Work Text:
“I’ve heard you’re a miracle worker when it comes to tattooing over scar tissue?”
“One might even say magical.”
“Oh? Do you have any availability?”
“Does mid-March work for you?”
“Yes, I need your brand of magic. Just let me know what day works best for your schedule.”
Lips quirked, the man felt a sense of irony in every part of his being—who would have thought he’d get praised for doing magic the muggle way before ever hearing the same praise for doing magic the wizarding way; but sometimes, the muggle type of magic was worth more than any of the wand waving he grew up seeing and learning. “I’ll see you on March 17th, at 1pm. Is your scar less than 5 inches long?”
“Yes, it’s no longer raised or anything like that either, just discolored.”
“Then I’ll see you then. Price for anything less than 5 inches is usually around 600 quid.”
“Works for me.”
~~
The man that walked into Theo’s shop was a surprise. For years, it was a face he saw daily first in school and then the papers before he finally made the decision to leave wizarding Brittain behind.
“Hello, are you Harry?” Theo greeted.
“Hello. Are you the tattooist?”
“Yes, my name’s Theo. Find the shop alright?”
“I made it here alright. A bit of a tight corner on the way in.”
“I keep meaning to tell the grocer on the corner to move their waste bin closer to the wall, sorry about that. Glad you made it, come over, sit and let me have a look. Where’s the scar you want done?”
“Here.” Harry said, awkwardly sitting on the bed and lifting his fringe out of the way.
Yep, that was Harry Potter sitting in his shop. Alright.
Theo didn’t realize he was blankly staring at the most famous wizard in the UK until he noticed the scar pull, forced taut by concerned brows.
“It’s not too old to tattoo, is it?” Harry blurted out, concerned.
“No, no.” Theo reassured, snapping out of his mindless shock. “Older in this case is better. Less inflammation and thicker skin to hold the ink. Don’t worry.”
“Cheers.” Harry exhaled in relief.
“Do you mind if I touch?” Theo queried.
“Go ahead.”
The thrill Theo felt when he made first contact with Harry’s skin, even through the nitrile gloves, was absurd. Was it magic recognizing magic, or just Theo’s dumb crush resurfacing in a mortifying surge? The scar was old, but like any scar tissue, tension made it more noticeable. Still, Theo had worked his magic on tougher scars to hide.
~~
“You’re amazing.”
“Might even call it magical, right?” Theo joked.
Laughing, Harry met his eyes in the mirror, looking sincerely relaxed for the first time since he walked into Theo’s shop. “Best magic I’ve seen yet.”
~~
“Say, you do piercings, right?”
Incredulous, Theo blurted: “Is this my 1pm client? You left not even an hour ago!”
Sheepish was the best word for the man’s tone. “Well, I think I’d like to book another appointment, and I knew you were busy.”
Snapping out of his shock, Theo moved to check his calendar.
~~
“Say, are you single?”
Theo was glad he was sitting and organizing his workspace with nothing too dangerous in his hands, because that question had his hands spasming.
“What?” Theo asked?
“Ah, never mind. Just because you have the left ear piercing doesn’t mean anything, you’ve got other piercings too, silly me.” Harry rambled, jumping up from the piercing chair and putting the cashier stand between himself and Theo. “How much do I owe you?”
Dumbly, Theo watched on, only to jump to his own feet at Harry’s latest question.
“No, no harm done. Um, 25 pounds sterling for the piercing, plus 50 pounds for the jewelry. And, I’m single. And gay.”
Theo’s rambling put Harry’s to shame, and he wanted to die of mortification as he tripped right before reaching the cash register, fumbling to grab the counter to break his fall.
“Ah, alright?! I mean, that’s good, but are you alright?”
“Yes.” Theo whispered; sure his face was red by now from the embarrassment.
“Well.” Harry powered on, even as his hands hovered over Theo’s shoulders without touching, Theo still frozen halfway over the counterspace. “Have you. Well, do you want to go out with me sometime? Maybe watch a game of football and grab a bite at that pub you told me about when you tattooed me?”
“I’d love that.” Theo helplessly beamed back, finally straightening from his lean.
Eyes shining, settling back into his skin, all Harry said was: “Brill.”
~~
“I forgot to ask when we first met: what brought you into my shop, then?”
“My scar is a bit distinctive; I just got tired of the attention and sick of hair sticking to my face while hiding it, and creams and other treatments just didn’t repair the scar tissue to the point I felt comfortable. I heard about your work and thought, if there’s a solution, why not?”
Theo knew he probably meant potions when he said ‘other treatments’. It made sense, in an odd way, that a scar made by magic meant to permanently injure someone would be resistant to magical removal. While Theo had left most of the magical world behind, to his shame, Theo had never thought much about the fame the wizard before him. His crush had seemed unattainable because of it, not to mention his father being who he was, that he’d never quite thought about Harry as a person until now. Determined, Theo decided to get to know Harry as Harry, who Harry was as a person right now. They met in the muggle world, so he’d get to know him like he would any other person he met out on a muggle street.
“So, besides watching football, what do you do for fun?”
~~
“I love the haircut! So fancy.” Theo murmured, running his hands through the close shave and short locks on top Harry now sported.
“Really? It’s not too short?” Harry asked uncertainly.
“Not at all, I love a well-groomed man.” Quirking his lips, Theo leaned in to steal a kiss.
~~
“Why did you get this tattoo?” Harry asked, trailing his fingers along Theo’s back.
“Which one?”
“The snake eating its own tail, coiled around what looks like a wand?”
Carefully, Theo responded: “The ouroboros? It commonly means infinity, and the wand is meant to symbolize magic in its entirety. It’s to remind me that the magic I create and see and experience is all one, and will return and regenerate from whence it came.”
Harry’s hand stilled on his back. “Poetic.”
“It was my first tattoo, one I got on the tail end of a bit of political upheaval, and the process and thoughts that came up whenever I would catch a glance at it in the mirror was what pushed me into tattooing other people. I wanted to share that impact with other people.”
“Oh, Theo.” Harry whispered, head now nudged into the curve of Theo’s neck.
~~
“I can’t with you! Why would you lie to me like that?”
“I never lied! Not once!”
“What do you call never saying you recognized me then, that you were magical!” Harry shouted.
“I call that respecting my client’s wishes! I was helping you hide your scar, not to fawn over you!”
“Well, you can take your form of respect and shove it up your ass while walking out the door!”
“Fine!” Theo screamed, grabbing his coat and leaving.
~~
“This is Theo from Trouble Walking In Tattooing, how can I help you?”
A pause, and then: “Hey.”
Shifting his tone, Theo responded flatly: “What do you want?”
“To treat you to a pint? We ended on a bad note, and I don’t want that.”
“Seems like you wanted me gone more than anything.”
“No, that’s not true. Can I apologize to you in person? Maybe hear you out when I’m not in shock?”
“Next time don’t call my work line. But sure. Friday at 8?”
“At the Pheasant’s Den?”
“Sure.”
~~
“This is my boyfriend, Theo.” Harry motioned, grabbing Theo’s hand when in range.
“Theo? As in Theo Nott?” Hermione asked, head tilted a little to the left.
“That’s me.” Theo smiled.
~~~
In bed again, Harry asked him: “Don’t want to re-introduce me to anyone from our school days?”
“No, I didn’t keep in touch with most of our cohort. But if you want an introduction to my social circle, I can bring you to my next volunteer day at the local community centre? Show you around? You can meet Betty from accounting while we’re there, put a face to a name.”
Hugging Theo closely from behind, Harry replied: “I’d like that.”
~~
“Is this what you thought would happen, when I wandered into your shop?”
“I had less than the foggiest. Surprised I didn’t permanently maim you even further in my shock.” Theo joked.
“Har, har.” Harry sarcastically replied. A pause, and then: “Are you glad we ended up here?”
“I’ve never been happier.” Theo whispered in return, hugging Harry as close as he could get.