Chapter Text
Jingle Jingle- Stede opens the door to the shop.
“You go right on ahead” A woman in a business suit steps out of his way and ushers him to the register.
“Oh thank you...”
There is a middle aged woman at the register who holds up a finger and says “I’ll be with you in just a second.”
“Okay,” Stede replies, looking around trying to sort out if the other three people in the shop know each other or not.
“I don’t think my boss is going to be okay with the dog in the shop.” Says the woman behind the counter to an older woman sitting on a bench with a mini poodle on her lap.
“No? But I’d be holding her the whole time..”
“Are you sure? The whole time?”
“Mhm, yes it’s fine.”
“It’s an hour long appointment...”
“Oh I know, she’ll be fine.” She assures her, petting the dog as it give a huge yawn.
The woman’s demeanor shifts from quizzical to pleasant, “oh okay, that’s fine then.”
She turns to Stede, “What can I help you with today sir?”
“Um, hi, do you carry piercing jewelry?”
“Sure, we have a limited supply but we have some, what are you looking for?”
“Just a nose and an ...ear.”
“Okay, well Ed has a client right now, but once he’s finished he can get you sorted. You can have a seat.”
“Okay thanks.”
Stede takes a seat and wills his body to relax. It's a pretty relaxed vibe here- there’s warm lighting and the walls are covered in tattoo samples. He can still hear the rain from outside.
The woman in the suit pushes a binder across the desk to the woman working saying “And if you look here, you can see the different options we have...”
“Excuse me ma’am, you can’t have a dog in here.” Stede looks up- a straight passing man in work boots walked in at some point. A second guy also appeared behind the register, talking to the middle aged woman.
“Can I just hold onto her for now?” The dog woman asks, petting the dogs as it scratches its ear with a foot.
“Yes of course, that’s fine, but not..” he gets cut off by the woman working reception.
“Okay hon, Ed can take you now.”
Stede gives her a deer in headlights look, he’s lowkey overwhelmed and not following at all.
She points with her elbow to the guy behind the desk with her and says “This is Ed,”
Ed starts making his way over to the next room, and beckons for Stede.
“You can take a seat on the table. So you’re looking for jewelry?”
“Yes, I had a nose ring and a helix piercing that I lost at the CT scan place down the road.”
“Oh yeah? How long have they been out?”
“Umm, maybe an hour?”
“Oh! So you just lost them, then came here. Not like, days ago.”
“Yup.”
“Gotcha, how old are they?”
“Ummm I got them in May”
Ed mutters under his breath counting off on his fingers. “May, June, July, August, September, October, November” “Yeah that should be fine. Can you show me where the earring was?”
Stede pinches the tip of his ear “around here somewhere” Ed pulls on some black medical gloves and gently takes Stedes ear, replacing Stede’s fingers with his own. “Okay, yup, I see it. Were you looking for a hoop or a stud?”
“Well, I had a hoop, but I don’t know if it was healing right? It still bothers me when I sleep or if I put on a hat. Do you think using a ... not a hoop could help?”
Ed walks over to a closet saying over his shoulder, “we could put a labret stud on it, could take some of the pressure off while you’re sleeping...”
“Oh yes, let's do that.”
“Okay, I can do a ball end for $10 or a jewel for $15.”
Stede pauses, visualizing, “Umm, let's go with the jewel.”
Ed walks back over with the piece and slides it in with no fuss.
“Did they lose them, or did you lose them?” He asks, with a smile that looked like a silent chuckle.
Stede can hear himself explaining how he lost the nose ring in the bathroom trying to put it back in, and how he’s not sure if the earring can even go back on at all, but he’s more focused on how Ed is right up in his face staring intensely at his nose.
“Were you looking for a hoop or a stud? This looks a little irritated...”
“Yeah, I did a number on it trying to get it back in, oh I mean I had a stud, but I wouldn’t be opposed to a hoop, that could be cool.”
“Let's get you a stud, I don’t want to put a hoop on it looking like that. We could do a ball end for $10 or a jewel for $20.”
“Hmm” Stede visualizes again. “Jewel.”
While Ed goes to the cabinet again, Stede appreciates how he sorted out his first earring and then the second, methodically like running a program. Ed’s clearly on a “getting stuff done” brain wave, but still managed pretty present with him.
When he comes back, Ed’s looking at his nose again.
He puts his thumb under Stede’s nostril for support while he delicately puts the tip of the stud into the hole. Stede winces a bit, and Ed’s thumb is /in/ his nose “there you go, that’ll be your inside.” Got you in the eyes there?”
He takes his thumb out and places the back on the stud before stepping back to admire his work. Stede can’t really see a smile or anything under Ed’s mask, but Ed’s whole body language looks pleased with himself.
“Take as much time as you need, and I can get you squared away up front. And come back when you’re ready to swap out that hoop!”
“Okay, yeah, definitely!”
Ed and the woman get Stede ringed up, and he leaves, a bright feeling spreading across his chest at this little bit of human connection he’s found. Maybe he’ll have to get lots of piercings now, give him an excuse to pop in and see Ed.