inked blues. (f. iero) **COMPLETED**

twenty-one: "the sun will set for you"

It felt weird to be back at the shop and actually working again.

He's been hanging around it for the past week, but he hasn't done anyone's tattoos. He let his other artists handle them, knowing they were fully capable of doing so. He hung around at the front desk most of the time, spinning back and forth in his comfortable as fuck chair while eating the food Jamia normally made for him.

People would come in and ask for Frank to tattoo them but Gerard would quickly sweep them away and lead them towards his station. God bless the Jack Frost resembling man, truly.

But now Frank felt he was able to start back up tattooing again, having been pondering it for a week to decide when the right time was. He didn't want to rush himself back into his job, not yet. He would slowly get back into rhythm though, maybe only 1 or 2 appointments during the day, and then leaving around midnight. He always let Gerard close the shop, not that he didn't trust his other artists, but he trusted Gerard a little more to handle his shop like that.

It was his baby, okay? Leave him be.

Speaking of Gerard, they should probably talk about what happened the other night in the employee lounge. Though he'd rather do it with Jamia here, so that all 4 of them could have a talk about what was going on. He knew he was in love with Jamia, practically worshiped the ground she walked on. But kissing Gerard brought back the feeling he felt when they first kissed each other, a soft buzz of content running through his veins.

He had to be a fucking weirdo, for sure. Who thought these kind of things?

Frank shook his head to rid himself of those thoughts, running a hand through his hair as he sat down at his station. He smiled faintly at the sight of his mug sitting there, steaming with the scent of tea flowing into his nostrils. His staff spoiled him too much sometimes, really. He let out a deep breath as he set down in his chair, grabbing onto the mug and just holding it in his hands. The warmth radiating onto his palms soothed him, he's never understood why. 

"It's peppermint tea this time, figured I'd change it up a little," Frank heard from behind him, smiling softly when he sees Nikki appear from the back lounge, fixing her long and flaming orange hair into a messy bun. She was damn good at making tea, which he told her every time she left it at his station.

"It's really good, thank you."

"How're you feeling, Frodo?"

Frank rolled his eyes at the insult playfully before taking another sip of his tea, letting out a soft hum as he felt it slowly calm his nerves. Even though he'd been tattooing since he was barely 18, he still got frightful. He might be a professional but he still fucks up sometimes, you know?

"Better, I think. Just needed time to clear my head," he shrugged, setting his mug down by his feet. He twirled around in his chair for a bit, leaning his head back against it as he stared up at Nikki. That was a first, he thought. She nodded in understanding, rocking back and forth on her combat boots for a moment before speaking up again.

"I need to show you something, by the way," she said with a grin on her face, tilting her head towards the back lounge. Frank raised an eyebrow at that, Nikki giggling at the skeptical look appearing on his face. Well, he had a right to look like that, it's Nikki we're talking about. They're known for playing pranks on each other, so he was hesitant getting up and following her to the back lounge.

"I swear to a god I don't believe in, if there's a clown standing in the middle of the room again, I am fucking firing you and I mean it this time."