(credit hukelemmings on ao3)
{enjoy}
Luke doesn't know how he ended up back here.
He hasn't stepped foot in or anywhere near To The Moon Tattoo for several weeks, hasn't even kept tabs on the place with the exception of the couple times Ashton has come over for dinner at Calum and Luke's place (and by come over, he means force Luke out of the apartment so Ashton and Calum can fuck on every surface in the small space).
But his piercing is healing, and he's been doing research, and he's starting to think maybe another one wouldn't be so bad.
Also, the way Michael couldn't keep his eyes off of Luke with the new jewelry intact wouldn't be so bad to experience again.
Much less nervously this time, Luke walks across the car park, swinging the door open and smiling at the familiar tune of some old Green Day song that's playing in the shop.
Conveniently, Michael is working at the counter, wearing another one of his long sweaters, slumped over as he types on his phone, one o'clock apparently being a slow period of the parlor's day.
The red haired boy glances up briefly at the sound of the door opening, then does a double take when he notices it's Luke.
He doesn't look surprised for long, though, a mischievous smirk spreading across his face instead.
"Hey, sexy," Michael greets, and despite his best efforts to look nonchalant on this visit, Luke blushes.
"Hey," Luke says sheepishly.
"What can I do ya for?" Michael asks, sitting up straighter and pocketing his phone. Luke steps closer, leaning on the counter and staring into Michael's unfaltering eyes.
"I want another piercing," he says.
Michael closes his eyes then, emitting this noise that sounds an awful lot like a groan. "Fuck, Luke, you're gonna kill me."
Luke smirks, tilting Michael's face up and closing in so that there's merely inches between their mouths. "How's that?"
"With all these piercings. The lip is bad enough, if I see any more on you I'm gonna be popping boners every time you walk in the damn room." The red haired boy replies coolly, and Luke knows he should've expected the blunt response, but he's still caught a bit off guard, in the best way.
"You act like that's a bad thing. Like I wouldn't easily take care of it for you." Luke says almost effortlessly, smirking when Michael's jaw drops, sucking in a quick breath of air before exhaling on a broken 'fuck'.
Michael scribbles something down in the appointment book, then curls his finger at Luke as a signal to follow him, which Luke does without even thinking twice. He's practically skipping, honestly, and he's thankful it's Ashton's day off so that the artist won't have proof of this moment to share with Calum.
They end up in the same back room as last time, but there's less awkward banter, more flying sparks. The tension is so thick it could probably be cut with a knife.
Luke sits down on the recliner again, smirking up at Michael, who's sitting on his rolling chair and watching Luke carefully from across the room.
"You haven't been in for weeks. You were supposed to come in so I could check your lip." Michael scolds, and it's honestly the last thing Luke expected him to say. He misses the flirting, he wants it back.
"Yeah, well, I'm here now. Maybe you can come over here and check it for me." Luke bites his lip, making sure to run his tongue over the black metal in his lower lip. Michael's eyes are honed in on the movement, and Luke can't help but smile, knowing he fascinates the red haired boy like this.
