Chapter Text
Taako doesn't remember when he got the tattoo. It's been there for as long as he can remember - Half a heart on the inside of his left wrist, the line a bit faded, a bit shaky. Not unsightly, but imperfect. Charming. Pointless. Who gets half a heart tattooed on their body? What's the point of that? He's perfectly whole on his own, thank you very much.
...Looking at it makes his chest ache. Stupid fucking thing.
He'll be perfectly fine, then find himself running his thumb over the ink, examining the uncertain line, and this deep ache fills his chest for no good reason. It's this lingering sense of loss, something missing. Half a heart.
But he's not missing anything, obviously. He has himself. That's all he's ever had and all he needs. He shoves the nausea down, waits for the feeling to pass. It's not worth hanging onto baseless pain. It was just the concept, he thinks, the idea of being half a heart. It's a silly thing to let get to him, so he doesn't.
..He doesn't, he swears, he tells himself that he doesn't.
When the Tres Horny Boys join the Bureau, the bracer covers the blemish. He's glad. The damn thing had been fucking up his emotions. He's sick of looking at it, sick of how it makes him feel.
So there, now it's covered.
He stares at the spot for a while, covered with the Bureau's bracer, tattoo out of sight.
Wrong, wrong, wrong.
The pain was supposed to disappear with the tattoo, but there it is, a deep hole in his chest.
Stupid meaningless tattoo.