, he didn’t notice a single tattoo on the red-head.
At least not on his visible skin.
So he was a bit taken aback when he pulled up a rolling stool beside the work station, smiling warmly as he introduced himself.
“Well, I’m Chigiri, and I’m honored you’ve chosen me to fix up your tattoo.” Chigiri gestured towards Kaiser’s hand, asking to see, and Kaiser couldn’t help but place his hand right inside of Chigiri’s palm. His fingers were soft, gentle as he traced the lines of the crown on his hand, inspecting the damage. He frowned, genuinely perturbed at the state of the color. “Well I can see why you didn’t go back to the original artist. This is just… embarrassing honestly. Did he not offer a free touch up?”
Kaiser rolled his eyes, ready to dish out the whole story once again. “He did , but honestly, after the treatment I received, I didn’t exactly want to go back.”
Chigiri nodded, rolling his stool away to grab his needed supplies. Kaiser watched him, still trying to gauge the quality of this man’s work. He’d never seen a tattoo artist with no ink of their own… and it did set him a bit on edge. It was like one of those things… never trust a skinny chef. Never trust a tattoo artist with no ink…
But that wasn’t fair. He knew he should at least give Chigiri a chance, just like he knew he was too deep in this situation to not receive the service he had pre-paid for.
Unbuttoning his shirt the rest of the way, Kaiser slipped his top off of his shoulders, folding it up neatly as Chigiri returned to his side. He smirked as he heard Chigiri hesitate before sitting down.
“My new friend, I have to ask what you have done to yourself to get that built?” Chigiri smiled as he sat down, clearly trying to remain composed as he pulled a set of gloves over his hands. Kaiser reached back to pull his hair out of the way, using an elastic to tie his longer strands back into a bun, definitely not peacocking a bit as he did so. He was a bit confused by Chigiri’s question, because just about everyone in this city knew who he was, whether they were a football fan or not.
“I play football professionally. I’m a bit surprised you didn’t know that, but honestly, that's for the better.” Kaiser closed his eyes as Chigiri prepared his skin, a cool alcohol wipe cleaning off his neck making him shiver a bit. “My last artist was more concerned about that, and me bringing him more business, than actually giving me a good tattoo.”
“Oof, that’s a shame. I’ve gotta admit, it's been years since I kept up with football. I used to play…” Chigiri trailed off, leaning back to toss the wipe in the trash. Kaiser opened his eyes, looking at him out of the corner of his eye. He seemed a bit down, as if he was remembering something awful, but Kaiser had to admit, he was even cuter when he frowned.
Well, at least he would get one positive point for this day, even if the tattoo ended up awful. Having the undivided attention of a man as pretty as Chigiri wasn’t the worst thing in the world.
“Injury?” Kaiser guessed, before deciding to lighten the mood by teasing the man. “Or were you just absolutely terrible and decided to get out before you embarrassed yourself?”
Chigiri scoffed, grabbing his tattoo gun and pointing it at Kaiser’s. He tried to remain serious, but a small grin pulled up the corners of his mouth.
“I wouldn’t be rude to someone who is about to stab you with a needle hundreds of thousands of times for the next few hours.” Chigiri smiled sweetly, the dangerous grin reaching his eyes as he lined up with Kaiser’s shoulder to start working on his neck. “I was actually pretty good back in high school -”
“That’s what they all say…” Kaiser rolled his eyes, enjoying the banter as Chigiri gasped again, faking that he was hurt.
“I swear it. But it was an ACL tear, if you must know.”
Kaiser winced, imagining the pain Chigiri must have gone through. An athlete's worst nightmare… Sometimes, you could come back from it, but sometimes, it wasn’t worth trying again.
“Doing okay now?” Kaiser asked, trying to show his sympathy, though he was mostly imagining how he would ever deal with such an incident. He noticed Chigiri nod out of the corner of his eye.
“It’s been years. Now, it only hurts when it gets really cold.”
“And you just moved to Germany from…?”
“Southern Japan. I must be a glutton for punishment!” Chigiri smiled sweetly, holding up his gun again before rolling closer to Kaiser. “But you must be too if you’re here. Ready to get started?”
Kaiser nodded, closing his eyes once again as he felt Chigiri’s gloved hands touch his skin. He heard the soft hum of the tattoo gun as Chigiri turned the machine on, and braced himself for the familiar sting of the needle piercing his skin.
“Alright, relax… and, 3, 2, 1….”
Kaiser felt his face scrunch up in a flinch as the tip of the gun touched his skin… Chigiri shushed him, though he hadn’t said a word, but he tried to do as he was told and relax…. It hurt, of course, but Chigiri attacked the touchup with a poise that Kaiser had not been expecting. His strokes were delicate and precise, and he didn’t press down so hard that he was worried about a blow out later… He worked quickly, but still paused every now and again to make sure Kaiser was okay.
“Still doing good?”
“I’m fine…” Michael hissed, absolutely lying but just wanting to get this over with. He had never been the best with pain, but this was a necessary sacrifice to get what he wanted.
Chigiri was a curious artist, though. Michael only had one tattoo himself, but he had been into enough shops with his friends to realize that there was a general standard for tattoo artists, and Chigiri ticked very few of the boxes. Working alone, he had free reign to do whatever he wanted, and to accept or refuse clients due to the high demand for his services. But, he was also quiet, and did not try to fill the air with mindless chatter while he worked. Rather than loud, bass filled music that made Kaiser’s ear drums shake, Chigiri had a softly playing audio book in the background of his shop, filling the silence with something.
If there wasn’t a needle continuously stabbing his throat and a pretty little redhead clinging on to his shoulder, Kaiser almost could’ve fallen asleep on the table.
“Sorry, I should’ve asked if I was too close for comfort,” Chigiri offered about halfway through his neck as he leaned back to roll his shoulders. He had a shy smile on his face, as if he was worried he had genuinely done something wrong. But honestly, Kaiser didn’t mind. Chigiri’s face had been so incredibly close to his own during the session that the tip of his braid had traced circles on his chest. He was getting in there good and deep and Kaiser really couldn’t care less.
Kaiser half wondered if maybe his previous artist was too straight and traditionally masculine to get close to him and do what he needed to do to make sure his tattoo was perfect.
“It’s fine. I’d prefer you do it right, than lean back and miss a spot.”
Chigiri nodded, face determined and focused once more as he dove in for round two.
By the time his neck was done, Kaiser had fully and rightfully decided that the quality of the tattoo he was receiving no longer mattered. He had decided that spending the afternoon in the company of Chigiri was enough. Kaiser tried not to be such a weak man, but meeting a man as pretty as Chigiri and as dedicated and talented in his craft was a rarity. It was even more rare to find someone who didn’t even know who he was.
What an absolute gold mine of a person.
“Can I ask you an inappropriate question?” Kaiser asked as they sat back for a moment, taking a break before beginning on the crown. Chigiri had said it probably would not take very long, as the crown was mostly line work and all black, so, after the stinging on his neck dulled to a subtle throb, they would continue.
“Only if you want an inappropriate answer…” Chigiri mused, twirling his braid around the tip of his finger. “But it’s fine, go ahead. At least you asked before just saying it. I usually don’t get that courtesy.”
Kaiser lifted an eyebrow, curious as to what Chigiri meant. He seemed like he was full of stories, both his own and others. Which made sense, as people usually did spend hours of their time getting a tattoo. It would make sense that Chigiri had heard a thing or two that he could never repeat to anyone.
“Well… so many people treat me like their own personal therapist. Which makes sense, as a lot of people get tattoos as their retail therapy… But I’ve had some of my…special ex-clients ask me some weird shit.”
Sitting up a bit straighter, Kaiser cocked his head to the side.
“Like what?”
“Oh god… like if I provided any other services, since I’ve always worked alone. My favorite though is if I tattoo…” Pointing to his crotch, Kaiser tried to not follow Chigiri’s fingers downward toward his jean-clad lap. “Which is, and always will be a hard no. I can’t even imagine … and that always follows up with if I pierce , and again. Gag. Another hard no.”
“Well there goes my inappropriate question.” Kaiser teased again, though he really couldn’t imagine letting even someone as steady handed and professional as Chigiri get anywhere close to his nether regions with a tattoo gun.
“Seriously…what do you want to know?”
Kaiser huffed, tapping his chin with his finger tips, feigning as if he forgot the question. It felt somewhat silly to ask anyway, so maybe he’d save it for the end of the appointment.
“It escapes me right now. I suppose I’m more curious about how you ended up here of all places.”
Chigiri rotated from side to side on his stool as he considered his answer. It must not be something so straightforward as “opportunity.”
“Change of scenery I suppose. I don’t know exactly why I chose this city of all places, but I just was ready to move on from some things. Tattoo stigma in Japan is still awful, of course, but I needed to move on from some… personal things as well.”
“Bad breakup?”
Chigiri grimaced, a smile that didn’t reach his eyes, but had him reaching for a new set of sterile gloves.
“Something like that. I was ready for more, he wasn’t, and I just got tired of waiting, you know? So I’m just ready to move on in all ways, so it was just easier to get out of my hometown full of all those bad memories.”
Kaiser nodded, wondering just how much Chigiri was ready to move on.
“Well, maybe you can make some new memories here. With new people.”
Chigiri’s smile returned, mischievous and as bright as the sun, and Kaiser felt himself melting while staring at it.
“I had wondered if that was your original inappropriate question… but just for your own reference, I don’t date my clients.”
Kaiser rolled his eyes, because of course not. Of course he wouldn’t blatantly ask Chigiri to spend time with him inside of his place of work, and especially not when Chigiri still had to finish his touch up. He wasn’t that much of a degenerate where he would hit on someone who was just trying to do their job.
Grabbing his gun with one hand, and Kaiser’s hand with the other, Chigiri flipped his machine back on before going in for the final round of ink. He counted down from three again before pressing the needle to his skin.
Kaiser tried his hardest to keep his eyes open this time, as he didn’t want to miss the last few moments of Chigiri’s time by closing his eyes. Chigiri worked swiftly, the lines of the crown coming together fully, finally, as Chigiri held his hand in a light grip. His fingers were warm underneath the neoprene gloves, and his grip strong enough to keep Kaiser’s hand steady.
When he was finished, Chigiri leaned back with a proud grin on his face as he cleaned up Kaiser’s hand. After allowing Kaiser to look at it, he sealed off the second touch up with a clear layer of saniderm before tossing away his gloves.
“Now, don’t get disappointed if this one starts to fade again in a few years, but hopefully, it will be a few years. Hand tattoos tend to start to fade quickly due to how thin the skin is and how much your hands move.” Standing up with a nod, Chigiri pushed his stool and tray of supplies out of the way so that Kaiser could finally swing around and stretch his legs. “But, if you do start to notice a fade in a few weeks, you can absolutely reach out again for another touch up. But I am confident you won’t need it.”
Nodding his understanding, Kaiser slipped his shirt back on, buttoning it up only halfway before standing from Chigiri’s table.
“You were already all paid out, so if that’s all, I guess I’ll be seeing you around?” Chigiri smiled sweetly, hands held behind his back as he waited for Kaiser to say something, or just leave. Kaiser reached into his pocket, grabbing his wallet to pull out a tip for the service. A fat tip, that was obviously worth more than the cost of the touchup itself, but Kaiser couldn’t help it. He half expected Chigiri to refuse the money, but he didn’t, and he slipped the money into his back pocket. A man who knew his own worth and knew that his time and art were worth the fee.
Kaiser loved it.
“What are you doing after you close up tonight?” Kaiser asked as he slipped his wallet into his pocket, keeping his gaze on Chigiri to catch his response.
A small pink blush bloomed on the other man’s cheeks, but his professional, polite smile never hesitated or dropped.
“I don’t go out on dates with my clients,” Chigiri repeated, reaching up to play with the tip of his braid once again. A nervous habit? A mindless activity? Either way, Kaiser loved it. “I would say yes, otherwise.”
“I’m not your client anymore. You completed the service I paid you for,” Kaiser stated firmly, not giving up easily. He didn’t want to be a creep, but he could tell just from Chigiri’s demeanor. He was shy and lonely and looking for a bit of fun. Kaiser could give him all of that, even if it never got beyond a first or second date.
“If I go anywhere with you, I’ll never tattoo you again,” Chigiri crossed his heart as he spoke, swearing his soul on this one date.
“I don’t want anymore tattoos. And if I did, I’m sure I could find another artist.”
There were a million tattoo artists in the world after all.
But only one of them was Hyoma Chigiri.
Chigiri looked away, weighing his options in his head as he thought. Pulling his lower lip into his mouth, he chewed on it slightly as he contemplated….
A lofty decision, surely.
“Alright…why not. I close down the shop at seven.”
Kaiser smiled, his grin spreading wide across his face. He reached out a hand, grabbing Chigiri’s fingers in a light grasp.
“Perfect. I’ll pick you up from here, and show you why you moved here.”
Chigiri nodded, pulling his hands away from Kaiser as the bell from the front of the shop sounded, signaling Chigiri’s second client of the day had arrived. Chigiri called out again that he would be with him soon, and ushered for Kaiser to leave.
“I’ll see you later…” Chigiri whispered so his other client wouldn’t hear, a shy smile on his face that radiated with the excitement of their encounter.
Kaiser blew him a kiss before heading back out to the front of the shop, just before leaning in to whisper in Chigiri’s ear.
“Remember, you don’t date clients.”
Except himself, of course.
There was always an exception for Michael Kaiser.