Work Text:
Kenma is currently experiencing something of a dilemma. Kuroo is tapping on the front desk in time to the ticks of the clock above their heads, each tap sending Kenma’s heart racing. He tries to concentrate on sorting through the pile of paperwork in front of him (Lev had, yet again, left all his paperwork to Kenma, darting out the door of the tattoo parlour with a “thank you, Kenma-san!” thrown over his shoulder), but it’s hard to focus on anything when he knows what’s coming.
He reaches up to nudge his glasses higher on his nose, a nervous habit of his. After being an official tattoo artist for the past three years, his eyesight tended to blur sometimes. Yaku had been the one to suggest getting his eyes tested after he’d seen Kenma spend several minutes repeatedly blinking at a page of writing.
The familiar weight of Kuroo’s stare burns into him. The tapping gets even louder. Kenma finds himself starting to grind his teeth, eyes flicking up towards the glass door every few taps. Kuroo gives one final thump on the desk with his fist to signify the clock reaching 11am, and Kenma stares at the door. A moment passes, and then another. And then there he is.
Kenma already feels his cheeks heating up when he sees Shouyou walking down the sidewalk outside parlour’s windows, holding a box of flowers that are almost as bright as he is. The bell rings over the door as he nudges it open with his hip, an eager “Kenma!” falling from his lips before he’s even properly stepped inside.
“Good morning, Shouyou.”He mumbles, fiddling with one of the many piercings decorating his ears to distract himself from the way his mouth tingles as the name falls from his lips. He pushes the pile of paperwork down to Kuroo’s end of the counter when Shouyou places the box in front of him, and they both ignore the loud offended noise that Kuroo makes.
“So,”Shouyou says brightly, clapping his hands together. “This week we’ve got white carnations, daisies, gardenias, and purple lilacs. I wanted to get you some yellow tulips too, but a customer was planning on proposing to her girlfriend today and she bought all the yellow tulips we’d ordered. Maybe next time.”
Kenma nods, standing from his seat to lift each bouquet of flowers out from the box as Kuroo slips into the back room to get the vases and fill them with fresh water. “That’s fine. These are pretty, Shouyou.” But not as pretty as you, he doesn’t say.
Shouyou brightens and seems to stand up straighter, chirping, “Thanks, Kenma! I tried to get flowers that I knew you’d like! I wanted to give you sunflowers too, but unfortunately it’s hard to take care of them indoors unless you’re really dedicated. And they’re also social plants, so you’d have to get a whole bunch of them.” Towards the end he’d started to pout, shoulders slumping sadly, before quickly straightening up again with a grin. “Enough about flowers, though! How have you been?”
Kenma starts playing with his ear piercing again, clearing his throat as he explains about a customer that had come in asking for a hand tattoo, and had ended up shouting at Kenma for nearly an hour when she’d been told that few tattoo artists actually do hand tattoos. Kuroo brings out the vases, and Kenma helps Shouyou place the bouquets into their individual vases as he talks about another customer that had come in demanding a refund because his tattoo had hurt. Kuroo had to take over at that point when Kenma’s anxiety started to act up, and the customer had angrily stormed out almost a half hour later when Kuroo refused to refund him, insisting that “it’s a needle jabbing into your flesh two hundred thousand times. Of course it’s going to hurt.”
Shouyou sticks his tongue out the corner of his mouth as he arranges the flowers, and Kenma finds himself absently staring at Shouyou’s mouth. It’s only when he catches Kuroo’s sly grin out of the corner of his eye that he forces himself to turn away, fiddling with the hem of his shirt until Shouyou steps back and proudly assesses his work, saying, “There we go! I hope you guys like them.”
Kenma gives a nod, doesn’t say that he always likes Shouyou’s arrangements, doesn’t say that he always likes Shouyou. Kenma adores all of the obvious things about Shouyou (the bright smiles, the loud laughs, the excited “uwah”s and “gwah”s, the constant bounce in his step), but even more than that he adores the little things. The afternoon light hitting his hair and setting it aflame like a halo of fire around his head, eyes shining and crinkled at the sides in the cutest way. The deep, warm brown of his eyes and the subtle streaks of gold. Cheeks freckled and dimpled and flushed from the early-summer heat. Fingers excitedly tapping out a beat against his leg that only he can hear, as though there’s so much energy stored up in his tiny body that he’s physically incapable of standing completely still.
The familiar feeling of complete, utter adoration almost overwhelms Kenma at that moment, leaving him feeling like his heart is caught in his throat and like there’s an entire swarm of butterflies rioting in his stomach.
“Ah!”Shouyou suddenly gives one of those adorable little squawks that Kenma loves so much, scrambling to pull his phone out of his pocket. “I have an appointment with a customer in a few minutes about flowers for a birthday! I’m really sorry but I have to go!”
Kenma is unable to stop his grin, shyly waving, “See you later, Shouyou.” just before Shouyou sprints out the door.
Kuroo smiles slyly after him for several moments, and then swings around on his swivel chair to look at Kenma.
“No.”Kenma says without pause, tying his hair back into a ponytail as Kuroo pulls out his phone. Several moments later he dramatically clears his throat.
“‘A white carnation symbolises innocence and pure love’.....’a daisy symbolises innocence, purity and loyal love’......’gardenias indicate secret love’.......’purple lilacs symbolise first love’.”Kuroo looks up from his phone with the grin that Kenma hates so much, laughing, “Kenma, yet again the shrimpy gave you flowers that all symbolise love . He loves you.”
Kenma purses his lips as he sets the vase of purple lilacs on one of the counters, stepping back to admire the clear hard work and dedication that Shouyou had put into arranging them. “It’s just a coincidence, Kuro.”
“Is not.”
“Is too.
“Is not.”
“Is too.”
“....is not.”
Kenma huffs, glaring at Kuroo, but the bell above the door rings again as another customer steps through. He sends one final scowl in Kuroo’s direction (ignoring the this isn’t over look that Kuroo sends right back), and turns to greet the customer.
Later in the afternoon, towards closing time, Kenma tries to tune out Kuroo’s scolding as he massages his wrist. The store had been filled with clients that day, and his wrist was aching by the time the crowd of clients had ebbed. Kenma’s hindsight had never been perfect, but now he regrets not pacing himself as his wrist gives another painful twinge.
“You need to take breaks , Kenma.”Kuroo goes on rambling from his place on the leather couch in the reception room, long limbs splayed everywhere as he sketches a design for one of his newer customers. “You know, breaks? God, it’s like gaming all over again. You can’t just go from one tattoo to another without a break in between.”
Kenma pulls a face (one of the faces that Nekomata, the owner of their tattoo parlour, always laughs at and calls unique) at Kuroo’s mothering. He’s glad to have someone caring for him, but at the same time it’s frustrating the he needs someone to care for him at all.
He finds his eyes straying to the vase of gardenias on the desk in front of him, lips quirking at the thought of Shouyou tending to them. He’s only visited Shouyou’s flower shop, Sunshine Floristry, a handful of times. He can still see Shouyou the first time they’d met, with his vibrant hair tied back by numerous colourful clips, yellow sunflower-patterned apron tied around his waist as he watered a pot of daisies. He remembers the way Shouyou had looked up at the sound of the door opening, the way his eyes had lit up as he’d chirped, “Good morning!” That day, Kenma had walked back to the tattoo parlor with an armful of peonies, flushed cheeks and a certain sunshine boy stuck in his mind.
“Thinking about your loverboy?” Kuroo’s teasing pulls Kenma out of his reverie, and he snaps a sharp look in his friend’s direction.
“He’s not my-”Kenma’s words are cut off by the bell above the door, immediately turning to look as Shouyou steps inside.
His cheeks immediately feel warm at the grin that Shouyou sends his way. It’s only been a few hours but Kenma still feels like he’s seeing Shouyou for the first time all over again. Bright eyes, breathtaking smile, clips pulling his fringe away from his face. Kenma takes a moment to catalogue all of them - a sunflower, a volleyball, a crow, a slice of watermelon, and several small ladybugs - and his heart overflows with affection for this boy made of sunshine.
“How’s my baby doing?”Shouyou practically hops towards the front desk, and Kenma swears his heart stops in his chest until he realises that Shouyou is talking about the gardenias.
“Good. They’re pretty. One client liked them so much she asked for me to add some to her tattoo.
Shouyou lights up from where he leans against the desk, squawking, “Seriously? That’s so cool, Kenma! Your tattoos are always amazing, I’m sure they came out looking really good!”
A cough comes from Kuroo’s place on the leather couch, something that sounds uncomfortably similar to ‘loverboy’. Shouyou either doesn’t notice or doesn’t care to acknowledge it, throwing a bright, “bless you!” over his shoulder.
“So,”Shouyou turns back to Kenma with a look that he’s never seen before, “I - I was wondering how you like the plants?”
“They’re good?”Kenma furrows his brows, puzzled by Shouyou’s sudden shy behavior.
“That’s, um, good. Did you know that all flowers have their own meanings?”
Kuroo visibly perks up, eyes wide as he stares at the scene unfolding right before him.
Shouyou reaches up to scratch at his eyebrow, avoiding Kenma’s eyes as he goes on, “And like - things like lilacs have different meanings depending on the colours. Did you - do you know what purple lilacs mean?”
Kenma’s heart feels as though it’s in his throat at this point, constricting his ability to speak. He manages to shake his head, despite Kuroo having told him the meaning earlier.
“It - um. It means that-” Shouyou takes a deep breath, finally meeting Kenma’s eyes as he says, “um. It means...it means you should try something new in your life.”
Kuroo makes a loud, frustrated noise and Kenma sees him throw his arms into the air. He sort of agrees with him.
“Yeah! So, um. I was thinking about getting a piercing! You guys do piercings here, right?”
Again, Kenma nods.
“Right! So I’d like it if you could maybe give me a piercing? Only if you want to, though!”
Kenma clears his throat, asking, “what piercing would you like?” as he sees Kuroo stand up and walk out of the parlour with his hands still thrown in the air.
Shouyou gives a thoughtful hum, rocking back onto his heels as he looks at the ceiling. “Ah, I know! You can choose for me!” He suddenly chirps, looking at Kenma with those bright eyes and that breathtaking smile.
“Um?”
“I trust you lots, Kenma, and I know you wouldn’t choose anything that I’d hate! Plus, it would be like you leaving a mark on me -” They both seem to freeze at that. Red quickly blooms across Shouyou’s cheeks as he frantically backpedals, squeaking, “that came out wrong I’m so sorry!”
The shy smile on Kenma’s face feels impossible to get rid of as he brushes off the apology. He tilts his head and leads Shouyou into one of their back rooms, methodically talking Shouyou through the procedure as he tugs on a fresh pair of gloves. When he glances behind himself, he sees Shouyou already sitting down, legs eagerly swinging. Shouyou flashes him a quick, bright grin and suddenly, Kenma knows exactly which piercing to give him.
He quickly sorts through the equipment, listening to Shouyou’s soft humming behind him. He easily identifies the song as Baby I’m Yours, a song that Shouyou seems to always have playing at Sunshine Floristry. With only a beat of hesitation, he slips between Shouyou’s parted legs and leans in close, marking a dot with a marker just below his lower lip, precisely in the middle. Under any other circumstances it would be hard, maybe even impossible, to stand so close to Shouyou without his mind going haywire. This is different, though. This is work. He knows how quickly a distracted mind can lead to a ruined piercing. It only takes a few moments for the piercing to be done, and he carefully screws the ball onto the end of it.
When Kenma steps back to fetch one of the hand mirrors, Shouyou curiously prods at the labret piercing with his tongue.
“Uwoh Kenma!” Shouyou suddenly shouts, eagerly clutching the hand mirror as he tilts his head this way and that, pouts out this lower lip to get a better look at the piercing, keeps prodding at it with his tongue until Kenma gives him a scolding look, although it’s quickly replaced by a grin that he can’t fight off.
“Rinse your mouth with an alcohol free mouthwash after every time you eat or drink - I’ll give you some on the way out - and keep it as clean as possible. Goddammit Shouyou please, please don’t keep prodding at it, it’s not going to heal if you keep messing around with it. It’s probably going to be really tender and sore for a few days, and it can take between six and ten weeks for it to heal properly. If anything happens that worries you, come straight to me.”
Shouyou walks out of the room with even more of a bounce in his step than usual, grinning at Kuroo when he sees him. Kenma assumes that he’d come back in some time during the piercing.
“Nice piercing, shrimpy.”Kuroo says in an approving voice, gaze sliding to Kenma with a sly grin. Kenma pointedly ignores him, ringing Shouyou up for the piercing and the tools needed to properly take care of it.
“Free piercing every five piercings.”Kenma says, stamping one of the piercing cubes on the Repeat Offender cards their parlour has. Shouyou clutches the card, the mouthwash and the receipt to his chest, eyes shining. He gives Kenma such a look of awe that he feels his cheeks heating up. Shouyou checks his phone, pouting as he explains that he’d left “Yamayama-kun” to take care of his last shift, but had to be back for closing. Kenma smiles, mumbling a soft, “See you later, Shouyou.” as Shouyou waves over his shoulder.
Kuroo dramatically kicks his legs up onto the counter, leaning back in his chair. His gaze on Kenma is almost burning, but he stubbornly ignores it.
“So,”Kuroo eventually says, apparently unable to stay silent any longer. “A lip piercing, huh?”
Kenma gives a noncommittal grunt.
“Any specific reason?”
At that, Kenma pauses. He thinks about Shouyou, soft eyes and freckled cheeks and adoring smile. “His….his smile is….my favourite thing about him, physically. I just….wanted something to emphasise it.”
Kenma tenses when he hears Kuroo inhale deeply, pursing his lips as the almost impossibly long, “ awwwwwwwwwwwww .” that follows after.
“You’re so in love, Kenma! I feel like a proud dad!”
“That’s gross. I never want to think of you as my father again. And what are you talking about. I’m not in love.”
“You are.
“I’m not.”
“You are.”
“I’m not .”
“.....you are.”
A week passes, and Shouyou comes in at exactly 11am with another box full of flowers. Kenma can already tell that there’s something different about him when he firmly places the box on the counter and turns to Kenma with hands on hips.
“Have you eaten this morning?”
Kenma blinks. “Yes?”
“Have you brushed your teeth since then?”
“Yes?”
“And did you eat anything after brushing your teeth?”
“No?”
“Good!” Shouyou grins, the labret piercing glinting from its place on his lower lip, and then takes those few steps forward to pull Kenma down by his shoulders, lips softly brushing. Kenma makes a shocked noise, hands flailing in the air for a moment before hesitantly resting on Shouyou’s slender hips. He feels Shouyou grin against his mouth at the touch, eagerly rising further on his toes to press closer to Kenma.
There’s a hop in his step when Shouyou steps back, whirling around to open the box and pull out a bouquet of yellow tulips. He holds them out to Kenma with a shy smile, reciting, “Yellow tulips symbolise hopeless and perfect love, as well as meaning ‘there’s sunshine in your smile’.”He pauses to take a deep breath, and then continues on, “Kozume Kenma, I’m hopelessly, perfectly in love with you and your smile.”
Kenma’s cheeks are flushed, and he’s unable to stop grinning as he breathlessly laughs, “I love you too, Shouyou.”
Kuroo shouts, “proud dad!” from somewhere in the parlour, but they both ignore him when Shouyou leaps forward into Kenma’s arms again, pressing their lips together.