Archive of Our Own

It's not a rare occurrence for clients to walk right in for a tattoo. But as Taehyun spots a figure standing motionlessly outside his studio for a little over a minute, he gets pretty creeped out.

It had been a rather slow mid-week evening at Taehyun's tattoo studio, with barely a couple of appointments which he cleared off quickly. In fact, just before the weird figure appeared, Taehyun had just been preparing to close up since Soobin - his close friend who liked doing his own office work in the tattoo artist's studio rent-free - left an hour ago.

Anyway, the situation is admittedly pretty eerie, and Taehyun plods quietly, inching towards the door with the intention of stealthily pulling the shutters down. His plan is terribly disrupted when whoever's been standing outside pushes his way in, knocking his head right in the glass door in the process.

A loud 'bonk' resounds in the silent studio as Taehyun comes face to face with the mystery person - a young man, probably his age, sporting roughly cut shoulder-length hair and a set of pretty features. So pretty Taehyun does a double-take.

The boy's rubbing his forehead confusedly before he finally spots Taehyun's wary gaze on him.

And then he falls onto the ground, legs bent awkwardly and starts giggling.

Taehyun sighs, the situation crystal to him now.

"Sir, we're closing. And for the record, I don't know what kind of establishment you think this is, but we strictly do not tattoo anyone drunk," Taehyun states, pronouncing each word especially clearly to make sure the clearly intoxicated man can hear him.

Or at least he hopes he does because the man looks way too wasted in a zoned-out kind of way, it looks mildly odd and concerning.

"Beom… Bam… Gyu," the man suddenly slurs, expression suddenly stoic.

"What?"

Taehyun is very much creeped out and he considers the viability of simply making a fast grab for that guy's phone and calling the first number in his contacts.

"Not sir. Beom… Gyu," he speaks slowly this time, clearly fighting some sort of mental battle.

Taehyun has half the mind to just manhandle him and drag him out of his studio and he barely refrains from actually doing so.

"Okay Beomgyu, is there anyone you can call to get you out of here?"

"You," Beomgyu slurs, pointing right at him, "your name."

"Motherf-," Taehyun inhales deeply, mentally crash-coursing meditation and imagining ocean waves and gentle breezes. A hiccup shuts his entire course down and he fakes a smile to half-convince himself violence is not a solution.

"Mother?"

"No it's Taehyun, now is ther-"

"Tyun, Tyun, Tyun," Beomgyu keeps giggling and while it's kind of cute, it's also kind of annoying and Taehyun's patience has long run thin.

"It's Tae. Hyu-"

"Tyun, pretty name, pretty boy," the man suddenly rises from the ground, flinging himself at Taehyun and completely startling him.

"I want it tattooed. Tattoo your name on my ass please, Tyun," Beomgyu whispers in his ear, oddly clearly, and Taehyun tries to steady both of them while putting some distance between them. The other man's hot breath against his ear sends shivers down his spine and he's thankful the pungent smell of alcohol is enough to ironically pull him out of his little panic.

Taehyun absolutely regrets skipping weights day twice last week.

Thankfully, Beomgyu collapses to the ground on his own after a full two seconds.

"Make it a tramp stamp. He called me a slut anyway," Beomgyu laughs from the ground and even though Taehyun doesn't know what exactly happened to the other guy, the crestfallen smile on his face still does break his heart a little.

For a second, he's speechless. Taehyun isn't exactly the most in touch with his feelings, much less another person's feelings and he really has no idea how to deal with any of this.

"Do you not want me either?" Beomgyu looks up at him with an innocent look, tilting his head in confusion and Taehyun's heart stutters.

"Huh?"

"Do you not want to tattoo me?" He repeats and Taehyun shakes his head, mostly to himself. Scanning Beomgyu's exposed arms and collarbone, he can safely say that the other boy definitely hasn't even gotten a tattoo before, and the thought of someone's first tattoo being a drunken 'tramp stamp' makes him furrow his eyebrows.

Bending down to meet Beomgyu eyes, he grips the other guy's hands gently, "Get home, get sober, then come back tomorrow and tell me if you still want to get my name tattooed on your ass."

Beomgyu looks back at him with watery eyes and for the first time that night, a genuine smile blooms on the boy's face and he looks years younger and more carefree all of a sudden.

"Okay," Beomgyu giggles and Taehyun doesn't know what compels him to brush his lips gently against the boy's forehead.

The boy slumps into his arms and he is genuinely about to freak out or maybe call Soobin or maybe even the police when he hears the tinkling of his door chime.

"Sorry to disturb but have you seen a pretty tall man-" He hears a frantic voice traveling closer and closer and never mind their compromising position, Taehyun has never been happier to see another human being.

"Oh my god, Gyu!" The newcomer cries.

"I am so sorry he's just completely wasted and I don't know how he escaped when I was trying to pay the bill," the guy who towers over them rapidly tries to explain.

"Please just," Taehyun motions to the boy in his arms with his head, and the other man jumps straight in to pull Beomgyu away.

Taehyun would very much like to convince himself he'd imagined the little tinge of coldness settling in his now empty arms as Beomgyu's company jostles him into an awkwardly placed piggyback, one leg dangling freely and another clutched around his waist.

Nope, not jealous at all.

"Junnie," Beomgyu suddenly hiccups, half-conscious again.

Taehyun totally does not suppress a scowl when the 'Junnie' sighs and responds, "Yes little bear?"

"Tyun here says he'd tattoo his- His name on my ass. If-If I come back tomorrow," he giggles giddily and the 'Junnie' looks like he's about to pass out from second-hand embarrassment.

Alarmed, Taehyun tries to quickly formulate an explanation because, for all he knows, this Junnie person could be Beomgyu's significant other, and as much as he tries to ignore the little twinge of envy, the last thing he wants is still to come in between anybody's relationship. Even if it's just a poorly worded misunderstanding.

But then 'Junnie' is immediately speaking before he can vocalize any sort of non-incriminating explanation.

"He's not usually like that. I apologize for his disturbance, I'll have him regret this tomorrow and wallow in embarrassment," he mutters. Taehyun snorts and decides he likes this Junnie person a whole lot more already.

As soon as the pair shuffles out, Taehyun doesn't hesitate to quickly pull the shutters down and lock the door. It isn't like it's a terribly common occurrence, but he thinks he's way too tired to deal with another drunkard, by the off-chance another comes his way.

Especially not if they're as cute as Beomgyu and come with a whole load of dramatics.

—

Taehyun genuinely wasn't expecting to see Beomgyu again, but as he eyes the sheepish boy 90 degrees bent in an apologetic bow before him, two days after the event, he frankly doesn't know what to say.

"Uhm, it's okay? You were drunk anyway," he offers, not exactly in the mood to elaborate on how ridiculous Beomgyu had behaved.

"No! It's not! Yeonjun told me I made a big fuss about getting your name tattooed on my ass and that was completely unacceptable. Thank you for taking care of me anyway," Beomgyu rattles off, crimson ears literally screaming his embarrassment.

Soobin chooses this exact moment to pop his head out of the little storage room which he'd made his mini-office, much to Taehyun's disgruntlement, clearly having unceremoniously eavesdropped on their conversation.

"Oooh, so you're the drunk boy who came over two nights ago and asked for a 'tramp stamp'!" He exclaims without any deliberation and Beomgyu's face flushes a whole tone darker.

"Yea- I called it a tramp stamp? I am so sorry I swear I'm not a slut-shamer. It just came out," Beomgyu cringes outwardly.

And then Soobin's striding out to curiously scan Beomgyu.

So yes, Taehyun may have recounted the events extremely vaguely and without any details to Soobin, who still managed to tease him about it. Apparently, Soobin thinks, had it been anyone else, Taehyun would've kicked them out straight away. He'd protested endlessly, obviously.

"I'm Soobin," he grins, waving a little, "and in case you were too drunk to remember, he's Taehyun. I mean, you should know the words you wanna get tattooed on your own ass right?"

Beomgyu chokes at the comment before he collects himself, waving back and bowing a little, "I'm Beomgyu. Sorry you had to deal with me again."

"Beomgyu?" Soobin interjects before Taehyun can tell him it's okay and he can honestly just go.

"Just wondering but. You wouldn't actually be… Choi Beomgyu, Beomgyu Choi?" Soobin continues, voice humming with anticipation, and Beomgyu nods his head hesitantly.

"Beomgyu of BamNana Studio?" He rushes out and Taehyun can confirm that he has almost never seen Soobin this talkative in front of someone new.

"About that," Beomgyu rubs his neck awkwardly, "I was kinda kicked out by my studio partner. Long story but I guess it's just Nana Studio now. I'm the Bam that's kinda just floating now."

Beomgyu huffs out a little embarrassed laugh and Soobin's quick to flick his phone on and shove it in Taehyun's face.

"He's the tattoo artist Kai saw on Instagram the other day!" He's yelling now, excitedly turning to Beomgyu, and Taehyun tries to get a good look at the crazily shaking screen, "I love your work! My boyfriend wanted to go downtown to get one from you but Taehyun said he wouldn't drive us downtown even if we paid gas money."

"It's like a 3-hour drive away - neither of you would be paying any gas money after spending money on your tattoos," Taehyun retorts, not wanting to sound like an ass in front of their new companion.

Oh. Now that Taehyun has a better look at BamNana Studio's Instagram page, which he notes has indeed been renamed Nana Studio - yet Beomgyu's dainty watercolor works are evidently still on the page what a scam - he does actually recognize the delicate art which had impressed him greatly when Kai had first shown it to them.

Ignoring Soobin, who is always full of unrealized desires and only has a single line-art tattoo of some Tokyo Ghoul character on his rib which he forced a reluctant Taehyun to tattoo at a severely discounted price, he turns to Beomgyu.

"You're a tattoo artist too?" Beomgyu nods quietly. "What happened?"

Taehyun entertains the thought that this might be a private and sensitive matter to Beomgyu but still, he is curious. Isn't it okay for him to know a teeny bit more after having to take care of a dramatic and drunk Beomgyu for a whole ten (10) minutes?

The boy in question scratches his nape again. They're clearly breaching a touchy topic, and Taehyun quickly feels bad and tells him it's okay not to share.

"No. It's fine. I did run the studio with the other girl - Eunna - hence the Nana. It's a little complicated, but her boyfriend tried to come onto me a few times when I was alone in the studio. She didn't take it very well when I told her about it, and the next thing I knew, she'd transferred me my share of the studio rental deposit and changed the lock and code to it. Even had my machine delivered to my apartment."

He lets out a dry chuckle before continuing, "Wanted to be petty and ask for my inks back too but oh well. I moved out to stay with my cousin - Yeonjun who you saw that night - because rationally speaking, I can't take clients without a studio and place for my equipment so I had to make some pre-emptive financial plans before I figure out what I can do, I guess. And then I got drunk my first night here. I think the stress got to me. I was probably reminded of BamNana when I saw your studio. Sorry about that again."

Beomgyu recounts everything so easily as if he hadn't just faced the most ridiculous form of injustice and had his life practically ruined when he really hadn't done anything wrong. And that alone makes Taehyun's heart break a little more.

"What? How could she?" Soobin's upset look mirrors Taehyun's own frown.

The other man shrugs simply, "My bad for not properly putting my name on the lease. I hadn't seen the need to."

"Anyway, I've overstayed my welcome. You probably have clients coming in soon. It's the prime time for weekday college kids' appointments," he winks and heads towards the door, throwing a wave behind him. He's right. In fact, he has a girl scheduled in five, coming to get her first-ever tattoo. Happy legal!

And then Taehyun rolls his eyes when he turns to see Soobin giving him the most disgusting puppy eyes ever. He's even shriveled into a little ball in a half-crouch to seem more pitiful - an ironic move because his past time is obviously making fun of Taehyun's height.

He has a couple of seconds to really think it through but heart pounding, he decides to take the plunge just as the tinkling chime resounds in the still air.

"Beomgyu?"

The boy turns, a little confused, and the sunlight hitting his pretty profile mid-turn almost makes him look like an angel.

"Yeah?"

"What do you say we share my studio?"

—

"Be prepared for your DMs to be flooded. Kai's like an Instagram influencer or something," Taehyun mutters, poking his head from his comfortable swivel chair to try and peek at the nearly completed tattoo on Kai's arm.

Once Beomgyu had settled into the other half of Taehyun's studio, Kai who'd heard the news from his boyfriend practically scampered in before the boy could even officially announce he'd joined a new studio and properly open bookings, calling dibs on being his first client after joining the studio.

"I'm not an influencer! I just can't help how handsome I am!" Kai protests, fingers twitching under Beomgyu's iron-like grip on his arm.

The low whirring of the machine pauses and Beomgyu reaches to swipe over the stray droplets of blood and ink with practiced ease.

"Then, I better do my best job," he grins, dipping back in quickly to patch up any minor details.

Taehyun can't help but be distracted by how serious Beomgyu looks at work, eyes sharp and focused, jaw slightly tensed and looking deadly attractive. The grumble of the machine snaps him out of his gawking and Taehyun leans back into his swivel chair abruptly, only to spot Kai's teasing grin. Annoyed, but mostly embarrassed, he flips Kai off subtly and the boy sticks his tongue out in response. Thank goodness Soobin was out doing some work meeting stuff or he'd really suffer at the hands of their tag team teasing.

"All done!" Beomgyu adjusts the light, taking a step back to do a final once-over before Kai excitedly passes his phone over for a boomerang or something over-the-top for his social media accounts. Muttering curses at Kai under his breath, Taehyun finally stalks over to finally look at the tattoo sitting on Kai's tricep properly, which he hadn't because of his major distraction. He doesn't forget to flick Kai on the forehead.

As the artwork finally seizes his attention, he finds himself speechless and in awe. The tattoo is tiny, barely the size of a hair clip, yet the detail captured is immaculate and Taehyun can clearly identify each little frayed fiber, knot, and curve of the red thread as it floats lightly downwards to loop into a braided blossom. Most breathtaking of all was the centerpiece, where the little rectangular pendant sat delicately, layered with equally intricate magnolias.

If the posts he'd managed to dig up from what traces of Beomgyu remained on (Bam)Nana Studio's Instagram page had impressed him, the beautiful, dainty tattoo that greeted him in person practically stole his breath away. Just what kind of skill did Beomgyu possess?

"Wow."

"It's a norigae by the way, you uncultured swine."

"Fuck off Kai, I'm Korean too," Taehyun snaps back, lowkey embarrassed because he actually did not know that, and Kai also did not need to expose him like that.

"Can I just-" Taehyun doesn't even wait for Kai to reply before he's whipping his phone out to snap a photo for his own private admiration and Kai protests that it's his skin and he'd upload it on his Instagram anyway.

Taehyun waves him off, eyes still glued on the bright image of the little tattoo glaring back at him. Photos really didn't do the pretty work justice, but he'd just have to settle for this. He vaguely registers Beomgyu swiping down the tattoo a last time and plopping the cling film on, before giving Kai the same ol' aftercare instructions, flippantly waving the youngest boy away as he leaves to meet Soobin for dinner. Taehyun's frankly still caught up with how detailed and beautiful the work greeting him is.

On the other hand, Beomgyu can't hide his shy smile on seeing how dramatic Taehyun was reacting to his tattoo. Almost as if it was the most beautiful tattoo he'd ever seen, even though he knows full well how sharp and detailed Taehyun's own art has always been.

"Funny you like it that much, I have something similar on me too. Just much bigger. One of my first designs, actually - I was still a really new apprentice. I'm pickier with tattoos on my own body and was honestly surprised it came out fine," he huffs out a little laugh, giving Kai a final wave as he disappears down the street.

There's the thing about Beomgyu, Taehyun still hasn't managed to figure out in the past week they'd pretty much spent together during the move. And it's obviously his lack of tattoos. He'd asked about it as soon as he got a little more comfortable with the other man and Beomgyu had assured him that he did have plenty of them, just strategically placed out of plain sight.

In contrast, Taehyun's floral arm sleeves were pretty much obvious - little vines, buds, and petals peeking out even when he sported his usual long-sleeved hoodies.

"How many tattoos do you have hidden, honestly?" Taehyun can't help his curiosity. Beomgyu's always bundled up in regular clothes, yet they never quite give away a single glimpse of any of the tattoos he casually speaks of. Taehyun can't deny that he has to regularly resist the urge to remove every article of Beomgyu's clothing to find out for himself, a little envious that some other artist, - or shocking: maybe even more than one - has gotten their chance to possibly leave their mark on the boy's more intimate areas.

Beomgyu smirks, catching Taehyun's eyes sweep his torso a little more hungrily than intended, "Wouldn't you like to know, tattoo boy?"

Taehyun colors a little, suddenly aware that he's been caught staring, coughing he rushes out a reply, "S'not as funny when I'm not your weatherman dad staging an interview on TV."

"Ooh, dad. Is that what you're into?" Beomgyu winks, and it's just like him to pick on the most random parts of Taehyun's words, not missing any opportunity to tease him. And Taehyun shoves him half-heartedly, slipping back to his space to get his equipment ready for the next client. Or rather he's pretending to do so while willing his blush away because his next appointment really isn't till an hour later.

—

"Please stop calling it a tramp stamp, it's literally a lower back tattoo," Beomgyu grumbles as he carefully scans the freshly printed stencil in his hands.

"But that's what you called it when you asked Taehyun to tattoo your ass!" Soobin protests in response.

"I was feeling particularly self-deprecating that night. I did feel slut-shamed mind you," Beomgyu scrunches his nose, placing the stencil on his desk.

"So?" Soobin presses. "Do you have one?"

Beomgyu had settled in really nicely, and after Kai uploaded a strategically shot picture showing off his tattoo and his devastatingly sexy side profile while tagging both Beomgyu and Taehyun's studio, they'd received a ton of inquiries even before Taehyun properly announced their new artist.

Despite their art styles being vastly different, Taehyun being a heavier-handed Japanese-style tattoo artist and Beomgyu mostly working on daintier watercolor and micro tattoos, the duo matched very well, bringing in an assortment of clients.

But if Taehyun had had a bunch of shy clients who tried to discreetly check him out before, Beomgyu now had a whole lot of clients, both his own and the other artist's, openly gawking at him and not so subtly flirting with him. Obviously, much to Taehyun's annoyance and Beomgyu's oblivion. The older boy was extremely focused during work, only breaking his serious demeanor occasionally to shamelessly flirt with or hang around Taehyun when he had an empty slot.

And right now, Soobin, who'd become close to Beomgyu as well during their time working in the same space, was also showing equal interest in the boy's hidden tattoos.

With that, Taehyun perks up, straining his ears to listen out for the boy's response.

"Well," he drawls eyeing Taehyun, who is suddenly self-conscious he's been caught eavesdropping, "that's for Taehyun to find out."

Soobin makes a disgusted face, "Ew. And Taehyun, when will you share the sacred info with us?"

Taehyun feels the heat burning at the tip of his ears as he sputters.

"When he finally asks me out," Beomgyu winks, and Taehyun chokes on his spit.

"You guys are disgusting."

"Not as bad as you and Kai."

"At least we're actually dating."

"Touché."

Taehyun wants to leave.

—

It's about a week later when Beomgyu brings up the topic of his mysterious absence or presence of a lower back tattoo again. And Taehyun's alarmed, to say the least.

Soobin had taken the day off his work - Taehyun still can't actually remember whether Soobin does design or accounting - to celebrate his anniversary with Kai, leaving the two of them alone in the studio on a typically quiet weekday afternoon.

Taehyun had been working on an upcoming client's design while humming along with their Twice playlist - a mutually agreed great bgm for both artists while at work - when Beomgyu's low voice pierced their comfortable silence.

"About the lower back tattoo," he starts and Taehyun immediately shoots up, turning around to give Beomgyu his attention. He'd learned that the boy appreciated getting reassured he was constantly being heard.

"I actually don't have one. Even though my thighs and torso are basically already covered in tattoos," he drops the information carefully and the thought of actually having the chance to see what lay below Beomgyu's clothes makes Taehyun's heart pound. Purely out of curiosity of course.

"Why though?" Taehyun wonders aloud because he imagines it to be a little odd to have a single empty spot on fully inked skin.

Beomgyu shrugs in response before replying, "It's the most intimate tattoo spot for me I guess, didn't want to rush it in without waiting for the right tattoo. But then years passed and oh well."

"Which brings me to this. You're free for the rest of the day?" Taehyun nods in affirmative, a little confused about where Beomgyu was headed.

"I thought of what I wanted there, after so long," he swivels his chair, nearly colliding into Taehyun, a glint of excitement twinkling in his pretty orbs.

"Red spider lilies. And I want you to do them for me. Now."

Taehyun's heart stops. Because this was not exactly a request he thought he'd hear from Beomgyu, and also because the boy had made two things very clear. One, he was picky with who did his tattoos. And two, he had also literally just said the lower back was the most intimate tattoo spot for him.

If this isn't a blatant confession from Beomgyu, he doesn't know what else it is.

Swallowing nervously, he clears his throat, not bothering to mask his surprise and excitement. If Beomgyu was being serious about his request, he has a job to do after all.

"Do you want to do the design yourself or…"

"Freehand. I'd like you to do it freehand. Do it the way you think fits the rest of the tattoos around the area," Beomgyu smirks as Taehyun's ears go red with the amount of trust rendered to him.

Focus, Taehyun. Focus.

"Okay… Any particular size or spot?" He asks, suddenly unsure and babbling despite having literally tattooed thousands of people thousands of times.

"Just fill the center spot up, you'll get it when you see your canvas," Beomgyu laughs, sauntering over to plop himself comfortably on Taehyun's tattoo bed.

"Right. Okay. Okay good. Sure." Taehyun finally gets a grip, leaving to grab his skin marker and prepping his inks.

His brain turns to mush as he reaches out with shaky fingers to lift Beomgyu's shirt up and pull his pants down a tad bit for easier access to the area.

"Don't cheat, Tyun," Beomgyu warns cheekily, turning to eye Taehyun from the side, "don't peep at the rest of my tattoos. I know how much skin you need exposed for a tattoo there." He punctuates his sentence with a wink, and Taehyun immediately snaps out of it, heart beating even faster at the use of the little nickname he hadn't heard since the hilarious night Beomgyu showed up drunk.

Rearranging his features to muster the best scowl he can, he waves Beomgyu off, gently lifting his oversized shirt up to his waist.

Taehyun had admittedly imagined a million different designs he guessed Beomgyu would sport, based on the copious hints dropped, and he really isn't too far off.

Except, the intricacy of the red thread that runs down the expanse of Beomgyu's tiny waist completely grabs him off guard with the detail and beautiful dreaminess of the overall design. Flitting between each loop and blossom of frayed red thread lay equally delicate koi fish and cranes, filled in with soft hazy shades in stark contrast to the bright red thread.

Taehyun had to use every ounce of self-control not to run his fingers and feel every inch of the beautiful skin or break his little promise by hiking the offending shirt further up to explore the rest of the masterpiece.

The artwork was both breathtaking and lulling, literally screaming Beomgyu no matter how Taehyun tried to look at it.

"That sexy huh."

The other artist's voice jolts him out of his admiration session and he jabs his waist playfully, eliciting a sharp squeak and beg for truce from Beomgyu.

"Well. Yeah they are beautiful. Why would you hide them?" He breathes, not bothering to conceal the fact that he was literally reeling. Beomgyu lets out a soft laugh, a little bashful too.

"Are they… All your designs or…" he trails off, busying himself with bunching and tying up Beomgyu's soft cotton shirt into a knot at his ribs.

"Yep. Like I said, I'm picky with what goes on my own skin. A close friend of mine did them for me actually. I was an apprentice under her for a couple of years and she liked my designs enough to help me tattoo them bit by bit," Beomgyu replies lazily, "that friend is not Eunna by the way." He adds with a huff. Taehyun can't see Beomgyu's face with him having shifted to lean on his other cheek, but he snorts anyway, already able to picture his cute nose scrunch.

And then it sinks in.

This was going to be the first time Beomgyu allowed something other than his own design to grace his precious skin; and the trust sends little jolts down Taehyun's entire body.

Nayeon's high-pitched "you you you give me the feeeeeeeels" snaps his attention back again and he coughs a little, running his fingers on the empty spot down Beomgyu's spine. Trying to ignore the goosebumps rising under his fingertips, he swipes down the area with alcohol, and the boy twitches under him from the sharp coldness.

Well. He does have a job after all and deciding he has to treat Beomgyu's trust delicately and seriously, he slips right into work mode, mapping his canvas and getting to work with his marker.

It wasn't exactly the first time he'd done a freehand tattoo, but those were rarer, more on the clients' preferences because Taehyun was confident in his skills - freehand or stenciled.

But still, this was Beomgyu. He couldn't help but feel a little nervous as he pops his head up, assessing the pair of spider lilies sitting at the base of Beomgyu's spine.

"Why spider lilies though?"

"Dunno. Saw an old movie and the couple had those tattooed. Wasn't an excellent movie or anything but it stuck with me for a few years. Just felt right to fill that spot up with it after I saw your floral arm sleeves."

And Beomgyu was absolutely right - they fit right into the beautiful swirling ends of red thread and dreamy yet detailed koi fish and crane motifs lining the boy's waist - almost like an ending statement to complete his full back tattoo.

"Do you… Perhaps want me to snap a picture for you before I start?" Taehyun's voice wavers shakily from his anticipation and nerves. It wasn't a typical practice for freehand tattoos but he still wanted to be sure. He'd be terribly upset if Beomgyu ended up regretting it.

"Nope. I've seen your work, Tyun. I trust you."

A comfortable warmth bloom at the pits of his stomach and excitement thrums in his veins from Beomgyu vocalizing his trust. It was almost like a confession in the most romantic way Taehyun could ever imagine, as a tattoo artist himself. Almost as if Beomgyu was baring his soul and trusting it to him.

Heart thumping, he tries to file that fact to be addressed, channeling the excited energy into his current most-important work instead. Taehyun's totally sorry to his other clients.

Even as Taehyun slips into his focused work-mode headspace, he is still subconsciously aware of the way his fingertips burn with an urgent searing heat each time he touches Beomgyu's skin. And his heart creeps quietly, picking up its pace discreetly with the vague awareness of how intimate the entire experience is, even with the loud whirring of his machine and the jarringly cheerful loop of Twice songs running behind.

Somewhere along the past two hours, Beomgyu had fallen into a peaceful slumber, the low whirring and Taehyun's gentle yet skilled hands lulling him into drowsiness.

Taehyun gives a final swipe down the tattoo, the fresh ink glistening from the newly applied layer of cool gel. Taking a step back, he nervously assesses his own work and the beauty of the now completed masterpiece. Unfortunately also one he couldn't fully admire yet.

"I was just kidding when I said you can't see the rest of my back tattoo you know," he hears Beomgyu slur out a little groggily, voice deeper and scratchy from his little nap.

Before Taehyun can properly respond, the boy has reached out to the knot at the back, undoing it with nimble fingers, giving a little stretch, and pulling the rest of his shirt up to reveal his entire back.

Taehyun's breath hitches. For the most part, it's the fact that his pair of spider lilies fit so perfectly with the full red thread tattoo running across Beomgyu's back. The fact that even Taehyun himself couldn't tell that the tattoos had been designed by two different artists despite their vastly different styles.

"You know," he breathes nervously, inching close to Beomgyu who tips his chin up to face Taehyun, "this is almost like a confession."

Beomgyu reaches one hand to pull Taehyun in even closer by his shirt. Taehyun barely has enough brain capacity to register the fact that the boy is oddly flexible.

"That's because it is, silly," he narrows his eyes though hints of a nervous smile betray his anticipation, "I've been openly flirting and saying I like you but you didn't get it so I had to do it your way. You're the sappy kind right. You get it now?"

Taehyun's heart stops, staring back a little blankly while trying to process the words, and Beomgyu's grip loosens a little.

"But if you don't feel the same way that's fine you know. For the record, I did feel like your work would fit right into the empty space there," he says, softer this time, a little melancholic smile gracing his pretty features.

"No!" Taehyun snaps a little too aggressively.

"Of course I feel the same way but- I just. I just thought there was a chance you were just fooling around with me so-" he scratches his nape sheepishly and Beomgyu grins, relieved and joyful, dragging Taehyun a little further lower to plant a little kiss on his forehead.

"This is exciting and all but can you patch me up real quick. I still wanna see your work of art."

"You're the work of art," Taehyun mumbles softly but it doesn't go unheard.

"Wow, you really are the sappy kind huh."

"Shut up!"

*

Tattooing isn't an easy job. Starting from the many questionable requests the duo receives from potential clients - most recently including a man who came in asking Taehyun for a tattoo of superman twerking. The boy couldn't believe he had heard that request with his own two ears and actually got down to tattooing it with his own two hands while Beomgyu audibly attempted to stifle his own snickers from behind.

Well. Apart from those, tattooing is also a job with many health and safety concerns. Which meant their monthly deep cleaning and studio sterilization session apart from the daily cleaning. Taehyun usually had to do it alone since Soobin would often very conveniently decide to work somewhere else - the audacity of this freeloader - but now, there was Beomgyu which meant extra help, and hopefully also a faster job done.

Maybe with a couple of kisses sneaked in between, now that Soobin wasn't around to relentlessly tease them for their PDA when they just so much as held hands. What a cockblocker.

That was exactly what Taehyun expected - help cleaning every surface and every nook and cranny of the studio - as he pulls the shutters down so they wouldn't be interrupted by potential customers who didn't know they were closed for cleaning.

What he hadn't expected though, was for Beomgyu to abruptly disappear upon reaching the studio, and emerge from Soobin's makeshift office, usually spared from the cleaning, hair bunned up loosely and donning inappropriately short shorts and a muscle tank. And Taehyun now has an HD view of the ends of the red thread designs peeking out the front of his arms and wrapped around his delectable thighs.

He realizes he must have been gawking because Beomgyu's face shifts wildly from confusion to a little bit of self-conscious hesitance, before settling with a smug smirk.

"Chill out sweetheart, I just don't want my sleeves and pants to get wet with all the steam later."

Taehyun squints, a little miffed, "You don't mean to say… You used to dress like this in your older studios during clean-up."

"What hm. Jealousy showing?" Beomgyu snorts.

"No. Just find it unfair that so many people have seen your tattoos and yet you've been hiding them from me," he replies a little too earnestly.

The pair had been dating for barely a month, and apart from sharing sweet kisses - Taehyun really is a sap - and a few steamy make-out sessions in his apartment when they had movie or dinner dates in, they hadn't exactly gone any further. Not that Taehyun was complaining, he liked whatever Beomgyu did and relished in their slowly blooming intimacy.

Beomgyu's eyes shift a little darker and he strides right up into Taehyun's space who finds it virtually difficult to breathe now. Grabbing his lowkey sweating hands, Beomgyu brings them up, planting them around his torso.

"I was just kidding. Why would I dress like this around people I am not interested in?" He grins playfully and Taehyun huffs.

Beomgyu knew exactly what he was doing.

Fired up, Taehyun tightens his grip, pulling Beomgyu flush against him, surprising the boy who gasps, cheeky grin falling abruptly. He tugs him into a sloppy kiss, hand trailing down to grip the other's man thigh, Beomgyu moans at the contact and Taehyun stiffens, before he feels the pair of lips against his upturn into a smile.

Beomgyu rolls his hips against Taehyun's eliciting a frustrated groan before he leans back, a satisfied smirk sitting on his lips.

"I should've known you were planning something."

"I have been! Funny how I thought I'd have to bend over and scrub the tattoo beds in these sexy shorts for you to take action," he throws his head back with a chortle.

"But now that that's out of the way, can I suck you off? I've been thirsting after you for a long while, Taehyun," he adds shamelessly. No fucks given.

"Yeah, uh yeah sure," Taehyun mutters breathlessly, mind cloudy from Beomgyu's direct words, "and you thought the studio would be a good place for our first time together?"

Beomgyu laughs, sliding down to his knees and the image alone makes Taehyun draw a sharp breath, "Well, it is where we first met, and also where I confessed," he grips Taehyun's thighs, pausing to use his teeth and fingers to make a show of pulling Taehyun's pants and underwear down together - all while glancing back at the man with faux innocence, "and of course, it's also where I started to like you too."

Taehyun hisses as the strain against his pants escapes free, brain melting into goo when Beomgyu brushes his lips against a flushed vein, lapping little kitten licks to bring him to full hardness before taking him whole abruptly.

Jerking back with the sudden jolt of pleasure, Taehyun really can't believe the way Beomgyu has him completely wrapped around his finger. The playful boy was a walking paradox, reserved yet open bare only for Taehyun's eyes, contemplative yet playful - an unpredictable, beautiful man he had completely and irreversibly fallen for.

Beomgyu bobs his head in a harsh rhythm and the heat combined with the image below him has Taehyun's stomach in knots as he groans, hands struggling to find something to ground himself with. Not pausing his actions, his boyfriend grabs his hands, placing them at the back of his hair and oh. Taehyun totally gets it. But now he also has to stop himself from climaxing way too early because the implication of Beomgyu's actions really isn't helping.

Letting his instincts take over, Taehyun entangles his fingers between the bundled strands of Beomgyu's hair, tugging a little tentatively before canting his hips at a more steady rhythm and groaning louder. The other man lets out a muffled moan, gripping tighter onto Taehyun's thighs. And the vibrations along with the visible tent Beomgyu is sporting through his way too short shorts beckons him into a particularly hard thrust into the warm heat, the older man's loose bun coming undone with Taehyun's grip.

He's near, but he also isn't done. So fighting his instincts, he pulls Beomgyu off him abruptly and up to his feet.

Beomgyu looks confused, cheeks rosy and lips a pretty crimson, tousled hair brushing against his collarbones.

"So, so, pretty," he can't help but breathe out and Beomgyu keens at the praise.

Lifting the boy easily onto his tattoo bed, he flips him around.

"May I?" He asks because he is a gentleman, even if he's extremely turned on.

Beomgyu exhales, breathlessly, throat hoarse, "Yes, please."

But then Taehyun freezes, hands around the other boy's waistband because. He wasn't prepared for this at all and-

"In the third drawer at your desk," Beomgyu throws him a mischievous glance and Taehyun barks out a surprised laugh.

"How long have you been planning this?"

"Oh well, just a couple of days, but you already know that. It's cleaning day, after all, might as well put the effort to full use," he throws a wink back before Taehyun slinks away to find a bottle of lube and a fresh box of condoms.

Taehyun can almost swear that nothing else can come close to making him as hungry and turned-on as the man lying under him, squirming and moaning as he preps him at a shaky pace. First times are always awkward and Taehyun really doesn't mind fumbling around to know what works for Beomgyu. Except the boy is taking everything he gives and lapping it up greedily, making him feel so wanted and desired, it burns in the pits of his stomach.

And then he's spinning around, panting and pulling Taehyun's fingers out.

"Tyun, Tyun, I'm ready," he whispers, a little shy, and his pretty orbs and little blush are so alluring Taehyun can't resist crashing his lips right into the other boy's. They melt right into a heated kiss before Beomgyu breaks off to slip Taehyun's t-shirt off, openly swallowing nervously and running his fingers over his defined muscles and the array of tattoos littering his skin. Unlike Beomgyu, Taehyun only had a flower concept going for his arm sleeves, the rest of his tattoos mostly came on a whim.

Each touch on his skin is scalding yet sends shivers down his spine, and he loses his composure fully when Beomgyu draws him closer with his legs, both hissing as their lengths make contact. And then Beomgyu's licking up his abs, turning him into a mess of whines and groans rendering his legs to jelly. Swirling his tongue around his hard bud, Beomgyu draws out a loud whine from his boyfriend, before he playfully drags his tongue a little upwards shy below his collarbone, sucking a dark bruise at the empty spot there. Taehyun's heart stutters at the thought of Beomgyu claiming him. Smirking, Beomgyu leans back to admire the reddening spot, satisfied.

"That's my spot now. You'll have to let me tattoo you there," he grins and Taehyun falls deep, heart stopping and smile gracing his lips subconsciously at the understanding that Beomgyu wants to leave his mark on him. Permanently. Exactly the way he did.

"Now come on, Tyun," the devious boy drawls, turning around while easily shrugging his muscle tank off as Taehyun grips his waist urgently.

When it comes to Beomgyu, Taehyun never fails to fall helpless to him and watching the unraveled artwork, that'd always been a mystery he'd been pressed to see for himself, come into full view, he's rendered speechless. Spotting the way his pair of freshly healed spider lilies sit perfectly fitting at the base of the red threads which fall to wrap around Beomgyu's luscious thighs, Taehyun feels himself grow impossibly harder.

"I'm starting to think you're into my tattoos and not me," he hears Beomgyu pant out a little breathlessly.

No. Taehyun wants to argue. It's Beomgyu that he's into. The way the tattoos sit beautifully on his beautiful skin, the way his wavy hair brushes against the little red strokes of frayed thread on the wide expanse of his broad shoulders, and the devastating smile that graces his lips when he sees Taehyun. All these only for him, and that's what he's into. But his malfunctioning mind only translates his immense poetry into something else that leaves his lips-

"I love you."

Beomgyu stops fidgeting, freezing a little.

Too early? Should he take it back?

But he doesn't want to.

Beomgyu doesn't have to say it back. That's not what he wants. He just wants him to know it. Know that he's loved.

His grip on Beomgyu's waist loosens.

"I'm-"

"I love you," Beomgyu hurries, turning around, and even the beautiful array of animal motifs which litter his torso around segments of red thread and knots can't distract Taehyun from the sincere, urgent look etched on his face.

"I'd say I love you too. But I didn't say it just because you said it first. Does that make sense? I'm saying it because I want you to know that yeah. I do love you. Regardless of how you feel. I hope it's not some sex-crazed slip of tongue because that would be awkward," Beomgyu trails off on registering Taehyun's balking.

"It's not. Of course no it's not-" and Beomgyu cuts him off, pulling him into another urgent kiss and it's a really odd feeling because Taehyun wants to cry, but he is also extremely turned on.

"Can we save the talk for later, because I really want you to fuck me now," Beomgyu draws back with a teasing grin and Taehyun finds himself beaming back, pushing the boy onto his back and lining himself up in preparation.

"Wait really?" Beomgyu suddenly interjects, breathing heavily with anticipation.

Taehyun raises his eyebrow.

Oh.

"I'm confident with my work, but I'm not a narcissist," he grins, "I want to see your pretty face while I fuck you."

The little gasps and moans combined with the blissed-out expression on Beomgyu's face as he rocks his hips into the searing heat nearly make him come undone so many times. And each drag of his length against Beomgyu's sensitive walls pulls both of them into borderline delirium as he drives harder and faster, wanting to draw out every possible moan and whine from the man he loves.

He doesn't know what comes over him as he pulls Beomgyu up suddenly, lifting the fucked out man up easily and pressing their chests flush together. Beomgyu wraps his arms and legs tightly around him, letting out a high-pitched whine as Taehyun thrusts upwards, the new and much deeper angle sending him into a frenzy.

Taehyun has never been happier about being a midnight gym rat.

The telltale tightening heat around his length, combined with Beomgyu's abrupt silence is glaring enough and Taehyun doesn't hesitate to drill into the other man relentlessly, chasing their highs for the both of them.

Beomgyu spills suddenly between them with a loud moan, babbling in his sex-clouded haze.

"Tyun, Tyun, love you. Love you."

Beomgyu sinks his teeth into Taehyun's shoulder pushing him to jerk up with a loud groan, coming undone and releasing right into the condom and the tight heat surrounding him.

Breathless and panting, Taehyun carries his limp boyfriend back to his tattoo bed, legs wobbly, both hissing when he finally pulls out.

Needless to say, Beomgyu pulls him right back into a lazy kiss once he's done helping them clean up.

The leather sticking onto their burning skin and the tight space doesn't quite make for a romantic experience but they're cuddling, skin-to-skin, and even if he's feeling a little overheated, he is only one man - one man whipped for his boyfriend -, and he's not going to make a fuss about it.

"You really are a sap aren't you," Beomgyu teases and Taehyun's face goes bright red, as if he hadn't just been relentlessly pounding into Beomgyu minutes ago.

"Do you want me to be turned off by you saying you love me?" He retorts back and Beomgyu giggles, tinkling and unbridled.

"I wasn't complaining."

A moment of comfortable silence washes over them as Beomgyu leans into his shoulder, playing with his fingers idly and basking in their after-sex glow.

"You do know we still have to sterilize the place and scrub every surface right?" Taehyun teases lightly.

Beomgyu groans, thrashing his arms exaggeratedly before sighing.

"It's okay. I've got you with me, haven't I?"

Taehyun smiles, heart fuzzy.

"Yeah, yeah you do."