Ink and Flowers ~ Phan

The Flower and Ink Business

*~Phil POV~*

I stared at the paper in front of me where I was supposed to be drawing two flowers surrounded by the night sky, but there was a hole where the flowers were meant to be. The client that wanted this design would be back at my tattoo parlor tomorrow, but I had no idea what the flowers looked like. I tried looking pictures up online, but none of the pictures seemed to do justice or match the descriptions I was given.

I stepped away from the paper, and went to the front part of my parlor to find someone looking at some of the tattoo examples on the wall.

"Hi, can I help you with something?" The brown haired boy glanced at me and smiled sheepishly, before looking back to one of the pictures and pointing at it. I stepped closer to get a better look, and found that he was pointing at a small picture of a heart made of thin roses.

"How much would that cost?" He looked at me, waiting for an answer while I figured up the cost. It shouldn't take too awful long- an hour or less probably, but it would also depend where he would want it and his pain sensitivity. It was small and didn't use that much ink, so I'd normally give the flat rate of around £80, but looking at how his eyes shined as he looked at me, I knew I'd charge him less.

"Uh, well, lucky for you, I'm having a small special today, so you can go home with that baby for only £60."

He smiled widely and rocked on his feet before saying a small, "Deal!"

"Great, so are you free to do it right now?"

"Uh, yeah. I don't have plans for a couple of hours."

"Okay, follow me please." I walked through the doorway to the back rooms and ushered him towards my usual work station. "Now, where were you planning on having your tattoo?" I left him to stand by the chair as I walked around my desk to find the needed pattern.

"I didn't really think about it... Where would you recommend?"

"Well it all depends on a few things I guess." I found the pattern and stood up again to find the boy looking around the room curiously. I cleared my throat and motioned towards the chair once he looked at me. "The first question would have to be- actually, it would have to be 'What's your name?'"

"My name's Dan."

"I'm Phil. I own this joint." He nodded, but said nothing else, so I continued speaking. "Anyways, were you planning on getting more tattoos in the future or just this one?"

"Just this one for now, I think." His eyes followed my movements as I grabbed the ink and tools I'd need.

"Ok, well then, I'd advise either going for your ankle or wrist, but it's up to you in the long run." He looked down and thought about it before a minute before he looked up again.

"Ok, great! Now we can start working." He put his left arm up on the chair and I went to that side of him, so I could work. "Do you mind rolling up your sleeve?" He did as I said, and I looked to what he was wearing. He had on an oversized pink sweatshirt with skinny jeans and converse; it was an outfit similar to mine, but with different colors.

I took hold of his hand and wiped the skin where the tattoo would be before transferring the pattern from the paper to his skin. I asked him if he was fine with the placement and he nodded, so I grabbed my gloves and started working on the small tattoo. We didn't talk much, but I was determined to learn more about Dan.

"So, what made you decide to get a tattoo today?" I wiped off a bit of excess ink and looked up at him.

"My store is having it's grand opening tomorrow, so I wanted to do something for the occasion, and your shop is next door. One thing led to another, and now I'm here, getting a tattoo!"