Chapter Text
It was quite a fortunate accident how Jake stumbled across the out-of-the-way flower shop on his way home one evening. It had started out as a sunny april morning when Jake left for work, and it remained so while he was getting one of his tattoos touched up after his shift. It was not until he was heading home that a swathe of clouds appeared out of nowhere and started dumping buckets over the city.
Jake had left his favorite jacket in his locker at the tattoo parlor, not wanting to irritate the fresh needle marks on his arm, or get blood on the fabric. Armed with only a tank top and nothing to protect the gauze on his arm from the rain, Jake ducked into the first building he passed. He only noticed once he was inside that it was a flower shop. Buckets and vases full of colorful arrangements lined the walls, interrupted every now and then by a tree or potted bush. Finally, glimpses of a counter and work benches peeked out from the plants at the end of the room.
It was almost as if Jake had wandered through a portal to a jungle more than a traditional flower shop. Jake had a fleeting thought that perhaps it was run by fairy, or maybe satyrs, but that thought dissipated when he caught a glimpse of the person behind the counter. It was a tall boy, too tall to be a fairy at least. And when he turned to greet Jake it was obvious he definitely was not a satyr, he was too handsome! Jake felt so self-conscious all of a sudden that he almost forgot to listen to what the guy started saying to him.
~` * ‘~
Danny was having a particularly good day. He opened up shop early in the morning clutching a coffee mug big enough to shove his entire fist into, and managed not to make his usual morning spill. After he watered all the plants that needed to be, and swept all the stray leaves and petals off the floor, Sam walked in.
This was nothing new; as she was the owner of the store, and several other plant shops in the state. After college, she got a loan from her parents and opened up the first shop. At first Danny just helped out around the shop as a part time job, also working in a coffee shop at the other end of town to pay the bills, but once it became successful enough to open up a second location, she put Danny in charge. The arrangement really could not have been more successful, not only did Danny not have to go running all over town all day, but his stress levels went way down. Before with two jobs and ghost duties he was just about losing his sanity, but there was something about being around nature all day that really just put his mind at ease.
Now, Sam came in twice a week to see how the shop was keeping up, and to bring in a few new plants she had acquired that week. They participated in idle chit chat for a bit before she had to leave, and Danny went back to work. It was a slow day, and even though it’s bad for business, that’s how Danny liked it.
While checking over the succulent plants, he suddenly heard fast, pelting rainfall hitting the roof. He briefly thought about how he pitied anyone who got caught in that mess, before the bell above the front door rang. Danny smiled, put the succulent he had been inspecting down, and turned around.
Standing in the doorway was a short, tatted up guy, wearing only a wet tank top and jeans. Somehow it seemed unfit to call someone with that many tattoos cute, but that was the first word that came to his mind. Maybe it was the way his wet hair stuck to his forehead, or his short stature, or possibly the look of stunned awe on his face. He loved seeing that expression on new customers, Danny worked hard to keep the shop looking like a ‘Magical Forest’ as Tucker put it.
“Hello, how can I help you today?” Danny asked, practiced.
There was a slight pause as Jake was still taking in his surroundings. He snapped out of it when he realized the man behind the counter was staring at him with expectation. Right... mouth, words...
"Hey man... I, uh, I guess I don't need help right now. I just.. wasn't really planning t'come in here-" He glanced at the worker's name tag, "-Danny, But thanks."
A flash and a bang cut through the air like a cymbal crash and the rain patters increased to a wild thrum against the building. Jake jumped a little, looking back towards the shop entrance and the maelstrom visible through the front windows. He looked back to the shop keeper, Danny, with a sheepish grin. "April showers, amirite? Would it be totally cool if I could just crash here for a bit?"
“Well what kind of heartless person would I be if I sent you packing in this weather?” Danny joked, he pointed to the wicker chair in front of his desk and said, “Take a seat, I’ll go grab you a towel.”
Walking to the back of the store Danny silently hoped that this short dude was not secretly riffraff taking advantage of Danny’s good will to rob the store. Call him paranoid, but you’d be surprised how many people try to hold up a flower shop. Danny pushed the thought aside as he brought the guy a bright green towel with yellow daffodil designs.
Jake considered sitting, but it was too tempting to take a closer look around the room while Danny was away. There were so many varieties of plants that it made his head spin, but to be honest it smelled absolutely amazing in there.
He recognized a few plants from spells and salves his Grandfather had made before, especially around what seemed to be a section of herbal plants. It was a pleasant surprise to him that most of the plants were potted and not cut. From what little he had seen of other flower shops and stalls around New York that offered pre-cut bouquets, this seemed less wasteful. It must take a great amount of care tending to so many living things, Jake had a newfound respect.
The sound of footsteps alerted Jake to Danny's return before he could even see him through the foliage. When Danny finally did appear, Jake accepted the towel with a quick thanks.
"This is really an amazing store you have here.." Jake said as he ran the towel through his hair first, restoring it to its usual messy spikes. "It's obvious you like your work.”
"Hmm?" Danny hummed, getting a little distracted by the hilariously messy hair, "Yeah, I really do love working here. Everything is just so calming and full of life. Not to mention if I want some tea I can just pick some leaves over in the herb section." He chuckles, "Honestly if I end up working here for the rest of my life, I would die a happy man."
"Sounds like you're living the dream, man..." Jake grinned at Danny, feeling slightly envious. It must be nice having a quiet life uninterrupted by enemies, or needing to keep the peace between rampaging mythical creatures. But although a quiet life would be tempting, at least Jake's American Dragon duties insured that his life would never be boring.
"Aw...shit..." Jake muttered. He had started drying off his clothes and torso when he noticed that blood was currently seeping through the gauze wrapped around his fresh tattoo addition.
"I guess the rain got to it and kept it from clotting," Jake gestured to his arm, "You wouldn't happen to have a first aid kit too, would ya?'
Danny nodded and reached under the counter and pulled out a box, "Yeah, you would not believe the amount of times I get poked by cactus or cut myself on the shears." This was a half lie, Danny did indeed get a few cuts and scrapes from the shop, but he only really put together a first aid kit for the place the third time he ended up there after a ghost encounter.
"Wow, you keep this thing really well stocked," Jake commented, looking through the box overflowing with medical supplies. There must have been at least six rolls of gauze, many different brands of antibacterial cream, and what looked like supplies for stitches.
Jake chose a brand of antibacterial cream that looked appealing and a roll of gauze, rewrapping his tattoo.
"What can I say, I'm a prepared sort of guy!" Danny chuckled a bit nervously. He watched as the guy expertly redid his bandages, just a little too fast for Danny to make out the image that the ink made. He examined his tattoos in awe, all masterly done and a unique kind of beautiful. "Which one was your first?" Danny asked curiously.
Jake chuckled and twisted his torso to show his left shoulder blade to Danny where the silhouette of a dragon curled in flight.
"Ah, I got this one as soon as I was legal. My mom gave me one hell of a lecture, but I am still pretty proud of it." Jake grinning at his private joke. It was not that original, he knew, for the American Dragon to get a dragon tattoo... but heck if he cared about that.
"How about you?" Jake questioned, "How do you get started working here?"
The dragon silhouette was absolutely stunning; the curved but definitive lines were bold and sure. Danny was about to ask why a dragon, but the dude asked him a question first.
“I had been friends with this rich hippie girl named Sam for years, and when she got her parents to open this shop for her, she asked me if I could help out. About a year later business was going good, so she opened up another shop and put me in charge of this one.” Danny smiled at the memory, Sam threatening him if he dared let a single plant die. He wondered what Tattoo Guy did for a living, also what Tattoo Guy’s actual name was. “My name is Danny Fenton by the way, nice to meet you.” He said, extending his hand out to him.
"Oh, right, I forgot... The name's Jake. Jake Long." Jake held out his hand and took Danny's, giving it a firm handshake. Danny's hand felt cold in Jake's warm one. Everyone's hands felt cooler than Jake's, but Danny's were the coldest yet and it made Jake feel a little self-conscious of his own inner fire. It felt good though, and after the handshake was over, Jake could still feel the coolness lingering on his palm.
"Working here must make it hard to forget to get your girlfriend flowers, huh?" Jake commented.
Danny literally laughed out loud at that, “Oh man, Sam and I aren’t together. It’s a common misunderstanding, though.” Danny said, “Everyone tried to force us together in High School, but it was never really like that between us, especially when we’re both Bi as fuck. But wouldn’t it get a little old to bring some poor guy or girl flowers back from the shop anyway? They might not appreciate it if it was too often,”
"I don't know-" Jake shrugged, "I've lived in New York all my life. It would be nice coming home to an apartment full of plants. Cities are great and everythin', but I'll take nature where I can get it."
Jake contemplated a minute more, "Also you have herbs and things for cooking, and you said you can make fresh teas too, yeah? So it wouldn’t hurt to have those around either."
Jake's grandfather had passed a couple years before, and what had once been their medicinal herb garden fell into disarray. Fu Dog did what he could for the plants, though he lacked the talent for it. But seeing a place like this existing gave Jake some hope. Maybe he could get some help here and figure out how to revive the garden in time.
Danny was glad that Jake did not scrutinize his sexuality, although what was Danny expecting, this was New York after all. He nearly smiled from ear to ear when he heard that he heard the bit about getting nature where he could get it. After a few years of working here, and almost a lifetime friendship with Sam, he had really come to appreciate nature and all its beauty and worth, and was happy whenever he saw that same appreciation in others.
“Yup, if you want to take a look all of our herbs and spices are over in the corner. Although if you tell me what kinds of food and tea you like I could probably give you some pretty boss recommendations.”
"Ah, I cook a lot of meats I guess, but it would be nice to add more vegetables..." Fu Dog ate most of the food Jake made, but a few more vegetables in Fu’s diet would be good for him. "Also I'm willing to try anything as far as teas go, as stereotypically Asian as that is." Jake chuckled. "I'm a total newbie growing things though, so I guess I should start out with things that are easy to grow."
The rain was dying down almost as fast as it had started, but Jake didn’t notice until a chirp came from his phone. It was a text from Sun Park, his younger sister's mentor, and family friend.
Several nymph trees down in Central. Requesting assistance.
Of course, his Guardian duties once again slaying his attempts at a social life. "I'm sorry, man... It looks like I have to run for now. But hey if it's okay with you, could I get a raincheck on those plants?" Jake flashed a winning smile to Danny.
Danny cringed at the pun, but smiled as he said “Aw that was a bad one but yeah, I’ll be looking forward to talking plants again with you some time. It was nice to meet you, Jake.” And he really meant it. Jake was nice, cute, and seemed genuinely interested in learning more about plants and how to grow and use them.
"It was nice meeting you too, Danny." Jake replied, "And thanks for letting me hang. I hope I didn't inconvenience you at all." Jake packed the supplies back into the first aid kit and he handed it over to Danny before he took his leave.
Jake slipped off into the drizzling evening, and into a conveniently located alley nearby where he could transform in peace. In a matter of seconds, he was flying high over New York City to Central Park.
~` * ‘~
After Jake left his shop that day Danny had been thinking a lot, about tattoos that is. He was thinking it was about time that he got a new one. He only had one thus far, the one he got when he was nineteen, just a small cartoony ghost on his forearm. He did not tell anyone he was going to get it until it was already done, just in case they tried to talk him out of it.
Sam thought it was sick. Tucker wanted to know if it hurt. Jazz looked like she wanted to go off on a tangent about what tattoos said about his mental state. And his parents were ecstatic at his ‘Commitment to the ghost hunting life’. At 23 he still liked it a lot, and smiled at it whenever he rolled up his sleeve. Although, he was kind of hoping it would look cool in his ghost form, but with the jumpsuit melded to his body he couldn’t see a thing.
When Danny had breaks for the next few days he would look through pictures of tattoos on the internet, hoping to find something that piqued his interest. On the first day he decided he wanted it to be a plant, on the second day he decided he wanted it to be a flower, and on the third he decided he wanted a blood blossom on his bicep. He texted Sam to see if she wanted to go with him the next day to make an appointment, she replied with an enthusiastic hell yes. And so, that is why they were now walking through the door of the friendly neighborhood tattoo parlor and taking a seat in the waiting room next to what must have been the oldest biker gang in history.
Jake was taking it easy at work. With his weird American Dragon hours, he only had enough time in the day to cover part time shifts. His family was by no means poor; hundreds of years of dragon treasure made sure of that. But if Jake did not have a job to escape to from his other duties then he would probably go crazy. As it happened, Jake made friends with a tattoo artist that agreed to take him as an apprentice. It was slow work, learning how to sterilize equipment, create designs for people, man the counter, and handle the machinery, but he felt like it was rewarding all in all.
That day, Jake was in charge of the counter. He was going to give his touched-up tattooed arm another couple days of rest even though it was pretty much healed up already. He did not want his co-workers to figure out about his accelerated healing due to his dragon powers. He also left his arm covered, just in case. He was still a novice, anyway. He had done maybe twenty tattoos on living people, tops, and with supervision from his teacher each time. And of course nobody knew enough of his work yet to request him.
He had left the counter for two minutes while he refilled his mug with jasmine pearl green tea, which he almost spilled all over the phone and paperwork when he returned to find Danny sitting in the lobby with a tall goth chick. Jake almost forgot how to talk for a second in shock, but he resisted the urge to make an undignified retreat, and instead he greeted them.
“Ah.. Is there something I can help you with?”
“Jake! I can’t believe this, do you work here?” Danny asked excitedly. He felt Sam nudge him in the side, he looked down to see her raising her eyebrows expectantly.
“Oh, right. Sam this is Jake, the guy I told you about,” He says, gesturing from one to the other, he turns to Jake and makes similar hand movements when he says, “And Jake this is Sam, my friend and owner of the flower shop!”
“Oh, of course... Pleased ‘t meetcha, and kudos on the shop! I’m looking forward to being a frequent customer of yours.” Jake said, “But yeah, I work here. I’m still training, but it’s coming along. Which one of you was interested in getting some ink?”
"That would be this stud." Sam said, all but slapping Danny in the chest with the back of her hand. She raised an eyebrow at Jake in an expression that he was not sure of the meaning.
"Ow," Danny chided, "Anyway yeah, actually after you left the store I started thinking that I wanted another tattoo. What can I say, your pretty inspirational!" He joked, scratching the back of his head.
"Wow, I'm flattered!" Jake rooted through the drawers behind the counter, picking out some pamphlets and a photo album and handing them to Danny. "You said you wanted another tattoo, so I assume you're familiar with how the process goes... Here are pictures of the works artists here have done, and when you decide on which one you would like to do your tattoo then I can set you up to meet and talk about the design and stuff. Okay?"
Danny nodded happily and took the book from Jake; his fingers tingled a bit when they touched his. Jake seemed to radiate this sort of heat that was just so warm and inviting. Danny brushed it off and thanked him, before gesturing for Sam to come with him to the waiting area to look at the styles.
He had barely opened the book before Sam said, “He’s quite a cutie, wouldn’t you say?”
Danny huffed and felt his cheeks heat up a little from embarrassment.
“Yeah, I guess.” He says in a nonchalant tone, hoping she would drop it.
“Such a coincidence that he happens to work here.” She commented while pointing at one design with long elegant brush strokes.
“Yup, it really is a small world.”
“And he sure is checking you out pretty seriously right now.” Danny’s head immediately snapped up to the front desk, where he saw Jake’s back turned, working on something. He had been duped. Sighing he looked back down, defeated.
“I hate you.”
“Love you too.”
~` * ‘~
Jake felt nervous. He had not expected to see Danny again so soon, especially not before he had a chance to work up his self-confidence again. The last thing he would want to do was put his foot in his mouth. Being around Danny made him feel an unexpected sort of frazzled.
Also, a few of Jake’s designs were the book in with the others. What if Danny wanted Jake to do the tattoo for him? Oh god, what if Danny wanted a tattoo on his butt? Jake had to duck completely behind the counter as he tried to regain his composure.
You're the American Dragon, dude, get a hold of yourself! You save the world on a daily basis... You should be able to talk to a hot guy without freaking the heck out!
Jake stood back up, trying to appear nonchalant as he sipped his jasmine tea and waited for Danny to finish looking at the photos.
After fifteen minutes, Danny decided on whoever made this one amazing rose tattoo. The lines were bold and defined, the flowers themselves were realistic but not overly so, and the whole thing was like a rainbow. All the roses having their own distinct color, but bleeding that color into the next.
Danny walked up to the desk where Jake was, he put the book down and pointed to the page, "I want this person to do my tattoo."
Jake almost choked on his tea. He had to make a few undignified coughs into his sleeve before he could reply. "That's one of mine, actually. I should warn you though that I'm still in training. Of course if you still wanted me to do one for you then you then you would get compensation."
Jake ran his fingers through his spiked hair while recalling all the information he needed to pass on. "We would be able to offer you a reduced cost in exchange for your helping me gain more experience. I passed all my other tests, I just need to get through my live tattoo quota before I'm considered an official artist.”
Dannys mouth dropped a little and he looked back down at Sam, who was giving him a sly smile.
"Oh heck, well that’s a coincidence." Danny looked down at the book, "Regardless, yeah, I would really like you to do my tattoo. Should we, uh, make an appointment?"
Jake "Since you're already here, would you like to just talk about it now? Or is another time better for you?”
“Another time would probably work out better, cause I have to get back to the shop soon.” Danny tried really hard to avoid cringing. Sam was elbowing him behind the counter where Jake couldn’t see, urging him on. He made himself smile instead, “How about we go get lunch and talk about it later, say... Thursday afternoon?”
Jake studied the work schedule behind the counter. Be cool, be cool…
“Yeah, it looks like I’m free. How is twelve-thirty pm?”
“Should be good,” Danny replied.
Sam looked at Jake with her piercing lavender eye contacts and a half smirk, “It’s a date, then.”