Part i - this is the second part of the Tatto!Artist!Sirius & Flower!Shop!Remus drabble Iâve been writing. My dialogues are still wonky but I hope you enjoy nonetheless, comments and reblogs are always appreciated if youâve liked it!Â
âWho are those for? Do we really have a client named âAdonisâ?âÂ
It was the next morning. Remus had managed a total of three hours of sleep on the battered camp bed they kept upstairs for wedding season, and he was practically falling asleep at the till.
â- Hmpf? He asked, raising his head to meet Lilyâs eyes.
â- The heather? Has anyone requested that?âÂ
Remus managed to look alarmed and sheepish at the same time. Lily took one glance at him and crossed her arms over her chest, giving him a pointed glance.
â- Spill it, Lupin.
- Lookâ, I wanted to tell you, but then we were out of tea, and you know how I get if I donât have my second cup of the dayâŚâÂ
His words trailed as she kept giving him The Look, and Remus surrendered with a sigh.
â- The⌠tattoo guy.
- ⌠/Your/ tattoo guy? Lily repeated, incredulous.
- Heâs not /my/ tattoo guy! Remus sputtered indignantly. I donât have a tattoo guy! I donât even have tattoos!âÂ
His friendâs knowing smirk somehow added even more color to Remusâ already red cheeks, before he rolled his eyes.
â- Weâve been watching him for months now, Â Lily pointed out, her grin widening.
- Youâre the one who figured out his pattern!
- Because you were too busy staring at his arse.
-I wasnâtâ, heâs got a really nice arse, alright?!âÂ
Lily snorted at that, shaking her head fondly. Trying to hide his embarrassment, Remus busied himself in their hidden cupboard, starting the kettle for the third time today.
â- Heâs here.
- Ha, ha. Look, do you need a hand to organize the next batch of delivery? The young man sighed, not in the mood to play one of Lilyâs game.
- No, Remusâ, heâs really here. Coming towards us. And he looks very, very determined. Impact in three, two, oneâŚâÂ
Her tone was entirely too delighted for Remus not to feel suspicious. He had barely enough time to straighten his shirt before he heard the tell-tale sound of another customer crossing the door. As he straightened up fully, he came face to face with Adonis himself, a rather amused grin on his lips. The tosser somehow looked even better than Remus had remembered from last night, just the right kind of effortlessly cool and disheveled, and Remus was still sporting a deep shade of red on his cheeks.
â- Did you find them?
- Uh? Remus managed, the noise both inelegant and barely audible at the same time.
- The âIâll protect youâ flowers, Adonis replied with a smirk.â
If Lily didnât stop giggling, he was going to strangle her. With ivy. After a glare thrown her way, she sauntered back to the end of the shop, still trying to hide the shake of her shoulders.
â- Iâ, uh, yes. Theyâre⌠Here, actually, Remus muttered as he grabbed the flower arrangement from under the counter where Lily had put them. I worked on them last night.âÂ
He awkwardly placed the bouquet in front of the other man, breath caught somewhere in his chest. The arrangements he usually crafted were rarely requests. Most of the time, Lily ended up taking them home because âsomeone has to admire that hard workâ, or they were picked by random customers. Who, Remus thought, probably werenât even able to distinguish the difference between a Marguerite and a gerbera.
Adonis was different. His eyes immediately shifted towards Remusâ work, scrutinizing, shifting to be on eye level with it. Remus didnât think he could handle how piercing that gaze was. He held his breath until he couldnât anymore, forcing small, shuttering pants in as discreetly as he could. The silence stretched for far too long.
â- I like it. The dark haired man finally breathed out with a small nod.
- ⌠But? Remus couldnât help but add, after noticing a light frown on the otherâs face.â
Adonis stayed quiet for a moment more, biting his lips before he looked up towards Remus, making him lose his breath again.
â- Itâs not⌠perfect.â
Remusâ chest seemed to deflate somehow, eyes flickering down to his feet. His mouth twitched slightly. He had worked all night on this, and he was torn between throwing the tattoo artist out of their shop by the scruff of his neck or vehemently protest. In the end, his protest came out much quieter than he would have liked.
â- Itâs notâ, I can change them. Itâs only a first draft, but you didnât give me much to work on to start with, so I feel like thatâs a little bit unfair, he tried to explain.
- Itâs not you.â
Remus felt the warmth of a hand settle on top of his to stop his rambling and he looked up, surprised to see the usually stormy grey eyes now kind and gentle, offering him a reassuring glance.
â- Youâre right. I didnât give you much to go on. And besides, Iâm not⌠Entirely sure where I stand with that person just yet either. So.â
All Remus could seem to reply was a silent âohâ. His fingers twitched lightly, Adonis taking off his hand with a guilty smile of his own.
â- Sorry. Cold hands. Clients complain a lot about that.
- Itâs⌠fine.â
The silence stretched once more, Remus shifting on the ball of his feet, wracking his brain for something else to say.
â - So is this for one of your client-, he mumbled, as Adonis spoke as well.
- How do you know so much about-â
Both looked up and stopped as their voices echoed in the room, Remus biting his lips and looking away with a grin.
â- Go on, he said with a nod.
- I was just⌠wondering how you knew so much about flowers. Is there like⌠a school or something?â
Remus chuckled, relaxing a little now, though his hands were still defensively crossed around his body.
â- There is. But Iâve never been to one. Iâm more of aâ, jack of all trade kind of person.â
The quizzical look he received made Remusâ smile even bigger, the tilted head and huge eyes staring back at him far too endearing.
â- I read a lot. I like learning. And Lilyâ, she owns the shop, it used to be her fatherâs, and she needed an accountant. So I began with dealing with the paperwork and helping around a bit, but then we started receiving more and more orders, plus the everyday clients, and she couldnât afford to pay someone to help her with it, so I just⌠Picked it up along the way.â
As predicted, the dark hairedâs gaze was far too piercing for Remus to handle, and he started fidgeting again despite himself. Adonis nodded softly, as if any of what Remus had said made the slightest sense, something Remus wasnât entirely convinced of.
â- What about you? Remus tried, clearing his throat.
- Honestly? I needed the money.âÂ
There was a bark of a laugh in that answer, but it was tainted with bitterness, making Remus frown slightly. Feeling like he should put his hand on top of the otherâs this time, but refraining.
â- My family⌠Letâs just say they didnât agree with the way I lived, Adonis explained. They kicked me out, I needed a job-, didnât want to be a burden and stay at my friendâs without helping.â
Remus hummed, an understanding look on his features. Somehow, the first part of the manâs story was familiar, something he could acutely relate to.
â- Iâve always been fascinated by tattoos, he kept going, and I knew I was decent at drawing. This guy named Mad-Eye needed someone to deal with the smaller jobs at his parlor.
- Mad-Eye?
- Yeah. Tattoo job gone wrong-, he wears an eyepatch now.â
Remus winced at the thought, offering Adonis a slightly put-off face, happy to see him smirk back at the reaction he was prompting.
â- Trust me, his personality is a lot scarier than whatâs under the eyepatch. Anyway, thatâs how I started. And turns out, I wasnât too crap at it. Jamesâ, my mate, he had inherited quite a bit of money from his gran, and he decided to⌠Invest it in me.â
The smug look turned fond and Remus could read a hint of disbelieving in there. Once more, he had the feeling their stories were similar in that regard, both of them not understanding how someone would be kind enough to place so much trust in them.
â- And thatâs how you ended up with the shop? Remus finished for him.
- And thatâs how I ended up with the shop, the man agreed, straightening up a little bit and offering Remus a full smirk now. I should probably get back to it, actually, or Jamesâ going to think Iâve thrown out another client and tried to hide the body somewhere.â
He glanced towards the flower still waiting on the counter, eyes shifting back to Remus with the same kind of intensity they had sported earlier.
â- Iâll come back for them. When Iâll knowâ, just exactly what I want them to mean. Hope I see you then.â
There was a wink thrown then, and it did something funny to Remusâ stomach. Adonis disappeared just like he had the night before, without even glancing back, leaving Remus to wonder if he hadnât dreamt the whole encounter again. He would have kept staring at the door if Lily hadnât crept back next to him, gently bumping their shoulders together.
â- So? She enquired, the knowing smile back on her features.â
Remus could only shake his head in disbelief.
â- I still donât know his name, he muttered, almost as an afterthought.
- My god, Lupin. Youâre so screwed.âÂ