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Rebellious, attention-getting, improper, unprofessional—those were all words that she associated with tattoos. She’d been raised as a very proper elite, even though she did her best not to come across as a total erudite snob. There was no removing the preconceived notions she’d been indoctrinated with since birth. So, when her best friend came to her and asked her to accompany her to the tattoo parlor for moral support, Asuna had been faced with a very striking dilemma. She wanted to give a very firm “no” as she told her friend that she would never support such behavior. Thoughts of “what about your career!” and “people are going to presume things about you!” flew through her head as she stared at those somewhat pleading eyes.
At some point, she had to admit that they just weren’t her thing.
Call it the swallowing of her pride. Call it acquiescing for a friend. In the end, Asuna smiled at Shino and agreed to go with her. As much as she didn’t want to be caught dead in a tattoo parlor, Asuna was reasonable enough to know that her friendship to Shino was worth more than her own personal pride in not being associated with someone who put ink in their body. She met up with her the day of, telling herself over and over again that she was here to be moral support—she would not mention her distaste at all during this process, and she would find a compliment for her friend and her new tattoo.
“So, what are you planning on getting?” Asuna asked, trying to make conversation to put herself at ease.
Shino smiled at her.
“A lotus flower,” she said. “Kyouji bought me a necklace with a lotus flower on it. I suppose you could say it’s our thing.”
She nodded back at her, tucking some of her hair behind her ear as she did so.
“And where are you planning for it to go?” she asked.
The other girl reached her right hand up, crossed it over her chest, and patted the back of her opposite shoulder.
“Right here,” she said. “On my upper back, on the left. That way it’ll be hidden for work, but when I want to wear something with no sleeves, it’ll be visible. After all, it’s a shame to get a piece of art that no one can see, right?”
Asuna wanted to overtly disagree with her, but she just awkwardly laughed and nodded her head. Perhaps willingly going along with this wouldn’t be so difficult. It would only take a few hours at most. Afterwards, they’d go get some drinks and relax for a bit before they headed back home. She drew in a deep breath as they stepped off of the bus at their stop and she followed Shino along the sidewalk to get to the tattoo parlor.
The building itself loudly spoke of its nature. The sign on the front was in a font that reminded Asuna of graf art, and it was colorful in a way that felt a bit tacky to her more reserved taste. It announced that the establishment did tattoos and piercings, and a few signs pointed to a smoking area outside. Shino stopped a meter or so from the entrance and turned back around to Asuna, giving her a nervous smile.
“Really, thank you for coming,” she said. “I know my family won’t be very happy about this, but knowing that both you and Kyouji support me doing this makes me feel a bit less nervous about doing what I want to do. So, thanks.”
Asuna nodded back and told her that it was nothing. A slight bit of guilt filled her heart. Poor Shino had no idea that tattoos rubbed her the wrong way. She hoped that eventually, she could bring herself to be honest with her friend. She didn’t want to insult her, and she wanted Shino to know that this changed nothing about their relationship. It was simply a disagreement, and it wasn’t worth losing a friend over.
The girls stepped into the shop and looked around. A brown-haired man stepped up to the counter. He had no nametag on, just a shirt with the tattoo parlor’s logo on it. Both of his arms had full sleeves on them, and he had so many piercings that Asuna wasn’t sure which ones to focus on. Some were in his ears, one was in his lip, and there was even one near his eyebrow—however that worked. A woman trailed behind him. She didn’t have as many tattoos, but her ears were just as covered with piercings.
“Hi, welcome to Nautilus,” the girl said. “Did you have an appointment? Or are you here to book something?”
Shino stepped up to the counter.
“I-I have an appointment,” she stammered. “With an artist named Kazuto, I believe?”
The woman nodded and started to type over the man’s shoulder. He didn’t seem all that bothered.
“Yuuna, don’t you need her name?” he mumbled.
The woman, apparently called Yuuna, stuck her tongue out at him playfully. She asked for Shino’s name and looked her up in the computer. Asuna noted a tongue piercing. She wanted to grab her tongue instinctively, but she kept her hand down. In this world, she was the intruder. She had to be respectful. She curled her fingers up into her hand and dug her nails into her palm, telling herself to mind her manners. Yuuna stood back up and ruffled the man’s hair a bit.
“I’ll be right back,” she said. “I’m just going to check if he’s ready for you.”
Shino gave her a very awkward little nod. She turned back to Asuna, smiling and looking for approval. Asuna gave her a thumbs’ up. The man behind the counter stifled a chuckle and shook his head.
“You’re both so nervous,” he said. “First time?”
Glancing back to him, Shino nodded.
“Yeah,” she said. “I’ve wanted a tattoo for a while, but my parents aren’t very supportive of it. Now that I’m an adult, both my boyfriend and my best friend have given me the support I need to come and get one.”
The man smiled and nodded.
“Good for you,” he said. “Anything I can clear up for you, first-timer?”
She nodded.
“Does it hurt as bad as some people say it does?” she asked.
He laughed and started talking about how pain was relative to both the area of the body the tattoo was going on and the person’s own personal pain tolerance. At some point, he gave his name—Eiji. The more he talked, the more Asuna saw Shino’s expression relax. She had to let herself relax, too. If Shino was happy, she’d be happy.
Yuuna came back after a while, telling her that the artist was ready for her. The two girls trailed behind her back into a room with a chair that reminded her a bit of a dentist’s chair. Asuna didn’t voice this out loud, thinking that it might be a strange comparison to make. The artist was in the corner in a chair writing down something on a piece of paper. When he turned around, Asuna felt the whole room go silent.
He had to be roughly her age. His hair was jet-black and looked to be so long that if he let it down, it would sit somewhere below his shoulders. A few stray strands sat in front of his ears, dangling around his neck. He had his bangs pinned up so that he could see, and the back was pulled up into a ponytail. He wore the same shirt as the first two employees, and his arms were as covered as Eiji’s were. The cartilage of his ears had piercings along the outer edge. His eyes were the color of night.
Asuna heard none of the conversation he was having with Shino. She dazedly stood by while her friend got up onto the chair and pulled off her shirt enough to expose the area on her back to the artist. He cleaned off the area with a gentle touch and then set about working on her. Asuna must have missed something. He was already tracing out the design on her skin. Asuna felt her heart flutter a bit, and then a very strange desire welled up within her.
She wanted to trade places with Shino.
It went against everything she’d believed growing up. She should have zero desire to go and get a tattoo, even if the artist was cute. But the more she thought about being close to him as he worked, the less she thought about it going against everything she stood for. So what if she went and got a tattoo? She just needed an excuse to get close to him. She’d pick some spot that no one would see if her work clothes were on, just like Shino.
By the time the appointment was nearing its end, Asuna excused herself for a moment and stepped back out into the lobby. Yuuna was seated at the front desk, flipping through a magazine. Asuna fidgeted with her purse as she approached her. The woman glanced up from her magazine and smiled at Asuna.
“Everything going okay?” she asked. “You look more nervous than your friend does.”
Asuna nodded her head and pointed back towards Shino and the artist finishing up the lotus pattern on her back.
“What’s his name again?” she asked.
Yuuna laughed.
“Kazuto,” she said. “Did he forget to introduce himself again?”
Asuna shook her head. She didn’t know if he had or not. She’d completely spaced out the moment she’d seen him. Swallowing, she glanced down at the open book on the table. Names were scribbled in it with times and signatures, much like a chart at a doctor’s office making sure you were on time for your appointment. She tapped a finger on the strap of her purse and drew in a deep breath, urging herself to take another bold step out of her comfort zone. It was her only chance to see this man again.
“I-I’d like to book my own appointment with him,” she stammered.
Humming, Yuuna set down the magazine and smiled.
“So, the good girl is going rouge, huh?” she teased. “You sure you don’t want another woman doing it? I’m pretty good, too, you know.”
Asuna shook her head.
“I-It’s not that,” she said. “I just…I want to…see Kazuto again…”
Yuuna shifted in her chair.
“I could just give you his phone number,” she said. “There’s no need to go and make yourself uncomfortable just to say hi to a cute guy.”
She reached down into a drawer for a piece of paper to write down his phone number on. Asuna shook her head.
“No, no,” she said. “I’m booking an appointment.”
Yuuna frowned, but she pulled up her scheduler anyways. Asuna presumed that she wasn’t one to turn a customer away. Business was business, after all. A decision like this came with social consequences, both in her family and at her workplace. She knew that Yuuna just wanted her to be sure before she booked an appointment and got a tattoo just to see a man. But Asuna knew exactly why she had to do it this way.
It was the way he looked while he worked. With him that close to her, he’d be touching her and close to her as he worked. What sort of coffee shop date could give her that sort of intimacy? This was a chance to see him as he was in the place where he was most comfortable: working on his craft. As Asuna listened to Yuuna talk about the process, her heart began to race as another truth came to light—she would have to see him twice. Once for a consultation and once for the actual appointment.
I’ve lost my mind, she thought.
She thanked Yuuna for her time, marked down her appointment and the parlor’s phone number, and then she scurried back into the room to see Shino pulling her shirt back on correctly. Kazuto was telling her about how to take care of the tattoo as she healed up and was asking if she had any last-minute questions. Shino thanked him for his time and then turned to Asuna with an excited grin on her face. She held up her phone to show Asuna a picture of the tattoo.
“He agreed to take a picture for me so I could send a quick one to Kyouji,” she said. “What do you think?”
As Asuna stared down at the lotus flower on Shino’s skin, she felt as though she finally understood why people were so fascinated with tattoos. The artistry was so delicate and intricate that she could hardly believe the artist was a man. It was feminine and elegant, and the colors he’d chosen were warm and pleasant. Of course, Shino had likely had a say in how she wanted it to look, but his execution was, in fact, a work of art. She smiled and nodded her head.
“I approve,” she said, teasing Shino by poking her in the cheek.
Shino laughed.
“You sound like a mother who just scrutinized her child’s drawing to tease him before declaring that it’s a masterpiece and pinning it to the fridge,” she said.
Asuna shook her head.
“That’s such a detailed metaphor, Shino-non,” she sighed. “But it’s beautiful. I’m sure Kyouji will love it.”
To get her mind off of her own impending appointment, she offered to take Shino to a café for some drinks before they separated ways. The whole while, she tried to take her mind off of her own nerves. She didn’t tell her friend about the appointment; it still felt a bit awkward that she’d done such a thing. She sipped at her smoothie while Shino talked about some work events from the past week, spacing in and out as her mind kept wandering back to the handsome man at the tattoo parlor.
In fact, she couldn’t stop herself even when she went home for the evening. Nor when she went to work the next day. Nor the day after. Nor the day after that. He kept slipping into the forefront of her mind, occupying all of the thinking space she had available there. The way his hair shone in the light. The way his face looked calm as he concentrated on his work. The way his hands expertly moved across the skin as he inked bare skin, turning it into his canvas. He was inescapable in her head.
The day of the consultation, she felt butterflies in her stomach. Yuuna led her back into Kazuto’s room, and he introduced himself to her and had her sit down next to him in a chair. He jotted a few things down in a booklet and then turned to her, offering her the warmest smile she thought she’d ever seen. Her heart might not be able to take this. He was just too attractive.
“So, today we’ll just go over the design and where you want to put the tattoo,” he said. “And I can answer any questions you have, since Yuuna said it was your first time.”
Asuna swallowed and nodded. She wasn’t really sure where to go from here. She couldn’t think of a single thing other than him at the moment, so selecting a design would prove to be a bit difficult.
“Have you got an idea of where you want to put it?” he asked.
She thought about Shino’s location. Being on the same side would be kind of copycat, so she just opted for the opposite.
“O-on my back,” she stammered.
She pointed to the spot behind her right shoulder.
“H-here,” she said. “That way…I can go to work without comments.”
He chuckled and nodded his head.
“Yeah, maybe someday this won’t be so judged,” he said. “That’s a pretty versatile place for designs, so if you want something bigger it will show pretty good. What kind of design were you wanting to go with?”
He pulled out a piece of paper and a pencil. She hummed.
“You draw them on paper first?” she said.
Looking up at her, he paused for a moment, blinking at her, and then he laughed. His laugh sounded so pure and innocent, as if she’d taken him by surprise. He nodded his head.
“Sorry, sorry,” he said. “I just…I’ve never been asked that one before. I’m sure people have asked that before, but it’s my first time hearing it. Yeah, I draw them first. That way, when I start to ink your skin, I have a reference to go off of.”
She nodded.
“I’m not really sure what I want,” she admitted. “Do you…do you have any suggestions?”
He blinked at her again.
“Would you like to look through some of my samples?” he offered.
He pulled out a big binder. She opened it up, her hands shaking, and she started to flip through the designs. There were so many to choose from—flowers, animals, abstract symbols, some that looked like pop culture references, skulls, calligraphy. It was a tad overwhelming; his skill with this medium was undeniable. She couldn’t possibly pin down a single one to choose out of the entire booklet. She should have thought about this in more detail before doing it. Yuuna’s hesitance was clear now. Asuna was only here to be close to Kazuto. Her interest in a tattoo itself was nonexistent. She cleared her throat.
“What do you think would suit me?” she asked.
Kazuto looked up from where she was in the binder and stared at her curiously. What did he think of her, the confused client who didn’t know what she wanted? He hummed, giving away nothing aside from being in thought, and then he flipped through the binder until he stopped in the floral section. He tapped his finger on a very gorgeous, detailed sunflower.
“If I were picking one myself for you,” he said, “that’s the one I would pick.”
She glanced over at him. His cheeks were a slight pink. Was she imagining that? She felt her own cheeks start to burn. She drew in a breath and nodded.
“That one, then,” she said.
He sat back, a little surprised.
“Really?” he said.
She nodded and gave him her best smile.
“It’s so beautiful, after all,” she said. “I’d be honored for my first tattoo to be one that you thought complimented me well.”
The words were already out of her mouth before she could stop them. Kazuto’s cheeks definitely changed color this time. He held up his hand over his face, trying to hide his blush. She held up the binder over her own face, hiding as well. What a pair they were. After a few awkward moments of avoiding eye contact, Kazuto went through the rest of the consultation with apparent ease, tucking away his earlier embarrassment like the professional he was. By the time he was telling her he looked forward to seeing her again, Asuna noticed that he’d snapped back into customer service mode while she was just nodded and blushed as she told him she couldn’t wait.
Waiting felt like agony. She wanted to just leap up from wherever she was and go see him again. She kept waking up at night and rolling over to check the date and time. Asuna counted down the days, hours, minutes until she would see Kazuto again. Forget nerves about getting a tattoo—those were there because she wanted to see that adorable blush one more time. The redness of his cheeks standing out against those onyx eyes made him so incredibly beautiful. Thinking about it at night made her roll over face-first into her pillow and let out a small squeal of delight. She could no longer hold in her feelings. They slipped out over lunch with Shino.
“I’m going to get a tattoo.”
Shino choked on her drink and had to clear up her throat before she responded.
“You? A tattoo?” she said. “That seems wildly out of character.”
Asuna frowned and bit her lip.
“I don’t know what’s come over me,” she admitted. “I don’t really want one, I just wanted to see Kazuto again…”
Connecting the dots, Shino leaned over and wrapped her arm around Asuna.
“You’re such a mess,” she said, laughing. “I knew something was up when you were acting all space cadet at the parlor. You think he’s cute, don’t you?”
Her face flushing red, Asuna nodded.
“You know, you could have just asked for his number,” Shino said. “Unless you’re…ah! But you are! You’re getting a tattoo just so he’ll touch you!”
Asuna felt her embarrassment rising rapidly.
“Sh-Shino-non!” she whined. “That’s not funny!”
Shino just laughed and patted her back.
“I’m teasing you, even though I’m totally right,” she said. “So, when’s the appointment? And what kind of a tattoo are you even getting?”
She filled her friend in on all of the details. It started as just an answer to the question, but she found herself trailing off to talk about her consultation with Kazuto. Shino just watched her talk, listening and giving her a knowing smile. The lunch break felt like it went too quickly. Before she knew it, she was back at her desk, agonizing over her one-sided crush. At the end of the conversation, Shino had jokingly dared her to ask Kazuto out after the appointment. She knew it was just a jest, but a small part of her wanted to be brave enough to do that. She couldn’t very well keep going back for more tattoos and expect that to be the extent of their relationship.
That thought only made her nerves even worse on the day of the appointment. She arrived and checked in, just like Shino had done the time she’d accompanied her. She waited, rocking back and forth on the balls of her feet, while Yuuna went and checked to see if Kazuto was ready. Eiji was at the desk, giving her a half-smile as he watched her.
“Last call for us to give you his number,” he said, smirking.
Asuna shook her head.
“I-I’m going to ask him myself!” she said.
Eiji smiled and nodded.
“I’m rooting for you,” he said.
She smiled back at him as Yuuna stepped back in and waved for her to follow. She found herself stepping into Kazuto’s space for the third time, more full of nerves this time than ever. They shared an awkward greeting, which earned them a strange glance from Yuuna. Asuna sat down on the chair and waited with her hands in her lap. Kazuto stepped over to her after filling out his sheet and then he guided her on how to lay down on the chair with his hands. They were smooth and gentle. She felt her pulse spike. He told her that he’d need to have her shirt and bra pulled off, so she changed quickly while he wasn’t looking and she laid back down on the table, feeling secure against it. He stepped back over and started to clean the area.
“You’re free to watch me like that, but it might hurt your neck,” he said. “But…I don’t mind you watching.”
The last half of the sentence sounded so soft and kind. She could see that pink color returning to his cheeks as he ran the cotton swab over her skin, as gently as a painter with a brush. He walked her through the steps verbally before he started. He’d work on the outline first, and then he’d work with the color when the outline was finished. He warned her that it would hurt a little, but he also said that everyone felt differently about the pain. As he pulled out the stencil they’d worked on during the consultation, he reminded her that she should let him know if he needed to stop. She nodded her head and kept her eyes on him.
“Alright,” he said. “I’m going to start on the outline now.”
This. This was the moment she’d been waiting for. He leaned over, suddenly very serious and focused. His eyes, she realized, gave away just how much joy he found in his work. They appeared to sparkle, like a night filled with stars, as he put the needles to her skin. She barely registered them after a few strokes. She was too focused on his face to care about the dull pain in her back. But she soon found her eyes wandering elsewhere.
Every detail of him became apparent during that appointment. The way he held his hands as he worked. How his arm muscles moved while he placed permanent marks in her skin. She could get a glimpse of the different tattoos on his arms as he moved. His face hardly changed expression as he focused. A stray hair would fall from behind his ear every so often, and he would pause to pull it back into place without taking his eyes off of his work. His bottom lip opened and closed his mouth slightly as he moved his hand back and forth.
All the while, all she could think was that she was so lucky to just lie here and have the chance to gaze upon him. He was right; her neck felt sore from watching. She was incapable of tearing her eyes away from him, though. She wanted to know what he might look like if she removed that shirt. How far did those tattoos go? What lucky person would get to remove that shirt for him and enjoy such intricate markings? She found herself sighing to try and keep her pulse steady.
She found herself drawn back to his lips. They were thin, but shapely for a man’s lips. To her surprise, they seemed to be well-kept, showing no evidence of biting on either lip or any chapping from lack of proper care. They seemed soft and smooth. She imagined what it might be like to kiss those lips—would they taste as sweet as they looked? She pursed her lips together, trying to ignore the desire welling up in her chest. It was more than just his lips she wanted to kiss. His smooth skin felt like an invitation.
He finally looked away from his work and met her gaze. She must have been staring rather intently at him, because the blush reappeared in his cheeks. He was carefully rubbing around the area where he’d been working. She felt herself snap back to her senses. He cleared his throat and ran his hand through some of his stray hairs on the right side of his head.
“Did you want to use a mirror, or did you want me to take a picture with your phone and show you?” he asked.
Right, the tattoo. She meekly told him that she’d like to use the mirror. It was only an excuse to see him behind her, after all, but she might as well accept that she was still making excuses for herself. She held up the cloth over her chest and followed him over to the mirrors. They were posed in such a way that she could see her back in the reflection in front of her. She gazed at the spot on her skin. The sunflower was drawn with such fine detail that if it had any shading to it, Asuna might have thought he’d just held one up to her skin. The colors of golden-yellow and orange were brightly accented with a warm red, and the green of the leaves felt refreshing. The artist stood by, patiently awaiting her verdict.
“It’s beautiful,” she murmured.
Did she mean the tattoo? Or him? She didn’t want to admit it was the latter.
“I’m glad you like it,” he said, the pink in his cheeks fading to a red. “Say…”
He handed her back her shirt and turned his back to her so that she could change.
“Could I…could I ask you to get a drink with me sometime?” he asked.
Her hands abruptly let go of her shirt after it had been pulled over her head. It was her turn to blush. She turned back around and saw him standing there, holding onto one arm nervously. He was avoiding eye contact with her. She did her best to shake off the shock and then reached down into her purse. She’d prepared for this, after all. She pulled out a small notecard and handed it to him. He blinked down at it, surprised.
“I…I was going to ask you the same,” she admitted. “I wasn’t quite sure what you liked to drink, though.”
He let out an awkward laugh.
“I’m fine with a black coffee, myself,” he said. “Saturday? Three o’clock?”
She nodded and clutched the strap of her purse.
“Yeah,” she said, feeling excitement bubble up in her chest. “See you then.”
Asuna felt as light as air. He seemed interested in her. The fact was obvious. He’d texted her very shortly after she got home, letting her know that the text was from his phone and awkwardly saying that it was okay for her to save the number. She giggled and saved it to her contacts in a flash. It felt so special. She’d received his handiwork on her back, and his contact information in her phone—the day felt like a win.
She had to laugh to herself as she found herself giddily waiting for Saturday. What was her life now, that she would constantly be waiting to see Kazuto again? She felt like a child, but at the same time she knew this was joy. Her dream of pressing her lips against his or being held in his artfully detailed arms could come true after all. She did her best to stay calm. Naturally, she spilled all of the details to Shino. Her friend asked to see the tattoo, and when they were somewhere discreet, she showed off the sunflower kissing her back shoulder. Shino gasped and held her hand over her mouth.
“It’s stunning…” she said. “It suits you well. What made you pick a sunflower?”
Laughing, Asuna shook her head.
“I asked him to pick one for me,” she said. “I suppose he picked well.”
Shino laughed.
“I’ll say,” she said. “But I wonder how he got one so perfect. He barely knows you.”
Shino’s question left her wondering. Would it be alright to ask him why he’d selected the sunflower? She thought about it as she fell asleep that night. The question tossed and turned in her head so much that she feared she’d never get rest until she knew the answer. She kept thinking about that question even as she walked into the coffee shop that they’d selected over text.
She glanced around the shop, looking for her handsome date. He stood up at a table, waved her over, and then surprised her even more by pulling out her chair for her to let her get seated. Handsome, sweet, and a gentleman? Had she discovered the perfect man? She slipped into the seat and thanked him. A waitress stopped by and took their orders: a simple black coffee for him and a caramel macchiato for her. She sighed in relief as the waitress walked away to put in their order.
“How was work?” he asked, starting off with a simple conversation.
Asuna nodded.
“It was a long week,” she said. “We’re coming up on the end of the quarter and everything is really busy in the finance department.”
He chuckled and nodded.
“I know what you mean,” he said. “Eiji’s losing his mind right now. Keeps saying it’s my fault for not logging information correctly, but we all know it’s our coworker, Klein, who sucks at keeping track of the right numbers.”
Giggling, Asuna shook her head.
“Is it a fun job, though?” she asked. “I’m sure you get all sorts of interesting customers.”
Kazuto nodded and leaned on his elbows on the table.
“Yeah, I do,” he said, blushing a little and gazing over at her.
She felt her cheeks heat up. He was a bit more forward than his shy side had prepared her for. He chuckled and sat back to allow the waitress to give them their drinks. He wrapped one hand around his coffee and took a sip, not caring to add any milk or sugar to his drink. He drew in a deep breath after the sip and smiled.
“They have really good coffee here,” he said. “Doesn’t need anything. Just good as-is.”
Asuna laughed.
“I don’t know if I could ever drink it straight like that,” she admitted.
She took a sip of her own drink. There was no perfect time to ask her question, so she had to be careful about how to introduce the topic. She started out with something simple.
“Thank you for the other day, by the way,” she said, giving him a warm smile. “Every time I see it in the mirror, I’m finding out that I’m glad I stepped out of my comfort zone.”
He nodded at her and chuckled.
“Hey, just doing my job,” he said. “But I’m very glad to know you like it.”
She tapped her fingers on the outside of her cup.
“Why a sunflower?” she asked.
He stopped mid-sip and looked over the brim of his cup at her, humming.
“What do you mean?” he asked.
She tilted her head.
“Well, you seemed so certain about it,” she said. “I didn’t know what I wanted. But you knew just where to turn and which one you thought suited me. My friend says it suits me very well and says your intuition is spot-on.”
That comment received another chuckle.
“I was just curious to know why you picked what you did, even though it was only the first time we’d spoken,” she said.
Setting down his cup, he smiled at her and then turned to stare outside of the window. He fiddled with the cup while he spoke.
“You see, that’s the design I’m most proud of,” he said. “It’s the one that I always find myself flipping back to when I’m bored or feel stuck and like my art isn’t as good as it always is. You could say that it’s the most beautiful thing I’d ever seen, though I don’t mean that to be conceited.”
He sighed.
“Well, it was the most beautiful thing I’d ever seen,” he said, sighing.
She frowned.
“Was?”
He nodded, and then the blush on his cheeks reappeared, turning them a brilliant scarlet.
“It was until I met you,” he said.
Asuna felt her heart stop in her chest. She couldn’t believe what she was hearing. Everything came to a stop. There were only two people in the world; her and Kazuto. She swallowed and picked up her chair. He sat up a little straighter as she moved it around the table to sit right next to his. She leaned over closer to him and opened her mouth as if to say something. He let go of his cup and reached his hand up to cup her cheek in his hand.
“You’re the most beautiful person I’ve ever seen,” he whispered. “So, I wanted to put the second most beautiful thing on your skin.”
His touch was warm. She thought she might tear up. No one had ever told her something this sweet before. She lost control of her tongue for a moment.
“Kiss me,” she whispered back.
He smiled and nodded his head slightly. Kazuto pulled her closer to him and pressed his lips into hers. She could taste the bitter coffee on his lips. They were just as soft as she’d imagined them. Here they were, two strangers only connected by ink, kissing as they shared a coffee on their first date. She wouldn’t have it any other way. She’d known from the minute she’d seen him that she wanted no one else.
“Will you tell me your first name, then, Miss Yuuki?” he asked.
She smiled and reached her own hand up to tuck a stray strand of hair behind his ear.
“Asuna,” she said.
Kazuto nodded and stole another kiss.
“Will the most beautiful person in the world do me the honor of another date?” he asked.
The heat in her cheeks felt like it was spreading to her chest.
“Of course,” she said.
Asuna had another reason to anticipate. And she was quite okay with that.