Yamaguchi dragged his eyes up from his book when the bell over the door rang. "Welcome to Inkspirations," he said with his best hopefully-not-too-obviously-fake smile. He tried to be personable, he really did, but the week before Valentine's Day was trying at the best of times, and having their apprentice, who doubled as their receptionist, out sick didn't help matters. He normally tried to avoid jumping to conclusions from first impressions, but one look at the guy practically prancing through the door already had him resigning himself to trying (unsuccessfully no doubt) to talk yet another potential customer out of some cutesy heart design that they'd most likely regret a few years down the line.

Then the patron took off his sunglasses and started unwinding his scarf, and Yamaguchi did a double-take. "Oikawa Tooru?" he asked, his heart suddenly fluttering up somewhere around his throat.

"Ssshhhhh!" Oikawa hissed, glancing over his shoulder. "Do you know how hard it was to ditch my fan club? Don't just announce I'm here!"

"So, uhh, what can I do for you today, Oikawa-san?" Yamaguchi asked, trying to ignore the fact that he was suddenly standing mere meters away from one of the top volleyball players in Japan. Or, more technically, one of the former top players; Oikawa had announced his retirement after Japan's gold medal at the last Olympics. His last exhibition match with the team had been a couple of weeks ago.

"I want a tattoo," Oikawa said. Then his eyes caught on Yamaguchi's hands, visible now that he was standing, and Yamaguchi braced himself for the inevitable questions. "Didn't that hurt?" was by far the most common, though "Why'd you pick something so ugly?" was a close second.

Oikawa surprised him. "You did that one yourself, didn't you?" he said, pointing at the bones that covered the back of Yamaguchi's left hand and disappeared into his sleeve.

Yamaguchi nodded.

"But not that one," Oikawa continued, pointing at the flowering vines that twined around the back of his right hand.

"You have a good eye," Yamaguchi admitted, trying not the let that add too much weight to the already alarmingly long list of reasons he had a massive crush on one Oikawa Tooru. "The flowers were my design, but I had a friend ink them for me."

Without warning, Oikawa picked up his hand, and a surprised squeak escaped before he could stop himself.

Oikawa dropped his hand like a hot coal. "I'm sorry," he stammered. "That was too forward of me. It's just...I've been a huge fan of your work for years, and it looks even better in person."

"No, it's fine. Go ahead," Yamaguchi said, offering his hand and hoping he was coming across at least slightly more collected than he felt. He could only hope Oikawa was too intent on tracing the lines on his hand to notice the way his face was burning.

"Oh wow, you even have the scar over the bone here to match where you broke your hand a couple of years ago. I was so worried when you posted about that on your blog you know."

"So, ah, what sort of tattoo were you thinking about?" Yamaguchi asked, trying to steer the conversation back to less dangerous topics.

"Jupiter and her moons," Oikawa said. "Well, not all of them, just the Galilean moons. I studied astronomy in university you know; I'm starting the graduate program at Tokyo University next year. I've wanted this tattoo for years. I promised it to myself as a retirement present."

"Why don't we sit down and talk a bit more about what you want and what I can do then?" Yamaguchi suggested. "And if it seems like something you want, I should be able to have some designs for you to look at in a few days."

~~~~~

"Why're you so nervous, boss?" Kiyoko asked three days later. "Is the guy coming back to look at designs that cute? You don't normally get this flustered."

"Mmm, yeah," Yamaguchi said noncommittally. Kiyoko would find out soon enough who his mystery client was, but he saw no reason to ruin the surprise.

Just then, the door opened, and Oikawa walked in, bundled up against the unseasonably cold weather.

"Oikawa-san, you're right on time," Yamaguchi said, and Kiyoko snapped to attention next to him. He knew he'd pay for it later, but the look on Kiyoko's face as she put the pieces together was worth it.

"You can leave your coat out here, and I have some designs for you to look at in the back."

He had barely set out his sketches when Oikawa pointed to one in the corner. "That one," he said.

"Are you sure? You can take a few minutes to look at them."

"I'm sure. It's perfect." Jupiter's characteristic rings stretched across the background, the edges of the planet somewhere beyond the edge of the frame. In the foreground were the four Galilean moons, each immediately recognizable—the active volcanoes of Io, the smooth surface of Europa, the sharp contrasts of Ganymede, and the dense craters of Callisto.

"When can you start?" Oikawa asked.

"Well, if you're sure you're happy with it, I set aside some time now you could take."

Oikawa's face lit up. "Really!?"

"It wouldn't be finished today, but I could probably get all of the outlining done. I need to make a stencil of this, but while I do that, you can fill out these forms," Yamaguchi said, sliding several sheets of paper in Oikawa's direction, "and take off a few of those sweaters. I can't tattoo your arm if I can't even see it."

Yamaguchi left Oikawa to his own devices for a few minutes, which in retrospect, was perhaps not the best idea, he thought as he walked in on a shirtless Oikawa smiling at him.

"Sorry, Yama-chan," he said, "my shirtsleeves were too tight; I couldn't push them up enough."

Yamaguchi tried not to stare too openly as he waited for his brain to kick back into gear. He couldn't tell if Oikawa was actually that earnest, or if it was feigned innocence, but whatever it was, it was severely distracting. He was grateful for the muscle memory that carried him through transferring the stencil to Oikawa's skin and getting himself set up.

But the first buzz of the tattoo gun had Oikawa pulling away from him. "Yama-chan, I'm nervous," Oikawa whined. "Do you have any more soothing music?"

Yamaguchi raised an eyebrow at what he was fairly certain was an act. "Like what?" he asked.

"I dunno. What else do you have?"

"This is about it. I just put my music on shuffle."

"In that case, why don't you just use my music instead?" Oikawa asked, offering his phone.

Yamaguchi hesitated, but then gave in and took it. After all, how bad could it really be? He plugged Oikawa's phone into his speakers…and was greeted with one of the most cutesy pop songs he had ever heard. The sort of tooth-rottingly saccharine drivel that he would never in a million years admit to enjoying. Behind him, Oikawa started humming along.

"Thank you, Yama-chan," Oikawa sang.

"I have to ask, why 'Yama-chan'?"

"Yamaguchi-san is too long. Plus, you've seen me shirtless now."

Yamaguchi had never been so glad to lose himself in the familiar sounds and rhythms of his work, letting the lines in front of him drown out thoughts of the person who was on the other side of the arm that sometimes twitched under his fingers.

Far too soon and yet not soon enough he finished, and he covered his work, went over aftercare instructions, and showed Oikawa to the front desk to make an appointment for another session. "My number's on the card," he said as Oikawa left. "You can call anytime. Otherwise, I'll see you next week."

"You are in so much trouble boss," Kiyoko said as the door jingled shut. "'You can call anytime?' Really?"