for as long as hinata could remember, the tattoo parlor had been next door, but this was the first time the tattoo artist had ever come in his shop. his arms were fairly muscular and littered with tattoos, which hinata expected. what hinata hadn't expected, however, was the fact the the tattoo artist was so hot. a blush painted his cheeks and he straightened out his apron. "welcome to hinata's hydrangeas and other floral needs, how can i help you?" he piped.

the tattoo artist didn't glance up from the sunflowers he was looking at. "i was looking for inspiration for a new tattoo," he replied.

hinata nodded. "alright, well, if you need any help, just ask!"

the tattoo artist finally looked up at hinata, and he stared right at him. he seemed to be frozen with his lips parted and eyes wide open. hinata was frozen under his gaze as well. he chuckled nervously. "uhm, do i have something on my face?" he asked curiously.

the tattoo artist seemed to be broken from whatever spell he had been put under. "i- uh- no.." he stuttered. hinata noted that he was a lot more attractive when he blushed.  the tattoo artist turned around abruptly. hinata could no longer see his expression, but his fingers were tapping against his thigh in some sort of anxious rhythm. he then turned back around and walked over to the counter. "what's your favorite flower?"

hinata blinked. "what?"

"i said, what's your favorite flower?" the tattoo artist repeated.

"no, i know what you said. but.. why are you asking me?" hinata questioned.

"can i not ask you?" the tattoo artist asked, an angry tone in his voice. he seemed to realize the angry tone, and corrected it. "i just need an opinion. there are so many to choose from." he said, both the look in his eyes and the sound of his voice softer than before.

"oh, alright," hinata nodded. "let's see.." because he had never been asked before, he had no idea what his favorite flower was. "well, maybe the rose?"

the tattoo artist shook his head. "that's such a plain answer. everyone likes roses. you're a florist, you must know some other flowers." he replied.

"i- well, of c-course i do," hinata mumbled thoughtfully. "well the thing is, i like cacti more than i like flowers.."

the tattoo artist nodded. "okay. do you sell them here?"

hinata nodded. "of course."

the tattoo artist nodded in response. he picked up a small cactus and brought it to the register. "i'd like this cactus then."

hinata nodded as he rang it up. "what are you going to name it?" he asked.

the tattoo artist looked at him oddly. "name it?" he repeated. hinata nodded. the tattoo artist frowned. "why would i do that?"

hinata laughed. "because! raising a cactus is like raising a pet! you need to name it," he explained.

the tattoo artist raised an eyebrow. "alright.. then.. theo. it's name is theo."

"oh, a western name," hinata responded. "i like it."

for the first time, the tattoo artist smiled. "i like it too." as he handed hinata the money, he handed him a card too. "if you ever need a tattoo, you know where my shop is." with that, he walked out of the shop.

kageyama tobio

so kageyama was his name. how hinata hadn't known it until now, he didn't know. one thing he did know was that he was going to get that tattoo.

ϟ

it was a tuesday afternoon when hinata decided he'd finally go into kageyama's tattoo parlor, or whatever it was called. it was a few weeks after the first time he had come into the florist's shop and he'd come in several other times. every time, he'd look at the cacti. he even bought a few more.

hinata took his break at 11. tuesdays were always slow days, but at a plant shop, that was true of any day. besides, hinata was his own boss. he could do whatever he wanted.

hinata had never been in a tattoo parlor, if that was even the correct term. it wasn't exactly what he had expected. it was brightly lit, although most surfaces were black. at the front, there was a reception desk. beyond that, there different tables with tools and such and seats positioned next to each one.

kageyama was sat at the reception desk, just hinata's luck. other tattoo artists were working on people. kageyama just happened to be free.

hinata strolled up to the counter. before he could say anything, kageyama smirked. "so you finally decided to take me up on that tattoo offer, yeah?"

hinata nodded. "i don't have that long of a break. how long will this take?" he asked.

"depends on the size, whether or not it's filled in, and whether or not you pass out." kageyama explained.

"oh jesus," hinata mumbled. "uh, i'll probably pass out, knowing me." he chuckled, talking louder this time. "can i make like, an appointment or something?"

"if you're comfortable with it being just us in the shop, i can put you in after hours. i am the owner after all."

hinata's face felt like it was on fire. "uh- uhm, that's fine. w-what time uh were you thinking?"

"is eight alright for you?" kageyama asked.

hinata nodded a bit too quickly. "e-eight is good."

"cool." kageyama wrote something down in a notebook. "and, you know, we could maybe grab dinner afterwards if you're feeling up to it.." he suggested, scratching the back of his neck nervously.

"i, uhm.. i'd like that," hinata muttered.

"alright. i'll see you at eight then."

hinata backed out to the door. "th-that sounds good." before kageyama could change his mind, hinata turned around and jogged back to his shop.

he sat at his counter, thinking about the encounter with kageyama. "wait.." he thought aloud. "was he asking me out? on a date? oh my god." he almost started to hyperventilate. "i'm going on a date with the tattoo artist. holy guacamole."

ϟ

hours later, it was 7:50 and hinata was freaking out. should i change? or would that make me seem like i was trying too hard? should i bring him flowers? no. what about a cactus? he likes cacti. his thoughts were going a mile a minute. he decided against changing, and for the cactus.

he took off his apron before leaving. he wouldn't need it. he then grabbed one of the cacti from their table. he decided to pre-name it. edward. he liked it. he then locked up his shop and walked over to kageyama's.

the door was locked, so like any other normal person, hinata knocked. kageyama had his head buried under the reception desk, but his head shot up as soon as he heard the knock. that caused him to hit his head on the desk. hinata gasped. is he alright? kageyama popped up again, this time rubbing the back of his head. he opened up the door and sheepishly grinned. "hey.." he greeted weakly.

"kageyama-san! are you okay!" hinata cried.

kageyama nodded, and then groaned. "i'm fine. and don't call me kageyama-san. just kageyama is fine."

hinata nodded. "alright." he glanced down to the cactus in his hands. "i almost forgot! i brought you a cactus! his name is edward and-"

kageyama interrupted hinata's rambling with a chuckle. "hinata, please, shut up for a second." hinata bolted his mouth shut. "you didn't have to bring a.. gift, or anything."

"i know!" hinata chirped. "i wanted to!"

kageyama rolled his eyes. "alright dumbass. come on." he lead hinata to a chair in the corner. "this is.. i guess you could call it my station."

hinata nodded and looked around it. it had walls around it, like a cubicle in an office, most likely for privacy reasons. he noticed that the entire building was more dimly lit than before. he raised an eyebrow, but said nothing. he then looked at the table of tools and things. besides tools on the table, there was a row of small cacti. they had little paper labels with names carefully written on them in sharpie.

"you name all of your cacti?" hinata asked.

kageyama nodded. "of course. raising a cactus is like raising a pet. i have to name them," he explained, quoting hinata. for some reason known beyond him, hinata blushed like a mad man.

"where are the rest of your cacti?" hinata asked.

kageyama raised an eyebrow. "you kept count of how many cacti i bought?"

hinata shook his head too quickly. "no! it's just-" he frowned. "not many people come in my store, you know? you're one of the only ones. i pay more attention to you i guess." he realized what he said and threw his hand over his mouth. "i meant-"

kageyama cut him off again. "hinata. chill. i know what you meant. to answer your question, they're at home."

hinata's face became a deeper red. "oh o-okay." he stuttered. "so, how about that tattoo?"

ϟ

around an hour later, hinata had gotten his first tattoo. after telling kageyama he wanted something small, unfilled, and plant related, they were both blushing messes when hinata explained he wanted it on his collar bone. kageyama was a stuttering mess as well.

"what, do you have a collar bone fetish or something?" hinata asked, only half teasing.

kageyama paled and widened his eyes. "n-no, of c-course not!" he exclaimed unconvincingly.

kageyama also explained that from an artistic stand point, hinata being shirtless would be best for accuracy. "but you'd be staring at my abs the whole time," hinata said, tipping his head to the side innocently.

kageyama's entire body tensed up. "you have abs?"

hinata giggled. "well, yeah. i'm not just a florist. i play volleyball on a recreational team."

"so do i!" kageyama exclaimed. his face brightened, but soon went back to resting bitch face. "why didn't you tell me earlier?" he questioned, cleaning off his needles.

"it never came up," hinata shrugged, tugging off his shirt.

"uhm.. you know.." kageyama's eyes roamed hinata's bare torso. hinata's face lit up with heat. "from an artistic stand point, you should probably keep your shirt on. you know, for accuracy."

hinata grabbed his shirt from his lap and slid it over his head. although he didn't have to take his shirt off, kageyama did have to safety pin his shirt down so his collar bone was exposed. "if you'll excuse me a moment.." kageyama gulped and left the cubicle for a moment. hinata could hear hyperventilating and murmurs of, "kageyama, you can do this, calm down." he walked back in once he had composed himself. his hands had stopped shaking violently. "all right."

kageyama took out a disinfectant wipe. "this is just going to be cold, alright?" hinata nodded, and kageyama was right; the wipe was cold. it sent a shover through his spine. hinata suspected that his collar bone didn't need to be rubbed down so throughly, but he went with it. hinata found it utterly adorable that the hard ass tattoo artist was oh so flustered by his collar bone.

"alright. this is probably going to hurt," kageyama muttered. he pressed the needle to hinata's skin, sending out a yelp from the small boy. "i'm sorry, i'm sorry, i'm sorry," kageyama repeatedly whispered. "i told you it was going to hurt."

hinata nodded, trying to move as little as possible. his collar bone felt like it was on fire. hopefully the burning sensation would go away. he had never experienced long term pain like this. of course, being the klutz he was, he's received plenty of volleyballs with his face, but it was never this bad. normally it would be sore, but it was never a searing pain like this.

hinata thought kageyama would never be done, but once he opened his eyes, he didn't mind it. kageyama's fave was scrunched up in concentration, and he kept whispering, "i'm sorry," with this concerned look on his face.

to the surprise of both boys, one of kageyama's colleagues came back around. "kageyama never apologizes. for anything." he said in disbelief.

"tanaka! what are you doing back here?" kageyama growled.

tanaka chuckled. "i could be asking you the same thing." he held up a black jacket. "i forgot my coat. you obviously booked a personal appointment." he winked at hinata. "hey, aren't you the florist? the one that works at hinata's hydrangeas?"

"yep, i'm hinata."

"dude kageyama never shuts up about yo-"

"do you want to lose your job?" kageyama threatened.

"n-no," tanaka cowered under kageyama's pointed glare.

"then i suggest you shut the fuck up."

tanaka chuckled. "well that's my cue flower boy. see ya!" he darted out of the cubicle and hinata heard a door open and close. he released a breath he didn't know he was holding.

"well he seems nice," hinata chuckled. he looked up at kageyama, who's face was bright red.

"yeah, definitely." kageyama grumbled sarcastically.

"do you really talk about me a lot?" hinata asked quietly.

kageyama froze. "uhm.." he swallowed thickly. "kinda.."

hinata grinned. "that's cute," he said absently. kageyama blushed but kept his face in a stony frown. he didn't reply.

"alright, we're done," kageyama said after a while. he put down his needle and took off his rubber gloves. he then undid the safety pin holding hinata's shirt. hinata sighed and tried to get up, but his entire shoulder flamed up with pain. he groaned.

"here," kageyama offered him a hand and helped him up. "i know i said we could go out afterwards but.. i think you'd be better resting that collar bone."

"well.. how about we go to my place, order a pizza, maybe watch some movies..?" hinata suggested.

"oh, i don't know," kageyama joked. "will i get to see your abs again?"

"honestly, probably. this shirt is bothering my collar bone." hinata said seriously.

kageyama's eyes widened. he obviously wasn't expecting that answer.

"but you know, only if you want to come over. you don't have to," hinata assured him.

"i'll gladly go if you're inviting me," kageyama replied.

hinata tried not to act too excited. "awesome! now, do you have a mirror so i can see this sucker?" kageyama handed him a hand mirror. the tattoo was a small outline of a cactus, and the bottom of the pot was perfectly perpendicular to his collar bone. "i love it," he whispered in awe.

kageyama chuckled bashfully. "that's good," he muttered.

"how much do i owe you?" hinata asked, pulling his wallet out of his pocket.

"are you buying that pizza?" kageyama asked.

"yes.."

"then there's no charge."

"are you sure?"

"yep."

hinata grinned. neither boy said anything for a moment. "aren't we a cliche?" hinata said to finally break the silence.

kageyama was silent in thought. "i guess we are. i like that though."

"the tattoo artist and the florist," hinata mumbled dreamily. kageyama chuckled and grabbed hinata's hand.

"come on flower boy, let's go and order that pizza."

"alright ink nerd."

( a/n ) should i make this more than one part ?