Bottle Ol' Oneshots

Time the Teacher-NoochZahHutt Oneshot

[so I was inspired by some person that said "imagine your OTP in an AU where ones a florist and ones a tattoo artist" or something like that. letsa go]
[someone also said "imagine the obvious one and switch it"]

If there was anything that annoyed Mat more than Brandon was his shop next door. It was painful and disgusting to see kids wanting to be cool and walking in before walking out with crying and holding their arms. Seeing the regulars covering themselves enough to make a suit out of their skin wasn't fun either, and it distracted him from his organizing of flowers as he fumed at the people's poor choices.

It was worse when Brandon himself, when he wasn't busy, coming over and talking to him. Mat would hold his breath at the horrible smell of smoke on his jacket and avoid looking at the tattoos lined on his arms as well. It would've been obvious to anyone that Mat despised Brandon, yet Brandon just kept trying. Trying to get Mat to hook up with him that was. Sometimes, if Mat was lucky, Rob would be there as well and shoo Brandon out with a broom before Mat had to himself.

The common presence of Brandon didn't help his business; it appeared that nice, old, little ladies and busy gentlemen didn't enjoy a badass tattoo artist flirting with the shop owner. Their uncomfortableness was obvious as they purposefully shuffled away from Brandon and towards the less desired flowers in the back to avoid making contact with him.

"They say if you think of the devil, he shows up," Mat mumbled under his breath as the bell of the door rang, and Brandon walked in. He plastered on his fake smile as he said, "Hello, how may I help you today?"

Surprisingly, Brandon bought a flower. It wasn't the best thing, though. He pointed at the one behind Mat, the one Rob was growing, and the one Mat secretly wanted but knew was Rob's to give to someone else. He couldn't sell something that didn't belong to him but then again, all the flowers in the shop belonged to him. "Would selling you this get you out of here?"

"There's only one way to find out," Brandon replied with a smirk, and Mat, who saw a woman outside the door staring at Brandon, gave it to him and took the cash. "Pleasure as always, Mat."

"Fuck you too," Mat sang under his breath. Brandon either didn't hear it or chose to ignore it. Mat was grateful either way; the last thing he wanted was a fistful of rings in his face. He moved on, though, and started serving the lady who, after gaping at Brandon, had come in.

The next day, Rob came in and was furious-an understatement to Mat-to find his flower missing. He shouted about how it was for someone special and that he needed it that day. Mat only shrugged and said he could go fight Brandon for it.

"You sold it to Brandon?" Mat nodded, trying to focus on the newspaper he wasn't reading. He could head Rob face-palm and leave the shop. Mat looked up then; he was only kidding about fighting Brandon. Rob could die fighting someone like that. He wasn't meant to fight, he was meant to garden like Mat.

With a sigh, Mat left the shop as well.

The first thing Mat noted about the tattoo shop was how different it was than to what he expected. He'd seen them only in movies, and they were always dark and scary and looked like a couple animals came and did their business. He didn't expect a completely normal room with what looked like a dentist chair and tools that belonged in a hospital. He put his shock aside and searched for Rob.

"I'm sorry, okay? I'll leave!"

"No, not yet. There's some things to be discussed first."

Mat decided to head in that direction.

Rob seemed incredibly relieved that Mat had found his way there, and even Brandon didn't seem disappointed. Rob crawled over and hugged Mat's leg.

"Oh god, that was terrible. Please, Mat, agree to what he says. I don't want to die yet! I have so much to live for!" Rob rambled.

"What do I have to agree to?"

He saw Brandon smile, and there was a twist in his gut that said he knew the answer. Rob whispered quietly, "He wants a date with you."

"No."

"Well, why not?" Brandon asked, making Mat cringe. He looked down at Rob's begging eyes, though, and sighed.

"Just for Rob. I hate you," he said to both of them.

"Oh thank the heavens, I'm leaving!" Rob exclaimed, jumping up and whining that his leg hurt when he moved before rushing out the room. Mat was going to follow, but Brandon grabbed his hand.

"Not so fast. You and I have a date, don't we?"

Mat groaned and let Brandon pull him out. They didn't go anywhere special, but Mat didn't mind. He learned a lot about Brandon; things he never thought. He didn't know that Brandon didn't smoke, but his customers did and that was what the scent on his jacket was. He didn't know that the tattoos on his arm were fake and would be gone in a couple weeks. And although he thought he'd be happy when it was all over, he couldn't help but wish for it again. To top it off, Brandon, as a surprise, gave Rob's flower to him. He said it was a beautiful gift for a beautiful person.

That was five years ago.

Now, he was in bed with Brandon holding him close, enjoying the smell of Brandon in his pajamas. He could feel Brandon tracing the flower tattoo on his shoulder, though neither could actually see it, and sighed. This was exactly where he wanted to be, though he didn't exactly know it so many years ago. Things change fast.