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“Shitty hair, explain to me again why you want a tattoo.” Katsuki rubbed his temples and kept his eyes closed. Eijirou walked in the door from work, and the first thing he said was, I want to get a tattoo of Pisces. Katsuki could understand Pisces maybe, goldfish were his favorite animal after all. Tattoos aren’t something that could be done on a whim and still be happy with it years later.
“I was passing by that little tattoo shop, the Half & Half one. I saw a design I liked a lot.” Eijirou dropped his bag down on the floor and sat in the single chair. He’d never been one to decide something on impulse, usually he’d think it over and talk it out with his boyfriend of two years.
“Why a tattoo though? Why not just buy a sticker or an actual goldfish maybe?” Katsuki lifted his head and laid his hands on his thighs. Why did it have to be a tattoo? He’d gone with a couple of his old college buddies when they got tattoos, and all of them cried like babies. As far as he could tell, tattoos hurt, and they were difficult to take care of in the beginning.
“Stickers wear off, and I can’t even keep a cactus alive.” Eijirou leaned back in the chair and stared at the ceiling. If Katsuki didn’t want to go with him, he’d just go by himself. The shop seemed nice enough, and it didn’t look like they were ever busy. It means he could get a tattoo and be able to relax instead of feeling tense.
“If you’re sure about this, then why don’t we go now?” Katsuki stood up and stuffed his hands in his pockets. Better to get it done and over with, especially when Eijirou wouldn’t change his mind when he wanted something. He saw Eijirou lift his head and his eyes lit up like a kid in a candy store. “You’re that excited huh?”
“Hell yeah Blasty! I want you to look at the design.” Eijirou grabbed Katsuki’s arm and dragged him out of their apartment. The tattoo parlor was only a few minutes down the road. It was a tiny shop, and it never looked like they were busy so when they went inside and didn’t see anyone around, Eijirou knew he made an excellent choice.
“Hello! Welcome to Half & Half. How can I help you?” The person who spoke peeked his head around the corner. He was blonde, and he had what looked like a lightning strike going through the side of his head. He wiped his hands on a towel before showing up in front of them. “I’m Kaminari Denki, and I run the tattoo side of the shop. My boyfriend Todoroki Shouto runs the piercing side.”
“I’m looking to get a tattoo. I saw a design in the window of Pisces that I wanted to take a closer look at.” Eijirou looked around and took in the atmosphere. It was quiet, but it was homey and comfortable. He noticed Denki nod his head and walk over to the window and take down the picture.
“Shouto actually drew this for a customer awhile back, but they wound up not wanting it after all.” Denki’s smile fell a fraction before he perked up at the idea of being able to use it. Not many people came in for tattoos, it was mostly piercings. He could do piercings, but they weren’t his favorite thing to do. “How soon were you interested in doing it?”
“I’m hoping to do it as soon as possible. I’m Kirishima Eijirou and this is Bakugou Katsuki.” Eijirou piped up and bumped into Katsuki slightly who nodded his head. Katsuki wasn’t sure how Eijirou would handle the pain, but considering he dealt with children all day long, it probably would seem like a walk in the park. How Eijirou could handle dealing with fifteen screaming five-year old’s each day is beyond him.
“I’m free now if you’d like to. Where were you thinking of putting it? Originally it was a back piece, but I can probably shrink it to put on your arm.” Denki motioned for Katsuki and Eijirou to follow him into the tattoo area. It would probably fit on his chest as well, considering it looked like he worked out daily.
“How about my shoulder?” Eijirou sat in one of the chairs, Katsuki sitting next to him and Denki sitting across. He watched Denki trace the photo onto transfer paper and resizing trivial things to make it fit better. Katsuki bounced his leg up and down quickly, Eijirou placing his hand on his thigh to stop. He was a little nervous, tattoos were permanent, but if it’s what Eijirou wanted, he should have it.
“The shoulder could work. You do have broad shoulders, so I don’t have to change much at least.” Denki had his tongue sticking out of the side of his mouth while he worked. Katsuki kept bouncing his leg slightly even though Eijirou was attempting to hold him still. While they were sitting there, another young man about their age walked out of the back room and stood next to Denki. “Oh Shouto, there you are. Kirishima here wants to get the tattoo of Pisces we’d been advertising.”
“Is that so? You do realize that tattoos are permanent, and they do hurt sometimes.” Shouto looked between the two of them and cocked his head to the side. He recognized who they were, but he couldn’t place where he knew them from. “Denki, is there anything I can help with?”
“No, I think I’ve got it handled here. Just set up the needles?” Denki raised his head and noticed Shouto nodding. He turned his head back to what he was doing and finished tracing the original. He nodded his head, happy with his handiwork. “Well Kirishima, are you ready?”
“Ready as hell!” Eijirou stood up and pumped his fist in the air. He’s always wanted a tattoo, but he never really knew what he wanted. It wasn’t until he noticed the drawing of Pisces in the window that he knew what he wanted. Pisces was represented by two goldfish, which happened to be Katsuki’s favorite animal. Eijirou peeked at his boyfriend, and Katsuki had a worried look on his face. “It’ll be fine, I guarantee it won’t hurt me at all.”
“If it hurts, you’re buying me spicy ramen for the next fucking week.” Katsuki followed Eijirou over to where Shouto was setting up the needle gun. He flinched slightly, and turned away. He didn’t like needles, he didn’t like the feeling of them touching his skin. He barely liked getting his yearly shots, but Eijirou was there to distract him. Who would distract him this time if something went wrong?
“Spicy ramen huh? There’s this great ramen place down the road, have you had it?” Denki was setting up ink in tiny cups, ranging from black to orange, down to red and white. The colors were simple, it was the design that was the tough part. Usually the pieces he did were larger, the detail was a little bigger, and it was easier to see what he was doing.
“Their spicy ramen is the only thing Blasty will eat.” Eijirou laugh and laid down on the table. It reminded him of a massage table, and he laid his head down on his arms. He felt a paper lay against his skin, and a wet rag move across it. When he heard the buzzing of the tattoo gun, he closed his eyes. He wasn’t worried about the pain, but he was worried about the way Katsuki would react if he was watching.
He felt a hand slip into his, and he squeezed it tightly. This was the best thing he could do to keep Katsuki calm, so he intertwined their fingers. When he felt the needles move across his skin, Katsuki squeezed his hand tighter, and Eijirou had to smile. Katsuki closed his eyes and turned away from what Denki was doing.
“You seem relaxed. Pain doesn’t bother you?” Denki kept moving his hand along Eijirou’s back, outlining the guide lines he made a little while ago. The only sound in the shop is the buzzing of the needles and Shouto sweeping the floor. Usually people were nervous about getting tattoos, or they were complaining about the needles hurting.
“Nah, Katsuki’s the nervous one. I work with kids, so I’m not really bothered by anything.” Eijirou opened his eyes and turned his head to look at Denki. He had his tongue sticking out again, and he was focusing on what he was doing. He could barely feel the needles, it almost felt like someone was trying to tickle him.
“How someone works with screaming children is beyond me.” Katsuki shook his head and opened his eyes. He wanted to take a quick peek at what Denki was doing, to see what it looked like. The design was already outlined, and the detail looked great. Eijirou would be happy with the way it’s coming along, and Katsuki can’t wait to see the excitement on his boyfriend’s face.
“Kids aren’t that bad. Not if you can take care of them properly.” Denki took his finger off the trigger and set the gun down a moment to stretch. Now the hard part was done, the easy part was getting the colors to blend the way he wanted. Considering Eijirou and Katsuki didn’t say anything about design, he plans to just follow the picture.
“How would you know? I’m the one to take care of Katie.” Shouto sat down next to Denki and placed his hand on Denki’s lower back. They adopted Katie about a year ago from the foster home around the corner. Denki always wanted a kid even when they were in high school, and now six years later they finally have one. She’s energetic and takes after Denki, following everything he does but she doesn’t listen when he gives directions.
“She sounds like a great kid I’m sure.” Eijirou smiled and closed his eyes again as Denki picked up the tattoo gun again. As soon as he felt the needles on his skin, he felt Katsuki squeeze his hand. Another two hours went by and the next time that Denki stopped the gun, the tattoo was finished. He felt Denki wipe off the excess ink one last time before rubbing antibacterial gel over it.
Eijirou stood up and stretched, releasing Katsuki’s hand. He’d been laying there for almost three hours now and he was sore. Denki directed him over to the long mirror so he could see the finished product. Katsuki smiled as he saw Eijirou’s eyes light up with joy. The colors were magnificent and the design was everything that he wanted.
“I hope you like the tattoo. I’ll put some gauze over it, just remember to put more antibacterial on it every six to eight hours and change the gauze.” Denki washed his hands in the sink and started cleaning up the ink. It felt good to tattoo someone and have them love the work. Usually the people he tattooed already had a few, and they weren’t bothered by the time it took to create something good. “Oh by the way, since it was your first tattoo, it’s on the house.”
Eijirou’s mouth went slack as he stared at Denki. He wasn’t expecting to get a tattoo for free, let alone something as well done as this is. Katsuki placed his hand on Eijirou’s arm and nodded. If the tattoo would be free, the least he could do is leave a sizable tip for Denki. He grabbed his wallet out of his pocket and took a few bills out of it and left it on the desk.
“Thank you for this Kaminari, I’ll definitely be back.” Eijirou took Katsuki’s hand and they walked out of the shop towards their apartment. Eijirou loves the final product, and Katsuki seemed to be happy too. Denki smiled when Shouto wrapped his arms around his waist and kissed his cheek. Another job well done, and another happy customer.
“It really does look great Eijirou.” Katsuki stared at the tattoo on Eijirou’s back. The colors were vibrant and amazing, and it really did look good after all. If Eijirou was happy, he was happy too. Katsuki laid down next to Eijirou and ran a finger up his arm. When Eijirou didn’t respond, he realized his boyfriend was asleep. He pulled the covers over them and kissed Eijirou on the cheek before falling asleep next to him.