✘ black sheep

Theodore 'Theo' Andrew Lawson

26 years old (born May 30th, Gemini)

he/him, cis man, bisexual (flirts with everyone)

Lived in Parton 5 years

Tattooist at Heart+Sleeve

Song: 'Chicken' by Your Neighbors

Extended bio here! (background incoming)

Trust wasn’t something he did. It left him too open and vulnerable and that was too much for him to handle. Something he couldn’t really deal with. So when Theo asked do you trust me, Jay had to stop, fix the younger man with an appraising stare. Search his face to see if it was some kind of trick question. It was about the tattoos, and he knew that, but there was a heavy weight to those words that didn’t sit right. His ex had always used that question to mock him, to use his fear and distrust against him.

So…did he trust Theo? No. But that wasn’t his fault, it was Jay’s. It was Jay’s problem and his baggage and had nothing to do actually do with their situation. Tattoos didn’t warrant this level of introspection. Fake tattoos, at that. But it was hard not to read too much into it, because if he did anything well, it was overthinking, overanalyzing, and overreacting. It wasn’t about trust in general and Jay had been the one to offer in the first place. He couldn’t get weird when Theo agreed to what Jay had asked in the first place.

He tried to drop the tension in his shoulders, forced himself to give Theo what he hoped looked like a relaxed smile. “Yeah. Show me what you got.” And despite his own reservations and against his better judgement, Jay would try to trust Theo. It was just some markers and art, after all, and there was something in him that wanted to see what Theo had turning in that head of his.

Jay settled into one of the chairs set up in the booth, rubbing his palms together in some kind of effort to work out nervous energy. Like he was signing up for a life threatening mission and not letting someone draw on him with markers. He offered his arm to Theo when he was ready. “I gotta say, I’m kind of excited,” he said, surprised by how much he actually meant it. “I’m all yours, now. Go wild.”

Theo hadn't realized he'd asked such a weighted question. Jay's gaze on him was searching, and for the first time Theo might have been glad he was a terrible liar with a shit poker face. He could tell that something had shifted, the answer to his question coming a beat too late, but Theo knew no good would come of calling Jay out, and so he let it lie.

Inside the booth he shrugged out of his jacket, revealing the dark tattoos that ran up and down both arms. The jacket was hung off the back off another chair, one Theo dragged up alongside the table near where Jay had seated himself. There was a lot less setting up to do than if he were doing this for real, Theo just grabbing the cup of markers on the table as he settled into the chair, dumping them out on the tabletop. He took the arm Jay offered him, a lot more hand holding than he'd have done with a stranger probably, a swipe of his thumb over Jay's knuckles, a soothing touch as though he were about to sit for a real tattoo. Or maybe Theo was just looking for an excuse to be affectionate.

The declaration brought a grin to his face, Theo tearing an alcohol wipe open with his teeth and using it to rub down the spot Jay had picked out for the fake tattoo.

FOR     :      @lawson–theo·     ／     TIME     :     wednesday, 1pm     ／     LOCATION     :     outside of heart + sleeve

once a week, aveline went to the north side of town to help sort coats and other donated clothing items for the homeless shelters around town. it was a residual habit picked up from her years of being raised wealthy, and while she’d done away with the pointless galas and dinners, doing things like this filled the endless void of time in her life. they’d finished early that day sorting into piles of donate and trash and aveline had called her husband to pick her up. he’d promised to drive her into the city to her doctor’s appointment, but when she’d called him to tell him that she was done, he’d apologized and said he wouldn’t be done by 2. 

that had pissed her off. she was stuck in the north side without anything else to do, and all of the other volunteers had driven home already. sighing, she walks to the front of the building, wondering if an uber would make a difference. 

the uber was eighty-six dollars and some change, twenty minutes away. sighing, she pockets her phone, looking around her surroundings. across the street was heart + sleeve, where someone stood outside the shop. she strides over, feeling her nerves tick up a notch. “do you have a cigarette that i can bum off of you?” she didn’t smoke — or at least she told her husband she didn’t — but on days like these where her nerves felt impossible to deal with, it was almost inevitable that she would. 

He'd actually gone out front with the intention of having a smoke, but a message notification on his phone screen distracted him. He leaned back against the façade of the shop, the metal studs on his jacket scraping against the brick as his shoulders settled there, one booted foot lifted to rest against the front of the building as well. He'd just finished sending his response to the text on his phone when he was approached, Theo lifting his head, expecting a familiar face, one of the other artists coming in for a shift, or even one of the regulars who sometimes swung by just to chat.

-

Insomnia had kept her awake all night, hours of tossing and turning and no matter how hard she tried, Camila couldn’t fall asleep. Nothing helped, not her best friends’ tip to do some yoga, nor the herbal tea she bought at the pharmacy. She just couldn’t stop thinking about her family, the lies and everything she found out recently. Her arrival in Parton made her feel like she was getting a little closer to her goal but at the same time she was nervous about it. It was a mess.

Of course she was tired this morning. No amount of make-up could hide the results the lack of sleep had left upon her face. A coffee-lover like herself could never deny a good old cappuccino and thus, first thing in the morning she left the motel and took off to the cute Café she’d noticed on the way to Parton. Buzzcut seemed to be a busy place and there was not a single free table left. Not wanting to leave without her fix, she approached a table but the guy appeared to be in his own world and Camila didn’t want to interrupt. Just when she turned around to find a different spot, she heard his words and turned to look at him. “Thank you! I hope I didn’t intrude? “ She took the seat across from him and couldn’t help but peek at the photos on the table. “Are they yours? Obviously they are, what I meant is… – did you take them?” 

 Theo gave a shake of his head, dark hair spilling messily across his forehead as he shifted his gaze from the table top to the woman taking the seat across from him. “No, no, it’s fine. Didn’t realize how busy it’s gotten in here.”

 He tracked the angle of her gaze, fingertips pushing the small stack of photos to spread them out a little more. They weren’t that impressive in his mind, he wasn’t a photographer and when he’d taken them there’d been no thought of composition or even saturation of color. The shape had been the important bit, the lines, any details he could transfer from pencil onto paper, and then ink into skin.

“Wow, at this rate, you should roll out the red carpet for me.” Lennon grinned at the echo of her voice through the walls, accented by the sound of the machines going throughout the shop. A reverberation through the noise. The whirring vibrations music to her ears. Something about being in the shop made her whole body relax. This was her place. This was where she was meant to come alive. And the moment the ink hit her skin, her head went into a different space. One where creativity came out to play. She’d probably thought of more song ideas in that chair than anywhere else other than her room.

Smiling at Theo, footsteps navigated over to his booth area, sitting down on one of the rolling stools. “You know, you’re the only person I make appointments with to get out of my pants.” Tone teased, hinting at their complicated history. It helped though, having someone she trusted and could banter with. Distracted from the pain. “Yeah? How wild did you let your imagination get?”

"And keep feeding that ego of yours?" Theo shot back, teasing grin in place as he watched Lennon strut forward. "Nah, babes, you're good on your own."

Her comment about appointment made him laugh, head tipped back with the fullness of it. He could have given it back to her, reminded her that he hadn't actually needed an appointment when it counted, but it was more fun to take it, and Lennon always seemed willing to dish it out.

"Yeah, well, some things are worth writing down and clearing a whole day for. And you are one of those." He reached over, grabbing for the edge of the stool to drag her closer to him, the wheels of his bumping with hers as he ignored any sense of personal space. It was, in part, due to Theo's own nature, and not helped along any by their past. They'd already been so much closer, what was the point in standing on ceremony now?

"I spent like three hours at the gardens," He explained, "And that was after doing all the research online."

He started shuffling around the papers at his work station, a hand-written list of flower names and their meanings making it's appearance, and set to one corner of the desk before he started flipping through some of his sketches for her.

Huh. That was actually kind of nice. Almost sweet, in a weird way, even if the intention was anything but. He held a hand to his chest, over his heart. “I’m flattered,” he said, his voice light, using the teasing tone to hide that, yeah, he really kind of meant that. He could blame it on being starved enough for positive interaction that he would just make shit up if he had to. Twisting what was meant into something he’d wanted to hear.

“The night is still young, yeah? Who knows what will happen if you play your cards right.” Jay shrugged his shoulders, as if he had no idea what two attractive people might get up to if left by themselves. And if he happened to have a late shift and an empty apartment, well…that was just a coincidence. He didn’t normally invite people back to his house, not least of all because he slept in the living room, but he had his exceptions. 

Right, of course. Silly of him to assume that Theo would ever suggest putting clothes on. “Gotcha.” There was a part of Jay that rather liked the thought of having Theo’s art on him. Maybe it was too personal or permanent, but he’d had stronger connections - like two entire children - with people he’d liked a whole lot less. He hadn’t been so crazy about the needles the first time around, but this might be something else he was willing to make an exception for.

“Are you, now?” That was an interesting thought. The leather jacket thing had never been his style - he couldn’t sell it as well as Theo, with the dark hair and all his tattoos. Jay didn’t have the boy your mom warned you about vibe going for him. “We might be able to arrange that.” He reached out to follow the line of metal studs down Theo’s arm, like he was inspecting them. “Though I don’t think I could quite pull off the leather and studs thing.” Annie had always called him simple and clean cut, which he’d taken on as kind of compliment at the time. Now he wasn’t sure what was insulting about it, but there had to be some underlying meaning to it. 

“Tempting. I’m curious, though: if I came into the shop and asked you for a tattoo, what would be your first idea for me? Purely on,” he waved a hand at himself, “you know, appearances.” He was setting himself up for failure, absolutely, but what could he say? Curiosity got the best of him.

Seeing Jay had put the idea into his head already, as it usually did, but he'd told himself to be content with stealing the man's attention for a bit in the middle of the festival. The idea that there was the promise of more in the nearby future... Well Theo wasn't much of a card player (terrible poker face, in fact) but he could certainly try.

It wasn't always meaningful. Theo had tattooed so many people at this point, and they weren't always memorable. It was the ones who came back that he could recall, the friends who'd asked for something from him specifically, the people who'd seen his style, the sort of art he did because he wanted to, and said 'that's it, that's for me'. Theo didn't think Jay would be one of those people, but there was still something that added weight to the idea of Jay under his hands and a buzzing needle at the shop. It was stupid and foolish and too romantic for a person like Theo, but he wondered, if it ever really came to that, if Jay would see the mark and always think of him.

That delighted look was back, the brush down the studded arm of his jacket and the encouraging words eliciting a wide grin. "Never know until you try." And maybe when he'd been picturing it in his mind Jay had been wearing the jacket with nothing beneath it, and maybe Theo had been thinking about kissing his way down that stripe of exposed chest, but he could share those details later.

It was much easier to deal with the teasing and the innuendo than it was to deal with anything resembling real feelings. What was he even having real feelings about, anyway? Someone reacting positively, sincerely to something he’d said? Get a grip, Jay. His bar was low, but he hadn’t thought it was that low. He didn’t like that all it took to get on his good side was to be decent to him.

But he wasn’t going to worry or think about that. And he could release all the held tension in his body, even under the intensity of Theo’s gaze. That was much more manageable. Jay was more familiar and comfortable with that kind of fire. “I thought you might say that.” Yeah, he had absolutely no problem putting himself into Theo’s hands. They were incredibly capable hands, after all.

“And here I thought drawing on me was the main attraction,” he asked, faux-innocently, like he had no idea of the meaning behind Theo’s words. Of course it was just about the art, for the love of the trade. Jay gestured forward, out of their little pocket of space and back into the festival. Back into the crowds and the lights. He found that almost disappointing. It felt too bright out here, too open and public. “Trying to get more clothes on me, are you?” That was a new one; it wasn’t often that Theo was trying to get him dressed. “Nah, you don’t have to do that. The kid has my jacket, I can always take it back if I need to.” Not to mention that it might be a little hard to explain how and why he’d ended up with someone else’s clothes. “Is that your way of telling me you plan to draw something dirty?”

Theo's expression turned thoughtful for a minute, considering, with his tongue caught between his teeth before he gave a sigh, shaking his head with his disagreement.

"No, no, I mean I am excited about that," He said, and meant it, "Honestly thrilled, and yet somehow the idea of getting you alone is still better." He shrugged at Jay, as though he couldn't really be blamed for the decision he'd come to. Jay's fault, honestly, Theo would say if pressed. No matter how odd it might have seemed for others who saw them side by side, they were certainly compatible in some ways.

Jay wasn't the only one who missed the seclusion of their previous spot. Theo wondered if there were some way to steal a little of that back, the intimacy of the spot. His gaze fell to the hand Jay had gestured them forward with, and he considered for a moment how easy it would be to reach out and slide his fingers through the older man's. Quickly he decided that was a dumb fucking idea, and kept his hands tucked into the pockets of his jacket before he actually went through with it.

"God, never." Theo assured, laughter chasing the words. "I meant the art, you'd be wearing my art. Although..." He skipped ahead a step, turning on his heel, the next few steps taken backwards as he gave Jay an appraising look that quickly turned appreciative. "Kind of picturing you in my jacket now..." He gave his shoulders a lift, the added metal studs on the jacket glinting in the colored lights around them. "You'd look good." He fell back into step beside Jay before he could trip and make an ass of himself, giving a shake of his head at the playful accusation.

where: Buzzcut Café

when: morning

 Theo had been awake for too long. Sleep had always been a fickle beast for him, sneaking up on him some nights as he lay on the couch in his apartment, and other times hard-caught, sly and lurking just out of sight in the shadowy corners of his bedroom. Last night had been one of the latter, and around five AM he’d finally given up, throwing the sheets off his body in defiance. There weren’t many places open so early in the morning, but like it had been for him many times before, Buzzcut was a shining beacon in the pre-dawn hours.

 Theo hadn’t even realized how long he’d been there, though the cups on the table (two empty, and a third almost there) probably that it had been too long. The cups were being edged out, though, the table scattered with photographs, close up shots of flowers he’d taken and printed out to draw later. There was a sketchbook too, mostly covered by his hand, though a few loose sheets had joined the photos on the table, delicate pencil sketches of the flowers he’d liked best. It wasn’t until he caught sight of someone hovering nearby that Theo realized the little café had come to life around him, that there was a line at the counter and no more empty tables.

Babe. It was a word that she had heard from Theo more than once. Just as he had heard a rejection coming from her mouth more than once already. And he seemed to be coming back for more every time.

“How much do you owe me by now every time I tell you no?” Ana asked him with a chuckle as she leaned back against the top behind the bar as she watched him. “Because I think that I lost count by now. You really are not going to give up on asking me out, aren’t you?” The next question followed and she pushed herself away from her position so she could lean against the bartop in front of Theo so she was close to him.

“Let’s say - hypothetically - I would finally give in to one of the many times you’ve asked me out by now… What would you plan on doing on that date?” A third question was asked, her eyebrows raised to hear his answer.

Ana straightened at his response to the beer that she had given him and the smile on her lips widened slightly at his approval. “It is local actually. They tried something new.”

 Theo laughed at the question, and gave a playful wince as he thought out his reply, not because of the sheer number of times Ana had turned him down, but because of the damage that many drinks would do to his bank account.

 He’d parted his lips to answer, ready to give her a cheeky answer about never giving up, and more ready to follow it up with the promise that he’d keep going as long as she was entertained by him. It was a playful banter that had struck up between the two of them, Theo wasn’t actually trying to wear Ana down. Something that was probably made clear by the surprise on his face when she insinuated she might, finally, say yes.

 Theo’s mind went horribly blank. Oh god, a real date? With a woman like Ana? Wide blue eyes blinked at her, and Theo was the one to sit back a little, covering his hand with his mouth.

 “Uh...” The thing of it was that Theo didn’t date. He went out, and he had fun, and he went home with people, but a date seemed to invite the sort of emotional vulnerability he was trying to keep himself away from. Then again... What was the best way to get over someone?

Jay nudged Theo’s shoulder with his palm. It was half teasing, because the guy was not about to get almost bashful on him now. But part of him meant it as a genuine gesture - like a pat on the back, in a way. “That’s great. Really, I’m happy for you.” He liked Theo as much as he possibly could and was glad to see things go well for him. It might not seem like much, but for Jay that was a lot. High praise, in a way.

There was something about the pleased expression on Theo’s face that made Jay feel good, almost excited, in a way that he couldn’t really explain. He hadn’t expected the suggestion to elicit such a positive response - and it hadn’t seemed forced or fake the way he was used to. It was a decent feeling, one that he wasn’t sure if he liked.

Yeah, he would just ignore that. Ignore the awkward feelings that he was definitely just blowing out of proportion. Theo mirrored Jay’s movements, fingers over skin, and Jay grinned, raising his eyebrows. “Tell me you don’t want to get your hands on me.” There were those lines again, because he just couldn’t help himself. “Yeah, why not? Show me what you got.”

Theo could only nod at the words. It wasn't a completely foreign concept, that other people could be happy for him. He knew his mother was proud, and he had a few friends who'd bought him celebratory drinks when he'd landed a permanent spot at Heart + Sleeve. Jay was a different story, somehow, and Theo didn't want to let himself read into it too much.

Theo let out a short, breathless laugh at Jay's line, and when he looked up from the back of his wrist to meet those blue eyes, the interest in his gaze had nothing to do with tattoos. "I want to get my hands on you." He said, the words steady, voice pitched low and there'd be no mistaking that he meant the words.

He took the words as a playful taunt, and with a grin breaking through he added, "But before I do what I really want... Yeah, you should come back to the booth with me. Let me give you something to wear home." He always skirted around the mention of Jay's home life, more specifically his kids. He knew of them, but there'd been no reason for an introduction, and Theo wasn't even sure how much Jay wanted him to know about his life. He wouldn't allow himself to get much closer to asking outright what Jay's kids would think of him coming home with a fake tattoo.

At the sight of the man in front of him, Jake offered him a rather polite smile, one that he was pretty much known around town for. Noticing the lanyard around his neck, Jake was able to tell that he was a vendor. But at his mention of a weird request, he raised his eyebrow. “Uh… okay.” 

When the other informed him that he was at the tattoo booth, he nodded. He had passed by the booth when he had first arrived at the festival, and he had almost given in to the long-standing desire he’d had to get a tattoo. But he had been quick to realize that he was supposed to be working at the medical tent all day, so an impromptu tattoo session was not the way to go. 

“I might need to double check our supplies, but I don’t think that shouldbe a problem.” He stated at his request, his smile still not fading from his lips. “We’ve got ambulances on stand-by, and some paramedics have been kind enough to do supply runs for us in case we run out of anything. Why don’t you follow me, and I can grab you a couple boxes?” The surgeon asked, motioning the other to follow him before he stepped back inside of the tent. 

He was used to polite smiles, reflexive motions that didn't show much real emotion behind them. Theo himself had never mastered the art, so instead of begrudging anyone who had the skill, he was just jealous. Theo could tell he'd led wrong, but considering the sort of weird things people had asked for at the tattoo shop, he could only imagine things at the hospital got even weirder. It was probably a relief to hear that his request was just for extra gloves, and that Theo had a plausible reason for needing them.

Theo clapped his hands together, grateful grin spreading across his features. "Yes." He agreed, following the other man readily into the tent.

"You're a lifesaver. Uh-" A sudden pause when it struck him that maybe his words weren't an exaggeration. "I guess, literally, you actually are, but also figuratively in this sense...  What I mean is thank you." He concluded, finally finding his words amongst the ramble. "Thanks."

starter for : open tagging : @voicenotesstarters location + time : downtown parton streets , early evening.

having lived in parton her whole life,  nadine often thought she would run out of new spots to skate.  she’d hit the stairs at the old elementary school,  been chased away from the benches near town hall,  sweet-talked her board out of the hands of the security guards at the mall when she’d spent an afternoon trying to 50-50 the rail on the ramp out back. 

even so,  the town kept revealing new spots to her,  and so she found herself spending an evening trying to get a clip of her kick-flipping a five-stair without slamming or accidentally sending her board flying off into her phone,  propped up against a phone pole ( she had done both attempting similar things ). 

all this is to say that she was so focused on the task at hand that when she stumbled out of the trick at the bottom,  her board shooting off in one direction,  she didn’t even notice the other person until she’d completely collided with them. 

“ oh, shit ! ”  she exclaimed,  reaching a hand out to pull them back to their feet.  “ i’m so sorry ; i was just trying to skate the stairs,  i didn’t even see you there. ” 

she had long ago learned that in situations like this the best thing to do was simply to apologize and try to make it right. incidents like this could easily end up escalating into a “ i’m going to call the cops ” situation, which was one that nadine had no desire to get herself into. 

“ seriously,  i’m so sorry, ”  nadine repeated.

Over 26 years of life, and Theo still didn't know much about self-preservation. Nadine might have been smaller than him, but a full-speed body check still knocked him on his ass.

The air had been knocked out of him at the first impact, but as soon as he was on the ground he filled his lungs enough to burst into laughter.

"Shit, Nadine." He felt like the apologies were reflexive, and as Theo grasped the offered hand to get to his feet he used the other to wave the words off.

"Nah, s'half my fault." Skateboarding wasn't exactly a quiet activity, he'd heard the clatter and instead of avoiding the source he'd headed towards it, curious. Once he was back onto his feet Theo dusted himself off, checking the arm he'd fallen back onto for scrapes and seeing that it was unscathed by the accident.

where: Heart + Sleeve Tattoo Parlor

when: 1pm

Theo had set aside the whole afternoon for Lennon. She'd sat like a champ for all the other work he'd done on her, and she'd taken the previous thigh tattoo so well. Barring any sort of unforeseen circumstances, Theo was confident they could get the bulk of the work done in one long session.

He was still sketching when Lennon showed, various flowers to adorn the piece with. He'd gone on a bit of a bender looking up the meanings and had a half dozen suggestions to offer Lennon. He liked the idea of a gladiolus stem running alonside the skull she wanted, but there was just as much chance she'd prefer a small cluster of laurel blossoms.

The small chime over the door rang out, and Theo looked up from his station, kicking his feet against the wooden floor to propel himself backwards on the wheeled stool he sat on.

"There she is!" He called out, throwing his hand up to wave her over, sure that Lennon's confidence and familiarity with the shop would carry her easily through to his station. “Come on back, I’ve got stuff to show you.” 

There’s a sincerity behind his words, despite how casually he says them. He was obviously enthusiastic about what he did and Jay found himself just genuinely smiling as Theo spoke. He liked seeing people be passionate about what they did, about anything. There was nothing that Jay was particularly passionate about himself, and it was good to see it in other people.

“Glad to hear it. Sounds like you impressed a lot of people.” Then again, when did he not? Jay was always incredibly impressed.

His interest was piqued at the mention of tattoo markers, tilting his head like a curious dog as Theo talked about them. Hm. Now that was something Jay could get behind. The artistry of the tattoos without the permanent commitment or the needles. It was just a bonus if Theo happened to be the one doing it. “Mm, I like that. Hopefully I can convince you to draw on me,” Jay said, having a feeling it wouldn’t take too much convincing. He lifted his arm, tracing his fingertips over the back of his wrist, where there was some bare skin. “Maybe another mythological bird?”

Theo ducked his head at the comment, not enough humility in him not to beam at the words. "Yeah, yeah I think I did."

The job had been his motivation for coming to Parton, and just getting a stable spot in an established shop had been more than Theo thought possible. Now, though, he had clients. There were people who had his artwork inked into their skin, and had come back for more. Setting up the appointments for larger, intricate pieces had sent inspiration flooding through him, and it was hard not to feel giddy about it all.

Tattooing Jay wasn't something Theo would have suggested himself. It was different with Len, somehow, with Maya, any of his friends. He'd all but beg them to come into the shop, to let him decorate them in some way, but he'd never broached the topic with Jay. It seemed too permanent a link, a connection that might be hard-forgotten. When Jay brought it up, though, well, Theo was just glad he'd already been grinning, because maybe it would help to dim the delight that surged through him at the idea.

Ana took the card between two fingers as Theo held it out to her. Raising her eyebrows at his ‘order’, she looked a bit surprised but it quickly turned into a laugh. The Ana working at the bar was a different one from her daily life. Whereas she was a little more reserved but during working hours she was a little more free because it was a place where she really felt comfortable. She knew what to do, she knew how to handle things and even unexpected things were things by now that she had seen before. “Honey, you and I both know that drinking during working hours is not done. So even though the offer is tempting, I’m not going to make one for me. And I am having fun. Seeing faces like yours on the other side of the bar is always good.” She let him know before she quickly left him alone so she could pour a draft beer for him, putting it in the register and giving him back the credit card together with the beer. “Tell me what you think of this beer, it’s new on the tap.”

Theo had expected her denial, but he still did his best to take it personally. He dropped his arms onto the bar, letting out a soft groan as his head lolled forward, posture slumped with defeat.

"Ana, babe," He tipped his chin back up, smirk already back in place. He could only fake disappointment for so long, especially when she was saying she was glad to see him. "You work too much. If you won't let me buy you one now, I'll owe you one later." He made the offer with eyebrows raised, the promise of a date he'd been making for months that she'd never taken him up on.

His wallet was back in his pocket, credit card securely in it's little plastic slot before he'd even reached for the beer, a habit beaten into him by too many replacement cards over the years. He wasn't an expert, didn't lift the glass to consider the depth of color or anything like that, but he took a hearty first sip.

Ah, there were those wonderfully cheesy pickup lines. Sure, they were objectively bad, but they were adorably endearing and never failed to pull a good, genuine smile out of him. He would tease, suggest that Theo work on his material, but Jay had been egging him on, encouraging him. He loved it, even when he gave Theo a hard time about it. Jay laughed, patting Theo’s hand 

It was a little bit poetic, almost, being tucked in the shadows, hidden away from the crowds. Like two people sneaking away, stealing time together. It was kind of sappy sure, but he had it on good authority that a little bit of sap was good for him. It was a comfortable feeling that made him uncomfortable. Dammit. That did ruin the mood a little bit. He pulled back slightly, grinning. “It’s nice to see you, too.”

“How has your festival been, hm?” He asked, striking up an actual conversation now that they’d gotten the necessary flirting out of the way. “I saw you guys had a booth set up.” Jay had always been impressed with tattoos in general, even if he didn’t need any more of his own - he didn’t have the highest pain threshold and had more than enough needles in his lifetime. “You had a pretty impressive crowd over there, yeah?”

Theo sank back a little, dropped his hand after Jay's brief pat and buried it back in the pocket of his leather jacket. He tried to adopt a casual stance, rolling his shoulders back instead of letting them slump.

"Uh, yeah, s'good." He said with a nod, casting his gaze back out towards the general direction of the booth, even it he couldn't see it directly. "We've been busy, I've made a few good appointments." The enthusiasm snuck back into him, bolstered by the promise of good work to come, the confidence he felt when people praised his work and trusted him to be the one to permanently alter their bodies.

where: parton festival, bake sale table

when: 6:45p

Through no great effort of his own, Heart + Sleeve's booth was already set up and ready to go, everything in place and just waiting for the first surge of festival goers to find their way inside. Technically the event didn't begin for another fifteen minutes, but Theo thought he could take advantage of his access and scope out some of the other vendors before the crush of people came.

The bake sale, of course, was among his first stops, and he could swear his mouth was watering just looking at the spread. His wallet was out before he even knew it, pulled open and ready to give up the scattered bills held in it's leathery guts. There was something that could have been described as pleading in his gaze as he looked across the table, "Listen... I know technically the festival doesn't open for another fifteen minutes... But could you take pity on me and let me pick up a few things? I'll even be good and share them with the guys at my booth." As though such a generic act of kindness would somehow make him a more sympathetic character.