Archive of Our Own ^beta

When Tango had said visiting his boyfriend at work would only take like 5 minutes, Etho did not believe him.

“No seriously dude, I promise I’ll be in and then out. Like you can totally just wait in the car”

Which Etho decidedly did not do, because waiting in the car during the middle of the summer was actually far worse of an option compared to sitting in the air conditioned and cool looking tattoo and piercing parlor Tango’s boyfriend worked at.

But now sitting in said parlor’s waiting room, Etho felt a little out of place. Not that there was anyone else actually there to make him feel odd, it was just the vibe of the place compared to Etho’s untatted unpierced self.

Etho had considered getting tattoos before, it just seemed so permanent and he wasn’t sure he could commit fully to one. But he could get a piercing.

To him piercings seemed a lot less permanent, especially since he could just take them out if he was unhappy with it.

When he expressed that thought to Tango’s boyfriend, Jimmy, the man was eager to set him up with a piercing.  

“Dude, just come into the shop anytime! I’ll get you set up with my man Joel, he’s the best piercer around by far. He’ll get it done nice and easy. And since we’re friends, you’ll get it done for cheap.”

Etho had yet to jump on that opportunity, still lacking some confidence on getting pierced, but he could see himself getting one in like 6 months time.

Footsteps coming down the hallway broke Etho’s train of thought. Seems Tango was done sooner than Etho thought. He for sure pegged this as being at least a 20 minute experience, but turns out Tango wasn’t as attached to his boyfriend as he thought.

Etho looked up from his phone to see not Tango, but the most beautiful man he had ever seen in his life. God damn.

He was a shorter man who was wearing a tank top that showed off his built as fuck arms. His hair reached past his ears with a streak in the middle of his bangs and the underside of his hair dyed green. His face had a series of piercings including one in his eyebrow and one in his nose. Etho was glad he was wearing a mask, to hide at least some of his reaction from seeing this man.

The Adonis looked at Etho, squinted, then walked to the computer desk. After a second, he said “We don’t take walk in’s”

“h-huh?” Etho stuttered, not prepared for being talked too, and definitely was not prepared for the man to have a beautiful British accent to go along with the appearance

“If you want anything done, you’ll need an appointment.” He said a little dryly.

“O-Oh, sorry” Etho shyly went back to his phone

The god of a man sighed. “Since I’ve got nothing on the books, if you’re here for a lobe, I can take you back. It’ll take like 5 minutes” he started walking away from the computer. He got a little down the hall before turning back to Etho, “Come on” he motioned.

Etho was quick to follow.

The piercer lead them to a little room that had one of those soft chair-tables you find at doctor’s offices. The man tapped the table, indicating for Etho to sit. He obliged. “Aight, have you ever been pierced before?”

“Uh, no” Etho nervously shook his head.

“That’s fine.” The man got out supplies and continued “You’ll sit there, I’m going to stick a needle through your ears and then follow it through with a stud. You should feel a quick pinch, but over all should be painless.” He laid out all the supplies on a table “Once you’re pierced, you’ll keep those studs in for six weeks until you can change them to other earrings.” The man pulled out a pair of gloves and began putting them on. “In that six weeks, you clean the piercing twice daily with an antiseptic, which you can get from any drug store.” He turned to Etho, snapping the second glove in place “Got it?”

Etho quickly realized he would agree to anything this man asked of him.

The piercer picked something up off the table then turned back to him. “Can I have you take off the mask?”

Etho hesitantly reached for the mask, but ultimately complied, taking off the mask and setting it to the side.

The man leaned closer to Etho, the object (assumedly the needle) getting closer to his ear. Etho tensed slightly as he felt it touch, but it was soon over. This was far more terrifying than he thought this was going to be. 

The piercer turned Etho’s head to the other side. Etho braced himself for the needle again. It was quickly tapped against his ear. The man stepped away, and Etho let out a breath he did not realize he was holding.

The gorgeous man picked up a mirror and held it to Etho. “So I’ve marked where the piercing is gonna go, does that look alright to you”

Etho looked in the mirror. There was only a dot on his ear, not a piercing. “That wasn’t the piercing?” He asked a little wobbly.

The man laughed. A beautiful snickery laugh. “Nope just making sure it’ll be even” he said as he held up the pen he had used.

“Oh” Etho looked back in the mirror. He wasn’t sure how to tell if it was even or not, but this guy was a professional so it probably was. “Yeah, looks great.”

“Cool. This time it will be the actual needle. It’s not scary, I promise” The chiseled statue that was this man leaned back in. Etho felt the needle touch and then push through his ear. 

The man was right. It was not as scary as the pen.

He held the needle in the ear, as he reached with his other hand to open the packet containing one of the studs. He pushed the stud into Etho’s ear and then quickly added the back. He moved to Etho’s other ear and swiftly repeated the process. 

The piercer stepped away, handed Etho the mirror again. “So how does it look?”

Etho looked in the mirror, he now had two silver studs. “Great.”

“Nice. Let’s take you to the front and ring you out.”

They walked back to the front, and the piercer typed something out on the computer. “Okay that’ll be fifty dollars.” Steep prices, but Etho was willing to pay, even if he was just paying to see this man.

“Thanks for coming in. Next time, make an appointment, alright?” The piercer teased

“Haha yep.” Etho nodded along. He stood there for a second before realizing that this would be the moment where customers generally leave. But he technically wasn’t here to be a customer and was here waiting for Tango, who was still yet to come back from the back. 

Etho stood there for a moment more, contemplating. “Do you need something else?” Right. Beautiful man.

“Ah ha nope, I’ll be going now.” And Etho just about bolted out of door.

Luckily, there was a bench just outside, so Etho was able to sit there and wallow in how awkward that last minute was. In fact, he wallowed in how awkward that entire interaction was. 

Did he just get peer pressured into a piercing? Yes. Did he just make a total fool of himself in front on a very hot person? Yes. Did he even learn the name of said very hot person? No.

The door next to him jingled. Out came the very man that got him into this mess, Tango. “Hey bud, whatcha doing out here?”

Etho didn’t want to necessarily admit he got a piercing because an attractive person told him to. Tango, and subsequently Skizz and Impulse, would never let him live that down. So he lied “I had a call”

“Okay. Ready for that movie?”

“Yep” Etho said a little shakily.

And they left the parlor where Etho got his first piercing. 

——

It took Jimmy three weeks to notice. 

They were sitting around Skizz’s table playing cards when the blond man let out a gasp. “Etho, you got your ears pierced!”

The other men also gasped, then started an over lapping conversations of: “what? No way”’s and “Congrats dude!”

Jimmy pulled predominately in the conversation “when did you get these done?”

Etho tugged on his ear, a habit he had picked up now that there was something there to mess with, “ehh a couple weeks ago”

“A couple weeks!? That’s crazy, I can’t believe I didn’t notice. You should’ve gotten them done in the shop. If you want anymore done let me know!”

Etho let out a chuckle “yeah for sure. I think I’ll let these heal first.”

“Yeah, yeah. I guess.”

And the conversation over Etho’s ears was lost to the card game.

A few weeks later, once Etho was fully healed and able to change out the earrings, Jimmy gifted him a pair. “Since I didn’t help you get the piercing for free, figured I might get you your second pair” the man smiled as he said it.

Etho felt bad not telling him right there, but he’d rather die than tell anyone about how he got his first piercing.

——

And apparently he’d die without telling anyone about his second piercing too.

Etho stood outside the parlor shop again, trying to reason why exactly he was doing this. The same thought he had a couple days ago when he had actually booked the appointment.

He had gotten his ears pierced four months prior and since that day has thought about the very beautiful man who pierced his ears.

Yeah sure, Etho could just ask Jimmy about it, but that would mean admitting he got pierced there in the first place. So he had to figure out how to see this man again all on his own.

Which meant stalking the parlor’s website for an unreasonably long time. 

That’s where he learned that the gorgeous man who pierced him was Joel, the primary piercer at the shop and the man Jimmy had tried to get him to go to in the first place, oops.

And stalking the website mean that he saw the availability of Joel’s appointments, and Etho maybe saw that Joel had an opening for that Friday at a time Etho didn’t work. And maybe he also coincidentally saw that Jimmy also wasn’t on shift at that time, so he would have no worries about Jimmy finding out. And so maybe Etho booked that appointment spot. He liked having earrings and enough time had definitely passed that he could totally get his seconds. No biggie

No biggie Etho thought to himself as he stood outside, in the reasonably less hot October weather.

Etho made his way inside. There no way Joel would even remember him, so there wasn’t any reason to be embarrassed. He was just a guy coming to get his seconds (and admire a beautiful man)

Etho sat in the lobby, which was less empty than last time. The customers around ranged from older folks covered in tattoos to teenage girls who were also here to get seconds.

After about five minutes of waiting, Joel came out to the front with a different customer. Etho watched as he checked the customer out.

This time Joel was in a white sweater with the sleeves pushed up to his mid forearm. His hair was half pulled up showing off more of the green, and also revealing the number of piercings that decorated his ears. On the side Etho could see, Joel had about three piercings in his lobe, a small hoop halfway up the ear and a bar going through the top part of his ear. Which was a piercing Etho didn’t even know existed.

Etho was admiring Joel’s ears when the man turned and made eye contact with him. Etho blushed and looked down. He got caught staring.

After a few seconds Etho looked back up to see Joel focused on the computer, a small smile on his face. “I’ve got an appointment for Eefo” Joel called out.

Etho stood up “that’s me” he said as confidently as he could.

“Nice, let’s take you back” and Joel walked down the hallway. This time Etho followed with no hesitation.

The room they ended up in wasn’t the same from last time, but has the same layout. Etho sat on the chair-table thing as Joel began pulling out supplies.

“So you came back with an appointment this time?” Joel asked, smirk on his face.

Etho turned pink again, Joel did remember him. He buried his face in his hands “yes, sorry about last time”

Joel laughed “oh it’s all good. I’m just glad I did a good enough job to warrant a second visit.”

“Yeah I like them a lot. Figured I should get more”

“I like that way of thinking. And I like the earrings you’ve got in”

Etho reached up and touched his earring. Over his last three months of being able to change them, he had collected a decent about on earrings, but today he was wearing the pair Jimmy gave him. “Thanks, a friend gave them to me”

“Friend’s got taste, but you’ll need to take them out.” Etho removed them. “Alrighty you ready?”

“As ready as I’ll ever be” Etho said a little weakly.

“It’s just the same as last time, easy peasy. Can I have you take off the mask for me?” Etho nodded, taking off the mask.

Joel leaned in closer, holding the pen. This time Etho wasn’t as scared of the process as last time, which instead gave him the ability to be very concentrated on how close Joel was to him. And at that close he could tell that the piercer smelled good. Joel smelled like a mixture of wood, metal, and antiseptic, which combined was surprisingly heavenly. 

“Those look even?” 

Etho was pulled out of his smell admiring by Joel holding up a mirror to him. There again sat two dots, placement still meaning nothing to him. “Sure.”

Joel nodded and grabbed the needle to pierce. Etho felt it enter his ear, but he wasn’t entirely bothered by it this time. 

“So” Joel started as he moved to grab the stud, surprising Etho “can I ask what’s the deal with the mask? You wore one last time too”

“Oh it’s uh..” Etho was a little shocked that 1 Joel was making conversation with him and 2 remembered what Etho wore last time.

“If it’s personal you don’t have to tell me, I was just curious.” Joel quickly defended.

“No it’s fine. I, uh, got sick a lot as a kid so I had to wear one to school. Now, I’m just so used to it that it’s just kind of comforting.” Etho gave a kind of half shrug, careful not to mess up anything Joel was doing.

“That makes sense.” Joel said as he moved to stick the needle in Etho’s other ear. “A lot of people have that going on. I just felt a bit bad making you taking it off if it was an ‘unsure about your face’ thing”

“Is that why you had me take it off last?”

Joel blushed a bit as he reached for a stud “uhh yeah”

“That’s very nice of you”

“Yeah, yeah, it’s my job, whatever” the man said, face blushing deeper as he stuck the earring into Etho’s ear.

Joel was very cute when he was flustered. 

The piercer leaned back, and handed Etho the mirror “okay there they are.”

Etho smiled at him “they look great.”

Joel turned back to his table, putting away his supplies as Etho re-put on his mask and earrings.

“Healing process is the same as the last ones, you ready to check out?” Etho nodded in response 

The two walked to the counter, Etho payed another $50, and left. The whole piercing took about 15 minutes. 

And as soon as Etho left, he wanted to see Joel again.

This time it took Jimmy a week to notice. The man was a little sad to see that Etho got pierced without telling him again, but Etho lied and said he couldn’t get an appointment time.

”Etho I’m telling you. If you want a piercing just ask. You don’t need to follow the appointment times, I can set it up for you. We’re friends after all.”

Etho felt even worse about lying.

——

But not bad enough to stop getting piercings. 

He had gotten three more since his seconds (Two small hoops in his right ear and a cuff in his left). Every two months, or about two weeks after his last one healed, Etho would come back in and get another piercing. Solely for the 15 minutes of Joel that he got to see.

It was probably very delusional at this point, but Etho was in too deep to back out a this point. Especially since in his last appointment, he committed to getting another piercing.

“So what that one called?” Etho asked Joel, pointing to the spot on his own nose where Joel had a piercing.

“Which one?” He looked to see where Etho was pointing. “My septum?”

Etho nodded “does that one hurt?”

“Not in the slightest. You thinking about getting one?”

“Yeah, I have been for a while.”

“I think you could totally rock a septum. Not to brag, but I’m one of the best septum piercers around.” Joel said smugly 

“You’ve said that about all the piercings.” Etho teased

“Yeah but septum’s actually my specialty.”

“Well it’s a good thing I come to you then.”

“yeah it is.” Joel blushed. ”Anyways you want me to put you on the books for a septum?”

Etho had never been ‘put on the books’ before, he had always made his appointments online. “Sure”

Etho payed at the desk and before he left Joel put him in the books. “Two weeks from now sound good?”

“Sounds great.”

As Etho left he now had Friday at 2 in his calendar for a septum.

And he was kind of riding the high of seeing Joel again so soon for a couple days after. That was until during a hang out with Tango, Jimmy called.

“Tango! I have work tea!” Jimmy said over the phone.

“Well, I have Etho in the car. Does it need to wait?”

“No, no, it’s fine he can know.” Tango did a quick, silent check in to make sure Etho even wanted to hear this. Which he gave an affirmative (he was never one to turn down good gossip)

“So you know Joel keeps talking about his attractive regular?”

“The one you haven’t met?”

“Yes. Well apparently Joel’s going to ask him out next time he comes in!” Jimmy whisper screamed.

“Oh my god!”

“I know right!” Jimmy kept talking about it but Etho kind of zoned out. 

In his months of going to the parlor, it hadn’t really clicked that Joel pierced other people. Like yeah, Etho knew deep down that he did, but it never occurred to him that like Joel probably interacted with all of his customers that way. Cause he was doing his job.

All the excitement Etho had for seeing Joel, soon turned to dread. He was fantasizing some guy doing his job. Some guy who had a crush on someone.

Etho’s dread carried all the way till his appointment. He had already decided. This was going to be his last piercing. Then he would end his weird delusion and move on with his life.

He sat in the waiting room for a bit before Joel came out. The man didn’t even check the computer “Eefo, you ready?” God, did he love how Joel said his name.

He got taken to one of the piercing rooms, Etho’s pretty sure it was the same room he got his seconds in. “Okay this time I’m going to need you to lay down.”

Etho complied, taking off his mask before doing so. He was going to miss the way Joel told him to do things (which he liked in a totally normal not weird way)

“So t-this process is a little different than an ear piercing.” Joel studdered as he set out his supplies. “It’s about…4-5 months to heal, but you can use your same antiseptic spray.” Joel dropped one of supplies on the ground.

“Joel are you okay?”

“Yep! Yes. Just fine” he responded quickly 

“Really you seem kind of nervous?”

“Whaaat? Me? Nervous? Pfft never.” Joel anxiously laughed

“Oh good. I thought you were nervous because you lied about being such a good septum piercer, glad that’s not the case” Etho teased.

Joel gave a mock offense gasp “of course that’s not the case. It’s just a septum. And I’m amazing at those.” Joel’s voice was far more confident now. “Let’s do this!”

He leaned over Etho, tools in hand. Usually Etho liked to watch Joel work. His concentrated face was cute. But now that he was trying to not be weird, he closed his eyes instead.

He felt the metal clasp around his septum, after a few seconds he felt a needle go through. This one definitely hurt more that his ear piercings.

Etho peeked, he watched Joel pull the piercing through his nose. The man was focused. After he finished, he glance up at Etho’s eyes, where they made eye contact.

“Hi” Etho said quietly. 

Joel blushed a bit, before moving away. “Alright that should be it.” He handed Etho the mirror. 

In the reflection Etho saw the newest piercing on his face. And yeah, Etho had to agree, it looked good.

He put the mask back on, the septum could be a him and Joel thing for a bit.

Speaking of Joel the man kind of toddled around for a bit after putting away his supplies, instead of how he usually ushered Etho out.

“Something up?” Etho asked

Joel startled a little bit, before turning to face Etho. He scratched his cheek “well, I mean, uh” Joel cleared his throat “do you wanna go get coffee sometime?” 

“What?” 

“Sorry sorry you can say no. Gah, never mind just forget this ever happened.” Joel rambled his face turning pink.

“No wait, you’re asking me out?!” Etho was startled. Was he the hot regular?

“Yeah? I-I thought we had a vibe going, and I think you’re really hot.” Joel waved his hands in front of him dismissively “But if I miss read that-“

Etho grabbed Joel’s hands “No you didn’t. I’d love to go on a date with you.”

“Really?”

“Yes, absolutely.”

“Cool cool” Joel’s face turned pink. “Can I get your number then?”

“Sure”

“I’ll need my hands back for that” Etho blushed in response, quickly letting go. He missed the feeling of Joel’s hand as soon as he did.

They exchanged numbers and then went back to the front so Etho could pay. Right before Etho left, he turned back to Joel “See you soon”

“Yep!”

And Etho walked out.

Once he got back to his car, he let out a cheer. He was going on a date with Joel! 

By the time he got back to his apartment, Etho already had a text from Joel

you free Sunday at 2?

 Yes

Cool I’ll send you the address.

See you there <3

Etho was a little too excited for this.

——

It took two weeks for Etho to see Jimmy in a setting where he wasn’t wearing a mask.

He had already been on seven dates with Joel, and they’ve probably moved a little more quickly than normal people usually move in relationships. They were officially dating and Etho had now seen quite a bit more of Joel’s piercings (wink wink, nudge nudge).

Etho was in such a bliss of having a gorgeous boyfriend, that he kind of forgot that his friends didn’t know who his boyfriend was and how they had gotten together.

So when Jimmy found out that Etho had gotten his septum pierced and, from his perspective, not at the shop he worked at, he was pretty hurt.

Well he pretended like he wasn’t hurt, but Etho could tell he was. 

Yes, he needed to tell Jimmy, but he probably should tell Joel that he knew Jimmy first, and that in itself was complicated.

It wasn’t till two days after Jimmy found out that Etho finally told someone.

And that someone was Tango.

They were leaving diner where they had their weekly lunch, when Tango brought it up.

“Okay, so I didn’t know how to go about saying this because we’re friends, but boyfriend takes priority.” Tango took a deep breath “You’re hurting Jimmy’s feelings by getting pierced somewhere else. I know it’s not our place to say where you can and cannot get pierced, but like the parlor specializes in septum’s and you didn’t go there. And c'mon Jimmy's your friend and at very minimum my boyfriend, so I thin-"

“Tango.”

“Yes?”

“I got all of my piercings at the parlor.”

“You did? Why didn’t you get Jimmy to set stuff up for you.”

“Ah well-” Etho turned away, blushing hard. “I might’ve of accidentally got pierced the first time and I was embarrassed”

Tango stared at him in shock “how do you accidentally get your ears pierced”

“Well Jo- one of the piercers came to the front and thought I was a walk in. He was too hot so I couldn’t say no!” Etho defended 

Tango just started laughing “Etho! You’re so gay”

“Shut up, so are you”

“Yeah but I didn’t get bullied into a piercing because of it.”

“Ughh”

“Wait what about the rest of them? There’s no way those were accidental.”

“Well I made an appointment for those”

“Oh my god.” Tango buried his face in his hands “you got more piercings because you thought the piercer was hot?”

Etho nodded

“Well which piercer was it?” 

“Joel.”

Tango just burst into laughter. “Oh course it was Joel. I hate to break it to ya, but he’s got a boyfriend.”

“Wellll…” Etho tapped his knuckles together

“No” Tango said in disbelief 

“I was the hot regular”

“This is the best news I’ve ever heard. I have to tell Jimmy.”

“You can not tell Jimmy.”

“Why not?”

“I haven’t told Joel.”

“Oh”

They sat there for a moment, both thinking about how to go about this. After a minute Tango piped up.

“Do you think Joel will be mad?”

“No.”

“Then I have an idea”

——

It was a Tuesday night in Etho’s apartment. Joel was laying on his lap, scrolling through his phone, as Etho was watching a random movie on the tv.

“Hey?” Joel asked

“Hmm?” Etho shifted his attention down to him.

“My coworker really wants to meet you. He wanted to know if the two of us wanted to go to dinner with him and boyfriend.”

“Is he just your coworker or is he your friend?”

“Friend.”

“And do you want to go?”

“Well I think if I wait longer to introduce you, he’ll kill me. So yes.”

“Then I’m all for going.”

“Awesome, great.” Joel sat there for a second. “Soo whatcha watching?”

“Not sure.”

“Wanna do something else?” Joel asked with a little eyebrow wiggle

God, Etho loved his boyfriend.

About a week later they actually met up. They planned to meet at some dinky Chinese place that Joel really liked, on a Thursday. Turns out when you all work more freelance-ish jobs you can go to dinner whenever. Unfortunately, Etho had a zoom meeting like 30 minutes before they planned to meet up, but that just meant he got to show up fashionably late.

Etho came into the restaurant ten minutes after the others had shown up.

In a booth a little down from the door, sat Joel and the back of very clearly Jimmy’s head. Sat just how Tango and him planned.

Etho walked to the table, Joel perked up when he got close. “Babe!”

“Hey”

At Etho’s words, Jimmy whipped his head around. “Etho?!”

Joel looked at them confused, “wait you two know each other?”

“He’s Tango’s best friend!” Jimmy said with an accusatory finger.

Etho heard a squawk of a “what!?” From Joel but ignored it to ask Tango “Aww, I’m your best friend?” As he moved to sit next to Joel at the table.

Tango shrugged “I guess.”

Jimmy snapped his head to Tango, “Wait you knew?”

“Knew what?”

Jimmy smacked him “that Joel was dating Etho”

Tango jokingly rolled his eyes “well yeah, he’s my best friend”

“You.” Jimmy accused

Both Tango and Etho laughed.

“But Joel, I thought you were dating your hot regular?” Jimmy asked

Joel blushed a bit “Etho is the hot regular”

Jimmy made an ohh face as Etho teased Joel “wow I’m flattered”

“Wait Etho, why didn’t you tell me you were getting pierced at the shop?” 

Etho scratched his cheek “I was embarrassed”

“Embarrassed that got pressured into his first piercing.” Tango added.

“Tango! He doesn’t know” 

“Know what?” Joel asked

Etho shyly turned to Joel “You don’t know that I wasn’t a walk in?”

“What?” Joel’s faced showed how confused he was

“You know how I didn’t have an appointment the first time you pierced my ears?”

“Yeah?”

“Well that’s cause I wasn’t there to get my ears pierced, I was just waiting for Tango.”

Joel’s mouth was open in a state of shock. “Then why did you follow me back? Why didn’t you say something?”

Etho blushed hard. “You were really hot” he mumbled.

Jimmy, who hadn’t heard this story, and Tango, who had, both just started laughing.

“I forcefully pierced your ears, made you pay, and you came back?!”

“You are the most beautiful man I have ever seen” Etho said, plainly stating facts

“God you’re like obsessed with me or something.”

“You’re the one who asked out a customer” Etho shot back.

Joel looked back at him. “Uhh Waiter! We haven’t order yet. Please.”

Etho laughed, then went in to hug Joel’s side. “I’m glad you pierced my ears that day.”

Joel smiled “I’m glad I did too.”

“You can’t do that again though, Joel” Jimmy added.

“Shut up!”