Alternate Universe - Flower Shop & Tattoo Parlor - Tumblr Posts

The Cute Flower Boy.

a vds one shot. you can find more on my ao3.

( @ apolloswords )

feel free to comment/message me any suggestions for one shot ideas!

Three times Jens attempts to make a move on the cute boy from the gardens and the one time he finally succeeds.

Great, just what I needed. Jens thought to himself.

Checking the time on his phone, he groaned to himself. The battery was dead and seeing the depressing image of a dead battery show up on his screen just screamed helplessness. It had probably been about ten minutes of aimless wandering around and he still had not been able to find the Broerrs. He didn't even know how he managed to stray away from the group or how the group may have strayed away from him, but after being surrounded by the abundance of tulips, daffodils and roses, the pathway must have split into two, resulting in him heading the wrong way. And it didn't help that there was no way he could contact them within this maze of a garden.

At this point, it probably would have been best to just stay put. It would probably easier for the Broerrs to find him if he wasn't moving around so much. But even the thought of staying still made him feel rather antsy and he didn't like waiting around, bored out of his mind. He almost considered counting all the tulips arranged in front of him, but it would probably take him to about twenty tulips before he went out of his mind.

Sighing, he figured he would try retracing his steps, until he realized he had wandered way too far from the last time he saw them. And the pathways were a literal maze. He didn't even have a map on hand so he had absolutely no direction. The only option he did have was probably asking one of the employees for directions, but the thought of admitting he was lost was also unbearable to him. Jens knew he was being irrational right now, and probably way too dramatic for someone who was down to only one choice. But he was going to hold onto the last single speckle of his stubbornness and dignity until he had to endure the endless teasing of his friends when he eventually found them.

Until he spotted a boy his age, dressed up in a the garden's employee uniform and attending to some of the pink flowers a few feet away. His hair was rather curly and looked like it was glistening under the rays of the summer sun, and he looked like he just belonged in a place like this. Jens could only make out his side profile, but based on the lithe jawline, soft pink lips and blush, he was already feeling absolutely smitten.

However, Jens would rather admit being lost to himself rather than going up to this particularly cute flower boy and admit he was lost to him. But at this point, he was utterly helpless and he couldn't be picky; he needed to find his friends and possibly a charger for his phone.

Trying to muster up the courage to walk up to him, he wiped his sweaty palms on his jeans and held his breath. After silently counting to three, he took a deep breath and felt a surge of energy to walk up to the boy.

Except, he was suddenly startled when he felt a tap on his shoulder. After shaking his head and trying to look like he hadn't just freaked out, he whipped his head around was surprised to see Robbe standing behind him.

"Found you." Robbe said with a light smirk. "Were you trying to get rid of us?"

"It worked for a bit." Jens snorted. He tried to ignore the sinking feeling in his heart as he awkwardly laughed. "I figured you guys would eventually find me."

Robbe rolled his eyes. "I didn't know we were playing a game of hide and seek. Come on, we're going to head to the cafe and have something to eat before we have to catch the train."

"Sure." Jens agreed, even though he was feeling a little disappointed he wouldn't be able to talk to the cute flower boy from earlier.

Nodding his head, Robbe pivoted on his heels and headed back where he had come from. Since his back was turned to Jens, he decided to take a quick look over his shoulder to see if he could take one last longing look at the boy.

But instead he found himself frowning. Just as quickly as he had appeared, the boy had vanished and was probably never to be seen again.

Great, just what I needed. Jens thought to himself again.

-

"You're an absolute dumbass for getting lost." Moyo teased as they sat at a little table eating some sandwiches and cookies while enjoying a few drinks under the summer sun. The cafe was fairly crowded with all the tourists, but they had managed to find a table near the display of baked goods, which looked too good to just be on display.

Snorting, Jens took a sip of his Italian soda and tried to ignore the relentless teasing he had been the target of for the last twenty minutes. Turns out they had thought leaving him for a minute would be funny to see him panic, but they didn't realize he hadn't noticed he was left alone until he had wandered too far off. And since his phone was dead, the amount of calls by them were left unanswered.

"Maybe we shouldn't have left the dumbass on his own." Aaron teased back.

Suddenly, Jens felt himself choke on his drink. After sputtering for a few seconds and Robbe gently whacking his back, he squeezed his eyes shut and took a deep breath. When he slowly opened them, he felt his heart begin to race upon realizing what he just saw was not a figment of his imagination.

Or at least who he just saw.

It was the cute flower boy.

"Jens you okay?" Robbe asked and when Jens didn't reply, since he was too stunned to speak, Moyo studied his reaction curiously.

Slowly, Jens watched as he turned around to try and see what had caused Jens to suddenly spasm and loose control over himself. When his eyes also landed on the boy in line at the cafe, he turned back around with a smirk on his face.

"You think he's cute huh?" He said, his voice low.

"Me?" Robbe said in surprise. "I don't think I've thought anyone was cute after meeting Sander."

"Well clearly." Moyo snorted. "You weren't the one who just choked on a drink upon seeing a cute boy."

"Cute boy? Where?" Robbe asked, looking around as his patting on Jens' back came to a slow.

"Who thinks there's a cute boy?" Aaron piped up, once again catching onto the conversation a second slower than everyone else.

Feeling his second defeat for today, Jens scoffed and mumbled. "I think there's a cute boy."

"Is it the one in line?" Robbe whispered. "The one with light brown curly hair and seems to work here?"

"Yes." Jens admitted through clenched teeth. He lowered his gaze, not wanting to be caught staring or attention drawn to them, since the boy was only a few feet away.

"Yeah, he's cute." Robbe agreed with a wink.

Placing his head in his hands, Jens groaned. The boys were obviously more than amused as they began laughing and teasing him some more. He felt Robbe poke his side and he dropped his hands and gave him a soft glare.

"Talk to him." He said softly, with his typical Bambi like expression.

"Quick!" Aaron said. "Before he gets his drink and leaves."

But the second after Aaron had said that, the barista handed the boy his coffee with a smile. They spoke a few words to each other, probably indicating some sort of familiarity between them. Considering they both worked here, he was probably at the cafe during his breaks. The boy waved at him, his curls bouncing with his movements before he headed out of the cafe. The Broerrs, including Jens, watched his leave, heading back into the direction of the gardens. Soon enough, he was gone again, out of sight and out of the chances Jens could've made.

It was probably for the best anyway. They were just on a small vacation, and who knew how things could even work out between them?

"Looks like he's a lot like Jens." Moyo said, wiggling his brows.

"What do you mean by that?" Jens asked, his brows furrowed and feeling extremely confused.

"He's the one that got away." Moyo snickered.

-

After eating a bit more baked goods that they could manage and spending an hour at the gift shop to pick up a few gifts they could bring home, the Broerrs started to head out and make their way to the train station. Jens tapped his foot on the ground, as he tried to tune out some of the conversation.

But that didn't work.

"You guys do know the way to the Air BnB right?" Aaron asked, looking at the posted schedule for all the trains' arrivals and departures.

Scrunching his nose, Jens scoffed. "I thought you were the one with directions?"

"To be honest, even if he did have the directions, I wouldn't trust them." Robbe laughed. "I'm sure it's just the next train coming."

"Yeah but what stop do we get off at?" Aaron asked.

"The one that says the name of our street?" Moyo asked, as if it wasn't the most obvious answer.

In the midst of their bickering, Jens let his eyes wander around the rest of the train station. Other tourists stood around, holding large bags from the garden gift shop and other groups of friends stood around waiting, the hours of the summer day slowly coming to an end.

Almost instantly, he felt a tug towards a certain direction. But just before he could let his eyes figure out what exactly was pulling him, he felt somebody grab ahold of the sleeve of his shirt and literally pull him into the other direction.

"Jens, come on, stop day dreaming. You're going to miss the train!" Robbe cried out, almost practically pushing his entire body onto the train cart.

Luckily they all managed to make it on and found some seats. When Jens settled into one, he felt the familiar tug again and perked his head up, trying to find out where it was coming from. His eyes dawned onto a boy standing near the train's exit, aimlessly scrolling on his phone. This time, it didn't even take him a second to realize who it was.

It was the cute flower boy.

Although he was out of his work uniform and had a relaxed blue crewneck on, he still looked just as cute as ever. And, absolutely radiating. Jens could feel his mouth practically go dry as he continued to stare at the boy.

Until he felt a gentle hit to his cheek and he glared at Moyo from beside him.

"What was that for?" He mumbled, pretending to rub the spot on his cheek as if it actually hurt.

"Close your mouth I think you're going to drool." Moyo snickered while wiggling his brows.

Snorting, Jens rolled his eyes "I don't know what you're talking about." He lied.

Nobody but the lie and instead continued to snicker at each other. Aaron and Robbe had their backs turned against the boy, but there was no deny they knew exactly who was behind them. Jens secretly prayed that they wouldn't do anything stupid or embarrassing, especially when this would probably be the first and last impression the boy would have of him.

That was, if any of them either did anything.

"You should go up to him." Aaron whispered. "Maybe get his number."

Jens wrinkled his nose. "Why would I even do that?"

"To talk to him?" Aaron replied, as if that was the most obvious answer.

"Okay but we're only here for vacation." Jens reminded. "It's not like he would be super willing to do long distance with some random person he met on the train."

"Yeah, but you never know." Robbe said with hope and a romantic gaze in his eyes. "Maybe he would be down for one."

"Plus, Amsterdam isn't that far. And we are here for a bit, maybe it can be a summer love." Moyo added.

Nodding, he tried to internally take in their suggestions. On one hand, the boy was extremely cute and he probably wouldn't mind spending a few moments of the summer with him. On the other hand, a few moments would eventually come to the end and then he would have to remember he was leaving him behind.

But he figured maybe something could happen out of it. Taking a look at his friends once again, they gave him supportive smiles and thumbs up. Jens took a deep breath, wipe his clammy hands on his jeans and tried to push back the second thoughts running through his head.

Just as he was about to get up and make his way, the train halted to a stop and the exit door opened wide. Without a pause or hesitation, Jens watched as the boy stepped off the train and onto the platform. Before he knew it, the boy was once again walking away. The train began to head off and once again, he had missed his chance. The boy once again was gone from his sight and he let out a heavy sigh.

Neither of the Broerrs had to say it, they were all thinking the same thing. Jens just slumped against his seat and tried to ignore how this was possibly the last chance of seeing the cute flower boy in his entire life.

Possibly.

-

This has to be the stupidest idea ever. Jens thought to himself.

It was a few days later and the boys had stumbled upon a tattoo shop that had really good reviews. Since it was their first trip together, they wanted to tribute it by getting their first tattoos. At first, they debated on getting matching tattoos based on the trip, but after realizing that seemed a little too cheesy for their liking, they all decided to settle on just getting whatever small tattoo they wanted.

Jens never really thought about what he would like permanently sketched onto his body, but at the same time, he didn’t really think tattoos had to hold significant meaning. If he liked how they looked like and they looked cool, he didn’t really have much hesitation in getting them.

Which is why when they had found this local shop with highly recommended artists and accepted walk ins, they were more than ecstatic to make their way over. The shop wasn’t very busy, and the tattoo artist Kes was really chill and friendly.

He was sitting on a chair, scrolling on his phone as he was waiting for Aaron to finish up his tattoo. Robbe still had to get his done and Moyo was admiring his tattoo in the mirror, as if he wasn’t the first one who had gotten it done.

“It looks sick!” Moyo kept saying, showing off the tiger he had gotten on his calf.

Jens nodded, agreeing. Kes was a really skilled artist, and he helped Jens pick out exactly what he wanted. It was a simple flower done in a traditional style, placed right above his elbow. The darkness of the ink made it very bold but it was completely blotchy or too crazy to look at. He didn’t even really know why he wanted a flower, but after seeing some of Kes’ designs, he figured that’s what he should go for.

Their little ensemble got interrupted when they heard the chime of a bell, alerting the shop of a new customer. Jens turned his head to look and almost dropped his jaw.

It was the cute flower boy.

He didn’t seem surprised to see customers in the shop, just surprised to see a bunch of fresh out of high school teens. The boy had a wide smile on his face, his cheeks pink as ever and he looked like he had some exciting news to tell. Since this was the closest he’s ever been to Jens, he could feel goosebumps on his skin and even make out some distinct facial features that weren’t so prominent from afar.

One of those features being his striking blue eyes, which Jens stated at in disbelief. He could hardly believe such a colour existed.

The boy quickly strode into the Kes’ studio, after calling out his name. Robbe, Moyo and Jens all exchanged looks at each other, completely surprised to see him here. Jens gave them a questioning look, wondering if he should do anything about it.

“You have to talk to him.” Robbe whisper-yelled. “The universe just gave you one more chance!”

“Not in front of you guys.” Jens whisper-yelled back. “That’s going to be so awkward.”

Moyo shook his hands in front of him. “Listen, it’ll be just fine. I’ll take care of it when Aaron gets out.”

As if on cue, Aaron wandered out, followed by Kes and the boy. Kes nodded his head toward Robbe.

“Robbe, it’s your turn.” He called out. Turning his head towards the boy, he lowered his voice a bit. “I should be done in about an hour or so. Just sit tight here and we can hang Luc.”

Luc, Jens thought. What a lovely name.

Luc nodded and made his way to the waiting area as well, where Jens was. Aaron gave Jens a surprised look, just now realizing who this boy was. Jens narrowed his eyes, trying to tell him to be a little less obvious and then darted his eyes towards Moyo, telling him to get Aaron out of the room.

Nodding, Moyo let out an awkward cough. “Aaron, you need to call Amber.”

Confused, Arron wrinkled his brows. “She didn’t call me?”

“Well she called me to tell you to call her.” Moyo said quickly. Lowering his voice and gritting his teeth, he shot a look from Aaron to Jens. “And you may want to take it outside.”

It took a few seconds but Aaron’s eyes lit up and he registered what Moyo was replying. Nodding quickly, he looked at Jens and spoke loudly, as if he was making an announcement.

“Oh you are right Moyo.” He said, in a very obvious tone. “I shall go outside and call Amber.”

Grimacing at his lack of subtly, Aaron gave Jens a thumbs up from behind Luc’s head and Jens had to resist the urge from glaring at him. At least Luc had his head down and was on his phone, so he didn’t really notice all the commotion around him.

Coughing again after Aaron had waltzed out the door, Moyo darted his eyes at Jens.

“Bathroom.” He simply said, before quickly heading off without any other explanation.

While his friends had good intentions, they definitely had to work on being a little less obvious. Figuring this was his only chance with Luc, Jens pocketed his phone into his back pocket and coughed, grabbing his attention. Luc looked up at him, his blue eyes sparkling so brightly, Jens thought they held some sort of treasure within.

“Hi.” He managed to say awkwardly. “I’m Jens.”

Luc looked confused at first but managed to smile widely. “I’m Lucas, though most people call me Luc.”

Something about him was just so comforting, Jens didn’t know why he felt so nervous those other times he could’ve said something. Realizing it was his turn to reply, Jens gave him a half hearted smile and a low chuckle. Running a hand through his hair, he tried not to let the faint blush on his cheeks turn extra red or even spread all over his face.”

“Uhm, listen.” He began to say, trying to get past all the awkwardness. “This isn’t the first time I’ve seen you and I’ve been trying to approach you for a while now.”

Still smiling but looking a bit confused, Lucas tilted his head. “Really? When did you see me?”

“At the gardens a few days ago.” Jens admitted. “I was about to approach you because I was lost. Then I saw you at the cafe and on the train and each time I wanted to say something, but then you would leave and I figured I’d just never see you again.”

Letting out a light laugh, which made his heart leap, Lucas threw his head back amused. He looked back at Jens, his smile even wider.

“I thought you looked familiar.” He mentioned. “I thought maybe I had just been envisioning your face those other times and now was just the first time I actually saw you.”

Smirking, Jens shook his head in amusement. “No, definitely not just envisioning. Now is the first time I’m actually talking to you though.”

“So what is it that you wanted to ask me?” Lucas asked, leaning forward. His elbows were on his knees as he raised his brows at Jens, almost too excited to just sit still.

“Uhm, well, I wanted to ask for your number. I thought you were rather cute and wanted to see if I could maybe get a date with you or something while I’m here in Amsterdam.”

“How long are you here for?”

“Another week. We’re from Belgium and just came here for a summer getaway.”

Lucas nodded. He checked the time on his phone and got up, gesturing for Jens to do the same. Confused, Jens got up but gave him a questioning look.

“What’s going on?” He asked.

Grinning, Lucas gave him a shrug. “I figure we’re wasting precious time just sitting around. I have an hour to kill before I head out with Kes and I wouldn’t mind going on that date now.”

“Oh really?” Jens said with a smirk. Lucas blushed instantly and tried to hide his face.

“Yeah, and probably a few more dates after this one.” He admitted, still blushing a vibrant pink.

Reaching out to pinch his cheeks, Jens leaned down towards him and lowered his voice.

“Only if I can definitely get your number afterwards.” He teased.

A fit of giggles escaped the flower boy as he nodded quickly. “Of course you can get my number.”

“Then let’s go on this date.” Jens said. “Do you know any nearby cafe’s?”

“In fact I do.” Lucas replied, pushing the door of the shop open.

As the exited out, Aaron spotted them and widened his eyes. He must’ve figured the plan was successful, because he gave him a wide grin and a not-so-subtle wink. Jens wanted to bury his face in embarrassment since he was sure Lucas noticed.

“I’ll be back.” He told Aaron, as they walked by him. Aaron nodded quickly and sprinted back jnto the shop where they heard him yell.

“Jens finally got the cute flower boy!” They heard him cry.