Lamies crossed the street, glancing briefly at the car that was randomly double-parked. He shouldered open the door to the tattoo parlor, examining a wall of designs as he waited for the customer at the counter to leave.

Behind said counter stood a young employee, with warm brown skin and dark-almost-black hair that was cut short around his head but grown out in the front, revealing itself to be wavy in nature. His eyes were a celadon green that made them stand out from the rest of his dark-schemed person, and they were bright with a smile that was part of his work attire.

Lamies sat himself down in one of the chairs to wait, crossing his legs and dangling his foot absently in the air. His pants were somewhat ripped, and his red hair pulled tightly back to reveal the shaved sides of his head.

The employee sent the customer away with a pleasant farewell and then rounded the counter. As he neared the newest customer, the name tag pinned to his shirt became more noticeable, though the name itself was barely legible due to poor penmanship. However, if one squinted and tilted his head slightly, one could probably read it, and learn that it said "Hasan." Hasan offered the customer a smile and a friendly "Hey, what can I do you for?"

Lamies looked up from playing with his lip ring and let it go, smiling slightly. "Do you do piercings?"

Hasan raised his eyebrows interestedly and nodded, eyeing the lip ring, which appeared to be one of many. "I do."

Lamies smiled wider and stood up. "I want a piercing right here," he said, pointing to a spot on his chest. "It healed over."

Hasan smiled a little more as well and nodded again "Sure thing. Right this way, my friend." He led the redhead into a back room, where the wall was plastered with different tattoo designs and such. "My name," he said, turning to his customer, "is Hasan, by the way."

Lamies perched himself on the table and took off his shirt. "Lamies." He had many piercings already in what was visible of his face and body, and a tattoo on his hip that disappeared beneath his pants.

Hasan's grin was a little different now as his eyes made a brief trip over Lamies, and he pulled out the things necessary for the task at hand. "Pleasure to make your acquaintance. Where do you want it?"

Lamies tapped the nipple that was without a ring, dropping the shirt beside him. "Right here."

-

Sometime later, Hasan was cleaning up his things and stowing them away in their respective places again. Brushing his hands in a job-well-done sort of manner, he offered Lamies a smile. "You're good to go." He glanced at his handiwork, probably too appreciatively to be very professional.

Lamies returned the smile, glancing down at his new piercing and reaching for his shirt. "Thank you."

Hasan took a tentative step in the direction of the door with his hands in his jeans' pockets, and told Lamies the price.

Lamies paused and let his shirt back down. "You know... I forgot my wallet at home. Could I maybe... pay you a different way?" He glanced at Hasan, leaning against the tattoo bench.

Hasan raised an eyebrow, curious. "What way, exactly?"

Lamies reached out and hooked his fingers in the belt loops on Hasan's pants, reeling him in until they were touching. "Well, what do you want?"

Hasan's eyes widened slightly, and though he was blushing it wasn't very noticeable with his dusky complexion. "Uhh...well, money...would be nice... I think..."

Lamies smiled slightly, catching his lower lip between his teeth. "But there are so many things that are more fun than money..." He slowly smoothed one of his hands up Hasan's stomach. "Aren't there?"

Hasan unconsciously sucked in his stomach a little with a soundless gasp, and though he squirmed somewhat, he didn't move away. "Uhm…well, I guess, there are…"

"You guess?" Lamies moved his hand down to Hasan's belt, beginning to undo it at a slow pace. "I think we can do better than that."

Hasan drew in a shallow breath and touched Lamies's arms as his blush deepened enough to make it recognizable. "Well, I, uh..."

Lamies looked up and then leaned forward, so their chests were just touching, Lamies' new and old piercings brushing Hasan's shirt with each breath. "Yes?"

Hasan's mouth was open as if to speak, but no words came to mind and instead he leaned forward so that his lips met Lamies's in a faint, diffident kiss.

Lamies smiled, winding one of his arms around Hasan's neck to keep him there and deepened the kiss. His other hand returned to work on Hasan's belt.

Hasan gasped, a little louder than he had the first time, and showed a flicker of resistance before every notion of the thing was seemingly wiped from his brain.

-

Lamies leaned his elbows back on the tattoo bench, breathing heavily and smiling.

Hasan collapsed on top of Lamies, also panting, as his eyes fell closed. At length, they opened again and he removed himself from Lamies, sliding to the floor and leaning his head back against one of the bench legs.

Lamies slipped carefully down from the bench and patted the top of Hasan's head, grabbing his pants and beginning to put them on.

Hasan briefly closed his eyes again and ran a hand over his face. Then he reached for his own pants and stood, not facing Lamies. A black tribal design branched across the small of his back with sharp, curved lines, and was partly covered as he pulled on his pants.

Lamies pulled his shirt over his head and touched Hasan's arm, placing a kiss over his shoulder blade. "Thanks."

Hasan turned slowly and offered Lamies an employee-of-the-month smile. "No problem. It was nice to meet you, and... have a nice day!" he said, sounding quite rehearsed.

Lamies stepped away and put his shoes on. "Yeah. Bye." He left the room, and then the shop, door closing behind him with a jingle.

Hasan sighed and slumped over the tattoo bench as he heard the bell, observing the tabletop for a moment before leaning down to get his shirt.