ink written on your soul;
[ dan feng will be arriving shortly, and yingxing can't help but to feel slightly nervous.
it's odd, for him, he's never nervous before his clients come in. he knows his worth, knows his own level of skill - he is one of the luofu's most sought after tattoo artists, most clients need to book well in advance, and yingxing is self-assured enough to never be anxious. but dan feng.. he's different. the moment he first laid eyes on the man, yingxing was entranced, and he knows for damned sure that he wants this tattoo to be up to his highest standards, to perfectly match the elegant, beautiful canvas he'll be applying it on.
they've only met in person once or twice now, to go over the design, most of their correspondence has been via email as yingxing worked on developing the piece, but to say he's got a stupid schoolboy crush would be an understatement. it's embarrassing, honestly, and unprofessional as well, so he's made sure to maintain the healthy boundary between them, even if the idea of seeing dan feng again is enough to get his heart fluttering against his ribs. ridiculous. he's well into his thirties, there's no reason to behave as if this man is his first crush, as if he's not a grown man with a job to do.
even still, once dan feng arrives it gets easier. something about the man simply puts yingxing at ease, calms his soul. he's just finishing sanitizing his station when dan feng appears in the doorway, and yingxing offers him a nod. ]
Come in. I'm ready for you.
[ he says, gesturing to the bench in front of him as he snaps on a pair of black nitrile gloves. ]
it's odd, for him, he's never nervous before his clients come in. he knows his worth, knows his own level of skill - he is one of the luofu's most sought after tattoo artists, most clients need to book well in advance, and yingxing is self-assured enough to never be anxious. but dan feng.. he's different. the moment he first laid eyes on the man, yingxing was entranced, and he knows for damned sure that he wants this tattoo to be up to his highest standards, to perfectly match the elegant, beautiful canvas he'll be applying it on.
they've only met in person once or twice now, to go over the design, most of their correspondence has been via email as yingxing worked on developing the piece, but to say he's got a stupid schoolboy crush would be an understatement. it's embarrassing, honestly, and unprofessional as well, so he's made sure to maintain the healthy boundary between them, even if the idea of seeing dan feng again is enough to get his heart fluttering against his ribs. ridiculous. he's well into his thirties, there's no reason to behave as if this man is his first crush, as if he's not a grown man with a job to do.
even still, once dan feng arrives it gets easier. something about the man simply puts yingxing at ease, calms his soul. he's just finishing sanitizing his station when dan feng appears in the doorway, and yingxing offers him a nod. ]
Come in. I'm ready for you.
[ he says, gesturing to the bench in front of him as he snaps on a pair of black nitrile gloves. ]
no subject
But even weeks later he finds himself opening his phone to look at the photo Jingliu had helped him take of the tattoo to share -- to tag Yingxing as he'd promised once it was healed. Dan Feng even finds himself occasionally remembering the touch of the artist's hands on his skin... and subsequently considering getting a second tattoo sooner rather than later.
... but that's problematic. The man needs to be comfortable at his workplace. He certainly doesn't need someone possibly making him uncomfortable... yet Dan Feng can really think of nobody better for the job.
The artist is still on his mind on the occasions when he allows it to wander by the time he'd promised to be the model for a one day specialty course at his university. It wasn't the first time, but it was the first time he was told there would be a guest lecturer that day.
... he didn't expect that the guest would be the man who's been on his mind all this time.
Dan Feng doesn't know who it is until he makes his way into the room from a side office -- one that connected to the classroom next door so he would be able to change into the robe he would be wearing for this class. Really, he doesn't even know who the guest is until he makes his way into the room.
It's absolutely silly the way his heart skips and tumbles in his chest as he makes his way to the seat where he'll be posed... but he manages to give Yingxing what he hopes is a fairly normal smile.]
I didn't realize I'd be seeing you sooner than I expected to.
[That he expected to see him.. well, he'd decided that no other artist would do for his next tattoo. So he would have seen the man again eventually.]
no subject
Fancy meeting you here.
[ gods, he's just as beautiful as he'd been when he first stepped into yingxing's studio.. but he's got to keep it together. this only confirms his suspicions that dan feng was quite young. all the more reason to keep his thoughts and his hands to himself, as much as he is able.
dusting charcoal from his hands, he gestures to the comfortable chair that the model will be seated in, ignoring the warmth in his ears. ]
Have you modeled before?
no subject
Dan Feng can't help but feel like it's a bit of a shame that he's supposed to keep his back mostly turned to the room. Even turned slightly, he wouldn't really be able to see Yingxing well. He'd have rather liked to watch the man work -- he hadn't been able to with his tattoo either after all.
Perhaps that was for the best.]
Only for special events like this one, though I've been their model whenever I had the time available ever since I first began taking classes here.
[He hums quietly in thought, idly adjusting the robe around his shoulders -- it was loose, considering the way it was supposed to rest for this pose... but it meant he needed to hold onto it while he walked.]
It's been six or seven years now, I believe.
[He'd been seventeen still when he'd first enrolled, so at his estimation about seven years had passed.]
no subject
Great, so you know what you're doing, then.
[ he won't need to have his hand held through the entire thing. which is.. well, kind of a shame, in a way, but it also means that he'll be able to see how dan feng models. if he's been at it this long, surely he must be decently good at it. ]
We'll start with three minute croquis, then five, ten, and the last'll be thirty minutes. The alarm should already be set.
[ it'll beep at the correct intervals, so dan feng can change up his positioning to give the students interesting poses to depict. ]
no subject
... but none of that was at all important, not for this interaction. The modeling he'd done had been another nice distraction though.]
Mm, I suppose you could say that. It depends on how picky the instructor happens to be feeling, sometimes.
[His voice is fairly light -- it had certainly not been something that bothered him when people got particular about how his hair was styled for the pose... but sometimes it could get to be a bit much.]
That arrangement suits me fine, either way. You're certainly welcome to be as particular as you'd like.
[Dan Feng makes sure to make that statement as an open-ended offer -- he had no expectations over what Yingxing may or may not want after all. In the end, being cooperative had given everyone the best, and certainly smoothest, results.
For now though, he'll get himself settled on the comfortable seat prepared for him. The poses he opts for are always relatively simple in their elegance -- he clearly knows how best to pose his body and tail.
His last pose of the day has his back toward the class at about a 3/4 view, and it's just a bit more difficult for him to adjust the way his hair rests when he can't see behind himself to do it. At least he can adjust the way the robe has slipped off his near shoulder on his own...]
no subject
yingxing sketches carefully for the first few poses, demonstrating to the students how best to capture form and mass, what to focus on and what not to, before he's weaving his way slowly through the class, looking over each student's work with a critical eye, offering ways to improve, tips about how to use light and shadow to create shape, and how to hold the wrist to best create comfortable movement and flow. he's a bit of a stern instructor, but learning to accept constructive criticism is crucial to growing as an artist, and all of these students have great potential.
thankfully, with all of the teaching he's doing, he's able to keep his eyes.. mostly off of dan feng. it keeps his thoughts from straying too far, at least, when he'll occasionally catch dan feng's gaze across the room, or find himself struck by the beauty of a particularly delicate pose.
but soon enough they're onto the final, longest pose, and yingxing returns to his own easel, flipping to a fresh page as dan feng settles in. the long curtain of his dark hair obscures much of the shape of his body, so yingxing steps forward. ]
Behind you.
[ he warns as he approaches, then carefully helps to position his model. longer poses can get uncomfortable to hold for the full thirty minutes, so yingxing helps him to move his arms a little, before he's carefully sweeping that soft, silky hair over one shoulder, the tips of his fingers brushing the back of dan feng's nape. ]
no subject
There's something very different this time though. He finds that he wants to do this job especially well, with Yingxing's eyes on him. It's absolutely ridiculous of him, focusing on the other man's presence as some sort of driving purpose to do well... if he hadn't already decided that this was the only person he wanted to give him tattoos, he'd seriously consider looking around. The last thing he wanted was to cause problems.
The sound of Yingxing's voice as he's approached sends his heart fluttering in his chest, and Dan Feng can only hope that it isn't noticeable at all. He remembered giving permission to adjust his pose as he needed to, but he'd not really expected the way he felt light and warm when Yingxing adjusts his arms.
... he can't help the way his breath catches so quietly when those skilled hands adjust the way his hair lays for this final pose -- when he feels the brush at the nape of his neck. Ridiculous. Absolutely ridiculous. He needed to remind himself that he was working. They both were, really.]
Thank you..
[The words are so quietly murmured, just enough that even in a full class, only Yingxing would really hear him. Perhaps... that he wasn't used to poses with his back turned was a blessing today...]
no subject
or maybe he's just a delusional creep, thinking too hard about someone far too young for him. regardless, he soon has dan feng arranged perfectly, so he takes a few steps back with a light chuckle, and lifts his charcoal again.
this time, he doesn't yet walk around the room. it's time for the students to show him what they're made of, to take everything they've learned in their quick croquis and apply it to this final pose. so yingxing works as well, studying dan feng's shape and form as he drags his charcoal across the soft paper, mapping out every curve and dip, bringing life to the image on the page, capturing every contour, and the elegant shape of dan feng's body beneath his thin robe.
he's so damned beautiful that yingxing can barely stand it.
it seems over all too soon, when the alarm sounds again, signaling the end of the final pose. wiping excess charcoal off of his fingers onto a rag, yingxing addresses the class again as he makes his final rounds, assessing each student's portrait and giving his critique, leaving his own drawing as an example at the front of the room. ]
no subject
Perhaps the sooner he accepted it, the sooner it would pass...
... Yingxing's chuckle sounds nice, and Dan Feng does his level best to ignore the warmth he can feel at the tips of his ears. He enjoyed listening to the other man talk far more than he expected, after they'd not seen one another for weeks.
Once all of the artists settle in for this last pose, the room is filled with such peace for him. He couldn't watch them certainly, but he could hear the way each approached their art.. he could hear the couple that talked quietly to themselves as they made their decisions, could hear how some were somewhat more heavy-handed than others. It was genuinely one of his favorite things about accepting these modeling requests.
The alarm sounds far too soon, and Dan Feng has to take a moment, blinking as he shifts his focus back to the world around him in a more... conscious way. He's eased himself back to his feet, the robe more modestly in place by the time Yingxing makes his rounds through the class. This was the moment that Dan Feng would typically use to change back into his normal clothes, so he quietly makes his way into the office to do just that.
He always returned once changed though, especially since some students seemed to want to show their work to him... but it's Yingxing's drawing that catches his eye. Dan Feng tugs his jacket more securely around his shoulders, the last moments of class spent taking in the man's work just as he'd done with the tattoo.
Yingxing surely made him look far better than he actually did.]
no subject
by the time the model reemerges, dressed comfortably again, yingxing has finished speaking with his students, and he's about ready to clean up his workstation when he finds dan feng hovering nearby, examining the art that yingxing had sketched of him. his mouth curves into a smile as he approaches, tattooed arms crossing loosely over his abdomen. ]
Do you like it?
[ not all of the models enjoy seeing the students' work. it's one thing to sit for a life drawing class, but quite another to see the results, occasionally embarrassed or abashed by the way their likeness has been captured upon the paper. he's glad to see that dan feng is not among them. ]
You did really well.
no subject
I do. I've started to wonder if there happens to be anything you can't do.
[There had been a time, back when he was still in his teens, where Dan Feng was embarrassed to see how people's work had ended up. Certainly he knew that he was attractive enough -- especially with how often he'd been approached over the years -- but seeing the way an artist captured his appearance had been something else entirely.
That hadn't stopped him from looking, though. Not even back then when his heart would race nervously. His heart is racing this time as well... but it has very little to do with the artwork and near everything to do with the artist.]
I'm glad you think so, really. Even though I still have trouble with over the shoulder poses.
[His hair was just so long that there was no way for him to see the particulars of how it looked in such poses. The only time he'd not needed any help was when his hair had been styled up elegantly, precisely for the purpose of helping the students understand the shapes you could get in hair.]
no subject
Hard to say. Maybe there isn't.
[ his grin slants, slightly smarmy, slightly brilliant, as he approaches to stand beside dan feng, glancing toward his likeness on the newsprint pad. light and shadow outline the still image of the dragon on the paper, a beauty to behold, the inky darkness of his hair contrasting with all of that soft, fair skin, shadows falling into the dips of his body, the curve of a nearly bare shoulder..
yingxing's gaze flicks away from it, and back to dan feng. ]
I wouldn't have guessed it. I think you're just a natural. [ a beat. ] How's the ink healed up?
no subject
I don't know that I'd go that far.
[Amusement colors his voice still, but it's still a genuinely serious response. He'd needed some help with the poses at first, before he'd spent some time looking up anything he could find about posing for this sort of thing. Really he thought that his only real advantage was his ability to sit still.]
Oh, it's healed completely by now.
[Automatically, his hand lifts to brush his fingertips against the tattoo, seafoam eyes shifting back to Yingxing once more.]
I shared a picture of it once it healed up, I'm sure I didn't forget to tag you..
[He's absolutely certain, but still he retrieves his phone from his pocket to make sure. It doesn't take all that long at all before the app loads and he's able to navigate to that specific post. Sure enough, he'd posted it with the tag as he remembered.]
no subject
You didn't, no, I saw it.
[ and even liked it, too! it had been very tempting to follow dan feng, but.. that had felt a little too inappropriate, when they were nothing more than business acquaintances. ]
Seeing it in person is different, though.
[ he leans forward a little, craning his neck to glance toward dan feng's neck, one hand lifting, though he doesn't quite touch. ]
May I?
no subject
He certainly didn't need that thought to return now, while he was in the artist's presence again. Surely it was still inappropriate. Wasn't it?
Yingxing's hand lifts, and Dan Feng drops his own to his side without thinking. He ought to have pulled his hair aside... but he does tilt his head a little.]
Of course, feel free.
[At least he does turn in order to make it easier for Yingxing to view the tattoo.. so he wouldn't have to try leaning around him for it.]
no subject
It looks great. You took good care of it.
[ it's healed quite well, the skin is smooth and the ink looks nice and crisp, the color well distributed. perfect. he lets dan feng's hair fall back into place and steps back, keeping a friendly but still respectful distance as his arms cross loosely over his abdomen again. ]
Are you a student here?
[ he might as well confirm it, he supposes, given how tempted yingxing finds himself, how easy it would be to just.. ask him out for coffee. normally he's more than confident enough to pursue the people he's interested in, but he's never dated someone significantly younger than he is before, and holding back is absolutely a challenge. in order to keep his eyes from dragging over dan feng's beautiful face any longer, he turns to his easel to begin cleaning up his things, carefully closing the newsprint pad and stowing it away in his portfolio. ]
no subject
It's.. important to me. And I did promise to follow your instructions, after all.
[He takes a slow breath when Yingxing steps back, trying to calm the way his heart fluttered. There really was something about the artist that continually drew his interest... and it was getting to the point where Dan Feng wasn't certain it was just a passing fancy.
The question draws his eyes back to the other as he turns to face toward him once again.]
I am, though I have been for some years now. Keeping myself busy, I suppose.
[Certainly an understatement. Having finished high school with enough college credits for an associate's degree, he was nearing finished with enough study to get his master's by this point. Though he had cut down to only a full-time student's class load, once he took his part-time job... but it would be soon enough.]
no subject
but he's been called an arrogant man, before. maybe he is making more of it than there truly is. ]
Professional student, huh?
[ he chuckles lightly under his breath as he stows away his charcoals and conte crayons, then carefully breaks down his easel, tucking it beneath one arm. the room is all but deserted by now, and yingxing can't - and shouldn't - make up excuses to linger, however much he wants to. ]
It was good seeing you again. My door's open when you're ready for that next tattoo, yeah?
no subject
I'll eventually be finished with everything I'm working toward, but I suppose until then you could say that.
[There's a light chuckle in his voice as he responds. It isn't as if Yingxing was the first to make a comment along those lines. Previous partners.. even his closest friend, though Jingliu had since learned why he was doing this.
Yingxing mentions the next tattoo.. and Dan Feng feels his chest grow tight. He hadn't completely made up his mind before today... but now...]
It's been good to see you as well.. but about that next tattoo... [His eyes drop briefly, before he glances back up to Yingxing.] ... would you happen to know if you have any time available for a consultation anytime soon?
no subject
Hang on, I'll check.
[ with his free hand, he fishes his phone from his pocket and flips through it, pulling up his schedule and giving it a glance over, thumbing through his upcoming appointments. when he glances toward dan feng again, he looks pleased. ]
You're in luck. Someone cancelled this Thursday night. You free then?
[ he can't help but hope that he is. it's not often that yingxing gets cancellations, usually his appointments for consultations and tattoo sittings are booked several months in advance, but the idea of seeing dan feng again so soon.. well, he shouldn't let himself be excited by it, but he is. waiting months to work with this man again feels like torture. ]
no subject
I think so, let me see..
[Since his phone was already out, it doesn't take Dan Feng long to check his calendar. His classes, work and appointments were all scheduled out... and it's an incredible relief to see this Thursday completely free.]
Ah, yeah, I'm free Thursday night. So.. I suppose this means I'll see you then..?
[He does his best to keep the hope he feels out of his tone.. but he does still sound pleased by the thought. It wasn't too far away... and knowing he would be able to see Yingxing again this week settled warmly in his chest.]
no subject
Yeah. Eight o'clock. I'll see you then.
[ with a sharp wink, yingxing pockets his phone again and lifts his portfolio by the handle, and the two of them leave the room together, yingxing's heart leaping.
in the few days leading up to the appointment, he considers his options. clearly, he's interested in dan feng, there's no denying that to himself, and it's not just the man's good looks.. there's something else, too, a rumbling feeling in his heart. he likes everything about dan feng, the way he moves, the sound of his voice, his gentle smile - man, he can't remember ever being so struck by someone so quickly. it almost feels familiar, like they've met before, but that's impossible.
either way, he's got a decision to make, one that hinges on just how this consultation goes.
the day arrives, and yingxing is thankfully busy enough with his appointments that he can't obsess too much over the fact that dan feng is arriving soon, but by the time the night winds around, his nerves are sparking. in his workroom, yingxing cleans up, pushing his station to the side, just finishing up sanitizing the last of his tools when dan feng appears in the doorway, and yingxing grins. ]
Hey, you.
no subject
[The part ways once they've both stepped out of that room... and thus begins several days of his nerves fluttering.
Still the last thing he wanted to do was make the man uncomfortable, in his workplace or anywhere else... but that doesn't mean his mind doesn't wander to Yingxing regardless. The sparks he can feel between them... they're almost magnetic, in the way they draw him to want to be close to the artist. In the way they've made him want to be close since the moment they met. To Dan Feng it felt almost like they'd been meant to meet... to grow close even.
To say he throws himself into both work and schoolwork over the next couple days would be an understatement. Dan Feng had picked up the next several weeks of assignments for a couple of his classes and settled himself in to studying on his own and doing future work just to keep himself occupied when he wasn't at work or in class. But that doesn't make him any less nervous on Thursday, in the hours leading up to the eight in the evening appointment.
His heart is fluttering in his chest immediately upon stepping into the parlor... and especially when he reaches the doorway to Yingxing's workroom. Dan Feng allows the door to fall closed behind him, just as it had during their first meeting, and turns a soft smile toward the man.]
It sounded as if you've had a rather busy day today. [The person up front had said so, anyway.] I really am fortunate that cancellation happened.
no subject
Yeah, it would've been a three month wait if they hadn't cancelled. Lucky for me, you're here now.
[ a subtle flirt, but one that could be easily written off as friendliness, even if it certainly means more. drying his hands on a towel, yingxing turns, leaning up against the countertop with his arms lightly crossed, his sleeveless top showing off strong, well-muscled arms and his intricately patterned tattoos. down his right arm runs a sleeve of stars from shoulder to wrist, while his left is inked in clockwork gears and mechanical parts. ink trails along his shoulders and collarbone, disappearing down into his shirt. a close, critical eye might notice the scarring on his skin - lacerations against the backs of his arms, and burn marks along his forearms, but they are well hidden beneath the layers of beautiful ink. ]
But you're my last for tonight, so we've got plenty of time. Why don't you get comfortable and tell me about what you're looking for?
[ he gestures to the comfortable sofa against the wall, then leans to turn down the radio he'd been listening to, dulling to music to a quiet hum. ]
no subject
Are you sure I'm not the lucky one?
[He certainly feels like the lucky one of the two of them. A three month wait.. he feels almost like he'd have lost his mind waiting for that. It had been several days of nerves as it was with a same week appointment.
Slipping out of his coat, his shirt beneath it loose, if less wide collared than on the day of his first tattoo, Dan Feng lets his gaze trail idly over Yingxing's tattoos. Even during the few appointments last time, he'd found himself drawn to them.. something about them making him wonder about the artist. Like his own, tattoos were often meaningful... so he'd wondered what meaning Yingxing's could have to him...
Dan Feng catches something... different on the man's arms this time, but he doesn't quite get the chance to look closer before Yingxing speaks up again.]
I'd hate to keep you too terribly long, after a busy day..
[He pauses long enough to settle down on the sofa, his hands clasping in his lap as he takes a moment or two longer to lift his gaze again.]
What I'm looking for... is a tattoo to cover something up. I know things like cherry blossom branches are popular, which started the idea.
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)