Tattoo Ink and Flower Petals (A Klance Fanfiction)

Chapter Two

"So you thought this guy was cute, and therefore you told him you were into some girl?" Lance's friend Pidge asked later on that night.

"Yes. But no. That's not WHY I told him that, it's just my excuse to go back and see him again." Lance explained. They were sitting together at a table in their usual hang out spot, a restaurant owned by the family of their other friend, Hunk.

"But if your intentions are to get with this guy, why would you tell him you have someone else?" She asked.

"Look Pidge, I didn't have a lot of time to make up an excuse, ok?" He said, causing her to roll her eyes.

"What were you doing looking around a flower shop anyway?" She asked him.

"You think I was gonna watch the cute guy with a stupid hair cut walk into work every day and NOT go check him out?"

"Mm, guess you have a point." She said with another roll of her eyes. "But whatever, good luck man." She told him.

*****

The next day, when Lance finished work, he walked across the street to the flower shop. He took a moment to examine the plants displayed outside the shop before walking inside. He immediately looked to the counter and was pleased to see him standing there. When the little bell rang the boy looked up from the book he was reading, looking at Lance with his deep violet eyes.

"Hey, you came back." He said, marking his place in the book and putting it down.

"Yeah, I decided to get her those flowers after all." Lance told him.

"Alright. Did you already have some in mind?" He asked, standing up.

"Nope. I hoped you could help me with that." He said.

"Well, that is my job. Do you at least know what kind this girl would like?" He asked.

"I have no clue. Uh, why don't you choose what you think would be best?" Lance thought this was a good idea, he could find out what kind of flowers this guy liked best. "You are the flower boy here after all."

"Okay, before we get on with this let's just establish, my name is not flower boy." He said with a frown.

"Then would you do me the honor of telling me your name?" Lance asked him with a smile.

"It's Keith." He told him, walking around him to get to some flowers.

"Keith, huh? I think flower boy still suits you better. Or maybe mullet man." He snickered, getting him a look from Keith that made it clear he was not amused.

"Absolutely not. I told you my name, I'd appreciate it if you used it." He told him. "Now get over here, I think you should give this girl these ones." He presented Lance with a bouquet of beautiful red roses. "Are these good enough?" He asked.

"Yeah, yeah they're perfect." Lance told him. "I'll take 'em."

Lance ended up taking the flowers back to his apartment, putting them in a vase with some water, and preparing himself to get chewed out by Pidge for not even telling the cute flower oy his name. Sure enough, Pidge eventually gave him a call.

"So, how did it go?" She asked. He could hear a bit of background noise and he assumed she was at the restaurant waiting for Hunk to get off work. Knowing Hunk that could be hours after he was supposed to, he was always staying to help his parents.

"It went fine." Lance told him. "I even got his name."

"Huh, that does sound like an improvement." She said. "And you told him yours, right?"

"..."

"Lance."

"..."

"Oh my god." She snorted.

"It's not like it matters! I'm going back tomorrow anyway!" He told her.

"Alright, alright. Better luck next time, huh?"

****

The next day, around the same time as the previous days, Keith herd the bell chime and saw him walk in.

"Third time in a row. Did the roses not work out for you?" He asked.

"Nah, they worked fine. In fact, I got a date with her. Figured I'd get her some more." He said, walking over to the counter.

"Alright then." Keith got down from his chair and came around the counter. "What kind are you looking to get her this time?" He asked.

"Ya know, she really liked those roses you chose. I thought I might ley you choose these ones too." He told him. Keith didn't understand how someone could be trying to impress a girl yet can't choose flowers himself. Either way, it wasn't too much of a hassle, he could easily just choose flowers he liked. This time around he chose some red carnations. Not only did he prefer the color red, he'd also seen carnations were common to give to someone's date.

After the taller boy agreed to them, they went back to the counter so he could pay. While doing so, Keith noticed a tattoo on the back of his hand. A simple skull with beautiful designs on it.

"Hey, that's a pretty cool tattoo." He said, pointing it out.

"Thanks! It's the first one I got, actually." He smiled at Keith.

"Really? Where'd you get it done?" He asked.

"Right across the street. My parents own the place and I kinda work there now."

"That must be nice." Keith said. He'd thought about getting a tattoo before but always decided against it. Of course, the smile this boy gave him was almost enough to convince him to go get one.

"Yeah, it's alright. If you're ever looking to get a tattoo, stop by."

"I'll think about it, uh, what should I call you?"

"Oh, the names Lance." He told him with one of his room brightening smiles.

"Alright, I'll remember that." Keith said with a nod.

"Sounds good." Lance said, taking the flowers once he'd paid. "I'll see you later, Keith." He told him. Keith nodded and said goodbye to him, sitting back down and relaxing. Of course he thought Lance was attractive, even if he did give some unfavorable nicknames. He wouldn't go as far as to call it a crush, but he was definitely interested in him, a fact that had not been ignored by Allura.

The night after the first time Lance showed up, Allura made sure to tease Keith about his so called "crush" all the way home. The next two times he came in Keith was perfectly aware of Allura watching him. He wondered if she was going to do that every time Lance came in.