Work Text:
Ryuu checked the clock on the artwork-covered wall behind himself again. It was almost midday. Almost time for their lunchbreak. And Ennoshita was still busy with a customer.
He really hoped they would be finished in time. Ennoshita was a very professional tattoo-artist: They knew how long a certain piece would take them and set their appointments accordingly. They always finished on time – give or take five minutes. But one should never overlook the “artist” in “tattoo-artist”. It had happened before that Ennoshita had gotten so lost in sketch work or mind mapping that they ended up forgetting to eat in-between clients. (How someone was able to forget to eat at all was entirely beyond Ryuu.) Ever since he had taken note of it, he had made it a habit to ask Ennoshita if they had had enough to eat or if he should bring them takeaway or something. And on some memorable occasions he had managed to get them to come along to get something together.
As was Ryuu’s plan for today.
You see, the previous weekend he was having his usual movie night with Noya. And he’d mentioned something about how Ennoshita almost became a regisseur rather than a tattoo-artist (Isn’t that awesome? They have so many talents!) – a fact that he might have slipped into a conversation or two before already – and Noya had snapped. Hit him up the backside of his shaved head and declared: “Dude! You’re such a simp for them! Fucking do something about it!”
So, here he was, staring at the clock, perfect date prepared, waiting and hoping.
Six more minutes until their official lunch break, during which the shop would be closed. As long as Ennoshita finished on time. He double checked the items on his list: money – in his wallet; wallet – in his back pocket; jacket that was too warm for the weather but necessary for romancing Enno-chan – on the backrest of his chair; that one eyebrow piercing that Enno-chan had said suited him well – obviously there, he hadn’t taken it out once since they said that; top two buttons of his dress shirt – unbuttoned; flowers - …
Shit, how could he have forgotten about the flowers?
This was supposed to be perfect. A proper date needed flowers! And even if the romantic side of him wasn’t so set on fulfilling all the clichés, he had a valid reason to be panicking about this. Because as intelligent as his dear Enno-chan might be, they were apparently completely oblivious to Ryuu’s advances. And Ryuu had been made aware that he wasn’t a very subtle flirter. He needed to make it 100% clear that his intentions for this outing were romantic. He needed the flowers.
To Noya: CODE RED!
From Noya: WHAT? IS ENNO DATING SOMEONE ELSE?
To Noya: WORSE! I FORGOT THE FLOWERS!
From Noya: hoLY SHIT THIS IS REALLY CODE FUCKING RED
From Noya: I got you covered ryuu ma boi
From Noya: I’ll get the flowers to you. Just keep me updated on your location and stuff!
To Noya: BRO! NOYA! I KNEW I COULD COUNT ON YUU
To Noya: seriously, thanks man
Ryuu put his phone away, slightly more at ease, straightened his back and slapped his own cheeks. Giving up now wasn’t an option. He strained his ears to hear what was going on in Enno-chan’s workspace. The tattooing machine was still buzzing and a muffled conversation was being held on the other side of the door. Now he was hoping that they would end up going into overtime.
Seven minutes and a noteworthy number of nervous paces later, Ennoshita exited their room closely followed by their client. Shit. Shit shit shit. He had to do something.
“Ah, Enno-chan! The masterpiece is finished then?”
The pleased smile on Ennoshita’s face made Ryuu’s stomach flip. Before they could reply though, the client stretched out their arm to present two small owls - one black, one two-toned – sitting next to each other on a branch.
“It looks so awesome! Akaashi is going to love it,” the customer shouted excitedly.
“Wow, that turned out really cute!” Ryuu turned to his co-worker and dropped a hand onto their shoulder. “Good work, Enno-chan. Do you want me to see him out or do you have it covered?”
“It’s okay, I’ll do it. Thanks for the offer, Tanaka-san.”
Always so polite, his dear Enno-chan.
“Okay, I’ll be in the backroom then.”
Ryuu continued his pacing in said backroom, checking his phone on a regular basis, even though he knew that there was no way for Noya to have the flowers already. The doorbell jingled once and the customer’s loud voice carried his enthusiastic “thank you so much, it turned out so good” and “goodbye, Ennoshita-san” all the way to Ryuu’s ears.
Then Ennoshita joined him in the backroom and… proceeded to pull a lunchbox from their bag. Fuck.
Ryuu had been so focused on planning the perfect date that he hadn’t even considered that they might have brought their own food. He needed to do something about that. Like, right now!
In a nervous habit, he pushed his hands deeply into the front pockets of his black jeans, pulling his shoulders forward.
“Ah, Enno-chan. I was wondering if you wanted to go out with me for lunch today?”
Ennoshita looked at him with raised eyebrows; looked down at the not-quite-yet-opened lunchbox; looked back up.
“Hehe, yeah I- You know, there’s this new restaurant two blocks from here that I really want to try, but I don’t want to go alone. Actually, I really wanted to take you there. Specifically. I’ll be paying.”
For a moment they just held his gaze with their almost black eyes. (So pretty!) Ryuu didn’t dare breathing. Finally, they sighed.
“I guess I’ll leave this for dinner then.”
When they left the shop, Noya still hadn’t texted. Ryuu let him know that they were on their way to the restaurant.
“You look nervous,” Ennoshita pointed out, causing Ryuu to hastily put away his phone. “Are you alright? Did you get bad news or something?”
“Ah, no. Everything’s fine. Just-“ Ryuu scratched his neck as he digged for some sort of excuse. There was no way he would reveal his date-intentions if he didn’t even have the flowers yet! He settled for a half-truth. “-curious about the restaurant. I hope it’s worth it, since I dragged you away from your lunchbox and everything.”
The corner of Ennoshita’s mouth quirked up in amusement as they glanced over. “Don’t worry, it wasn’t anything special. I’m sure the restaurant will be just fine.”
“Yeah, probably.” Ryuu shot them an almost too-wide grin. “So, that client from earlier. He seemed to be really happy with his ink, but he talked more like he was on a volleyball court than in a quiet room. Did you have a hard time working on him?”
Ennoshita raised an eyebrow as if to say “you don’t have much of an inside voice either, Tanaka-san”. Then they proceeded to talk about how they loved creating and tattooing this specific artwork and how the client was surprisingly still during the whole procedure, even though he constantly looked like he was positively vibrating from excitement on the inside.
When they arrived the corner of the street the restaurant was on, Ryuu’s phone announced a new message coming in. He checked it quickly.
From Noya: I have the flowers, currently on the bus.
To Noya: Awesome! We just arrived
Ryuu sent a silent prayer to every god he knew of that this would all work out fine.
The two of them entered the restaurant and were hit by a wall of thick air and noise. Panic surged through Ryuu as he took in the mass of people and the lack of empty tables. Shit. He hadn’t made a reservation. Why hadn’t he thought to make a reservation? This was supposed to be the perfect first date! How could he have forgotten both the flowers and the reservation?
A thoroughly stressed-out looking waiter speed-walked over to greet them with a bow.
“Welcome, gentlemen.” Ryuu supressed the urge to correct them on Ennoshita’s gender. They had insisted it wasn’t worth the trouble with people they wouldn’t ever see again. “All our tables are currently taken, but if you don’t mind waiting for a bit, I’m certain we’ll be able to fit the two of you in.”
Ryuu refused to look at Ennoshita. This was the most embarrassing moment of his entire life. He wanted to dissolve into… something. Air or darkness or shadows or some shit.
“How would you estimate the minimum waiting time?” Ennoshita asked. Because they had an appointment this afternoon, Ryuu knew. They had to make sure they got back to the studio in time.
“Around twenty minutes.”
That was too much. Shit.
Ennoshita told the waiter so and politely wished them a good day. When they were back on pavement, Ryuu buried his incredibly hot face in his hands. “Gosh, Enno-chan, I’m so sorry. I should’ve made a reservation. Now I dragged you out here all for nothing.”
“We can come here another time. You know, actually I’m really in the mood for Korean. There’s a cute place around the corner that I haven’t been to in a long time.”
That definitely didn’t make the situation any less embarrassing. Ryuu had wanted to take Ennoshita on a date. And now they were saving his plans.
But Enno-chan was right, of course. They had to make the best of the circumstances and they definitely had to get something to eat before Ennoshita went back to stabbing people with a moving needle for hours on end. Ryuu took out his phone and looked up the place. It did look nice.
To Noya: change of plans we’re going here instead: attached location
“Okay, let’s go there.”
They start walking again, this time accompanied by awkward silence. Which was bad. Like, really bad. Not only because it entirely ruined the date-y vibes, but also because now Ryuu had enough headspace to worry about the flowers and what Ennoshita was thinking and he ended up taking off the way-too-warm jacket and unbuttoning another button on his shirt. Eventually he managed to clear his throat.
“So, um… it’s pretty warm for December, isn’t it?”
The weather? Seriously??? He was so fucked.
Ennoshita seemed to find his current predicament quite amusing if their smile was anything to go by. “Yeah. Suspiciously warm. I wonder why.”
Ryuu was torn between hiding somewhere and laughing. He loved when Ennoshita started sassing people, but right now it wasn’t as funny as usual. He produced some sort of embarrassed chuckle. (New priority: redirect this conversation.)
“Do you have any plans for the holidays already?”
Ennoshita looked at him with a glint in their eyes that made it clear they knew exactly what he was doing, but they went with it. “I’m going to stay with my family for New Years, but I don’t have any plans for Christmas so far.”
Internally, all kinds of notification bells went off. (Free on Christmas!!!, they screamed. Couples’ holiday!!!) On the outside, he tried to appear as cool as possible when he said, “Yeah it’s pretty much the same for me.”
“Nice,” was all the reply he got.
He swore an oath to no one in particular to ask Ennoshita on a Christmas date if they didn’t explicitly reject him until then.
The Korean restaurant had a nice atmosphere and an assortment of delicious smells filled Ryuu’s lungs as they entered. There were also plenty unoccupied booths and tables. Just as a waiter approached them to seat them, Ryuu’s phone started ringing. He told Ennoshita to go ahead and order drinks for them, before going back outside and taking the call.
It was Noya. (Fucking finally!)
“Hey man, how far are you.”
“Just-,“ Noya’s breathing was extremely laboured, “Just around the corner. You?”
“I’m out front, Enno-chan’s waiting inside.”
“Perfect.” The line disconnected and moments later a small figure appeared on the relatively close corner of the street.
Ryuu went to meet his best friend halfway, tears of relief prickling in his eyes. “You are a lifesaver, man. Seriously. I could kiss you right now.”
Noya was mostly busy trying to catch his breath but managed a cheeky grin as he handed over a bouquet of purple and dark-red flowers. (Surprisingly entirely intact, despite the rough method of transport.)
“Better leave that for your date. But I’d be willing to give Asahi a kiss from you, for helping me save your ass.”
“Yes. Go and give flower-boy all the kisses.”
“Aye, sir,” Noya said with a salute. Then he proceeded to grab Ryuu’s shoulders and pushed him in the direction of the restaurant. “Now, do your romancing. You can’t just leave them waiting on a date!”
Noya was right, of course.
Without much further ado, Ryuu re-entered the restaurant. He scanned the room for Ennoshita eagerly, flowers hidden behind his back. There they were, sitting in a booth, looking through the menu. A bottle of water was placed in the center of the table. Fondness washed over Ryuu at the sight and with quick steps, he approached them.
Ennoshita looked up when he slid onto the bench across from them. They gave him one of their rarest smiles. Ryuu didn’t know what exactly it meant, but it made his heart skip a beat to see it directed at himself.
“Hi,” Ryuu said dumbly.
Ennoshita’s smile widened imperceptibly. “Hi.”
“I’ve got something for you.”
“Really?” Ennoshita sounded a little surprised, but pleasantly so.
Ryuu revealed the flowers and watched the expression on Ennoshita’s face transform. Their eyes widened slightly as they zeroed in on the bouquet, their lips twitching. It almost seemed like they were unsure how to react. Somehow they were conflicted, stuck between genuine joy and existential dread.
“What is it? Did I do something wrong again?”
Ennoshita hurriedly put on a polite smile and assured him, “No, not at all. It’s really nice of you to bring me flowers. I appreciate it. It’s just that…” They pulled a face that resembled the one Noya had made that one time Ryuu had dared him to eat a whole lemon.
“What?” he asked again. Shit, he just had to keep fucking shit up, didn’t he?
“I’m kind of allergic to dahlias,” Ennoshita admitted eventually.
Ryuu let out a loud groan, burying his face in his free arm.
“Don’t beat yourself up about it, Tanaka-san. You had no way of knowing that.”
Ryuu proceeded to keep beating himself up about it. “I’m such an idiot,” his voice was muffled by his elbow as he explained, “I wanted this to be the perfect date, so I could show you how awesome I would be as a boyfriend but I somehow managed to screw up EVERYTHING.”
It was silent between them for a moment, the conversations at the surrounding tables acting as white noise while Ryuu continued hiding, waiting for Ennoshita to say something. He was confused when warm skin brushed against his hand and the flowers were taken from his grip.
“So, take me on another date then.”
Ryuu wasn’t sure if he had heard that correctly. Swallowing the lump in his throat, he dared to glance up at his co-worker. They were smiling. In a super soft and genuine way. Yup, Ryuu was entirely done for.
“And after that, I can take you on a date, so that if you somehow manage to screw it up again, I can ask you to be my boyfriend anyway.”
A wave of emotion came over Ryuu as he tried to find any words at all. Enno-chan was too good for him. Seriously, how could he ever deserve someone like that. They were so pure and talented and nice and funny and-
“Tanaka-san, are you crying?”
Ryuu rubbed a hand over his eyes. “No,” he lied. He was just about to confess his undying love when someone cleared their throat next to them.
“May I take your food order now?”
The food turned out to be amazing and after Ryuu had collected his wits, they led a nice conversation throughout the meal that held up all the way back to the studio. Before Ennoshita disappeared into their workspace, they dropped a light kiss on his cheek with a whispered “thanks for the date”.
The afternoon client, who entered a few minutes later, asked him if his face was always this red.
To Noya: MISSION SUCCESSFUL