Work Text:
“You ever think about getting a tattoo?”
The question was innocent enough, but it elicited a pretty hard response from within him. “Heck no, man.”
Craig was lying on his back, head resting on Tweek’s chest, both men lying in bed one lazy morning. Tweek ran his fingers through Craig’s hair, elaborating on the question posed to him. “I mean, that shit’s permanent .”
“Well duh .” Craig said. “It’s a tattoo.”
“Yeah but - ” Tweek continued. “Like, you can’t take that away!”
Craig chuckled. “That’s what permanent means, babe.”
Tweek ran his hand over Craig’s face, causing Craig to bury his face into Tweek’s chest. “You know what I mean!” He sighed. “That’s a serious commitment!”
“Like marriage?” Craig asked, looking up at Tweek and giving him a snarky stare.
Tweek frowned. “That’s different!” He fiddled with the ring on his left hand, turning it a few times around his finger. “That’s like a different kind of permanent. It’s technically reversible.”
“Wow.” Craig said.
“YOU KNOW WHAT I MEAN!” Tweek said. “I’m pretty sure everything I’ve done in life is technically reversible. But a tattoo? That’s stuck forever!”
Craig smirked. He poked at Tweek’s sides, causing Tweek to squirm. “You trying to reverse us? I see how it is.”
Tweek laughed, trying to grab onto Craig’s hands to stop him. “STOP STOP god damnit! That’s not what I’m saying oh my god!”
“Uh huh.” Craig continued his assault.
Eventually the conversation died down, and the two went back to just lying together. Craig, still laying over Tweek’s chest, had started scrolling through his phone, and Tweek continued to lazily play with Craig’s hair.
But Tweek’s mind was still focused on the previous conversation.
It’s not like he had never thought about getting a tattoo. He knew plenty of people who had them, and he was in awe by some of the intricate designs that he didn’t think were possible to draw on someone.
He had wondered many times what kind of tattoo he would get if he ever got the nerve to actually get one. Tweek didn’t like making permanent life choices. He always had the fear of regret, or the opportunity cost of spending the money on a tattoo versus spending it on something more worthwhile.
He couldn’t just get rid of it if he changed his mind later. It’s the same reason he didn’t want to be a parent.
The house they bought? They could sell it. The job he worked? He could quit and find another. Technically even his marriage with Craig? Reversible if he absolutely wanted to.
He frowned. Not that he would ever make that kind of decision.
But a tattoo - this fell into the irreversible category. What if, when he was like sixty, he didn’t like it? He couldn’t just scrub it off. He could do tattoo removal, but then his skin there would never be the same.
It was a big decision. One that Tweek decided he wouldn’t ever do. Ever.
“What about you, huh?” Tweek poked Craig on the side. “What brought this up?”
Craig shrugged. “I dunno. Just saw something on reddit about tattoos.”
“Do you want one?”
“No, not really.” Craig said.
“You’re ridiculous.” Tweek responded. He twisted some of Craig’s hair between his fingers, turning the black locks into curls before letting them go. He did this a few more times, admiring how Craig’s hair laid over the back of his neck, and how it barely grazed the hem of Craig’s white t-shirt. “The only tattoo I would ever do would have to be something so significant and symbolic - but I don’t think there would be anything that could convince me to do it.”
“What about my name?” Craig turned his head towards Tweek, grinning at him.
“Rrrgg you’re just trolling me now!” Tweek grabbed a pillow and covered Craig’s face. “I’m not falling for your nonsense.”
But the idea was planted in Tweek’s head now. So even as the day progressed, Tweek still thought about that conversation. He thought about it when he was getting dressed. He thought about it when he was putting the laundry in the washer. He thought about it when he emptied the dishwasher, leaving the dirty dishes for Craig to deal with. He thought about it as he drove to the gas station to pick up sodas for the two of them.
He stared at the soda fountain, mind wandering as it would whenever he was fixated on something.
What would be that symbolic? Tweek thought of all the important things in his life. There was obviously Craig - their symbolism evident in the rings they wore. But the rings could come off .
What about his hobbies? Tweek didn’t have too many at this stage in his life. He was mainly focused on work, and when he did have free time, he usually played some games or read stuff online. He didn’t really have much in terms of a passionate hobby, and he certainly wouldn't ever get a video game character tattooed on himself (talk about serious regret later in life - he would regret that the second it was done).
The soda he was filling up overflowed, and he pulled his hand back, dropping the cup. Fuck .
The next day, he found himself wandering around outside on his lunch break, hands in his pockets, and generally just enjoying the cooler weather that had made its way to town. The gentle breeze ruffled his hair and green button up shirt as he passed by shop after shop. He had originally come out here for lunch, but he wasn’t finding anything that truly interested him.
His phone buzzed in his pocket, and he checked his notifications.
Craig: This weather is fucking awesome
Tweek smiled and replied back.
Tweek: You’re damn right 💙
He put the phone back in his pocket, and started twisting his ring again, feeling his heart flutter at the mere thought of how important this object was in his life. What it meant for not just Tweek but for Craig as well. And what it meant for the dynamic of their family in the past, present, and future.
Lost in thought once more, Tweek found himself standing outside of the tattoo shop that was near his work. He stared up at the block letters on the building that just said TATTOO and the neon OPEN sign on the glass doors. He wasn’t sure what prompted it, but he opened the door and stepped inside.
The door chimed as he made his way inside, and Tweek was greeted with a plethora of images hung on the walls. A few were drawings, and a few were pictures of what he assumed were previous clients showing off their new designs. The store was colorful overall, a contrast to the darker image he had in his mind.
“Can I help you?”
Tweek turned his focus to the woman behind the counter. “Uhm...I’m just looking around.”
The woman stepped out into the room. “Anything catching your eye?”
Tweek continued to survey the drawings on the wall. Nothing here stuck out to him. None of it screamed Tweek . “Not really. I’m not really a tattoo person.”
The woman laughed. “Well, what’s a not-tattoo-person doing in a tattoo shop?”
“Do a lot of people get symbolic tattoos?” Tweek asked, skipping over her question.
She paused, motioning for him to come over to the counter. She pulled out a large binder, dropping it onto the counter with a loud THUD and started flipping through the pages. Tweek watched as page after page of cycled by, each one covered with the same types of images that adorned the shop walls. She stopped, turning the book to face Tweek, and pointed at one of the pictures.
“This guy got a tattoo of a cross, symbolising his devout religious beliefs.” She said.
Tweek scrunched his nose. Definitely not .
“Okay, okay.” The woman flipped through a few more pages. “Okay, this guy got one symbolizing his love for the planets and Sailor Moon.”
Tweek looked at the tattoo of the different planetary symbols, which he only recognized from the anime he watched when he was younger. He frowned - this fell into the category of instant regret. He shook his head.
The woman huffed a bit, looking Tweek up and down. Tweek raised an eyebrow at her gaze, trying to read her expressions.
“Are you looking for symbolism of love?”
Tweek’s eyes widened. “Uhm...”
“Your wedding ring.” She pointed at his hand.
Tweek started twisting it again. “Well…” How was he going to explain?
“Why don’t you start with telling me what she’s like?” The woman asked.
Tweek laughed. “Well, he’s absolutely incredible.” He felt his face flush, Did he really just blurt that out?
“Oh!” She leaned forward on the counter. “Tell me more. What’s he like?”
“Well, regardless of what people think, he’s just a big softie. Kind, caring, compassionate, and completely understanding,” Tweek covered his face, silently cursing himself for acting like a lovestruck teenage girl. “I don’t know what I would do without him. He’s my everything.”
“Do you have a picture?”
Tweek nodded, pulling out his phone. He showed her his phone background - a picture of the two of them sitting side by side on a bench at the park. Craig was absolutely beautiful in this picture (and all pictures); it was probably his favorite.
“Not bad.” The woman smirked. “I can see why you like him.”
Tweek accidentally hit the messaging app as he turned the phone back around, his eyes scanning over the last few messages sent between him and Craig.
There was so much more to Craig than just his picture, and there was no way that this woman could understand with just this short interaction they had.
And there was so much more to their relationship that a conversation would never be able to do it justice. It wasn’t something he could explain. It was something that could only be experienced.
He looked at the messages and smiled. “I think I’ve got it.”
Later that afternoon, Tweek laid in bed, resting his head on a mountain of pillows, and scrolled through his phone. He had returned home from work about an hour prior, and was just completely drained.
The bedroom door opened and Craig stepped through, pulling his hat and jacket off and tossing them near (but not in) the laundry basket in the corner of the room.
“Bad day?” Tweek asked.
Craig grumbled something he couldn’t hear as he flopped onto the bed. After a minute or so, he mumbled “Fuck work.” and then crawled up on the bed and kissed Tweek.
“Yeah, fuck work.” Tweek said between kisses. “When can we quit?”
Craig kissed him one more time. “Get this house paid off and we’ll both quit.” He moved back down to rest his head on Tweek’s chest, as Tweek used his left arm to cradle Craig’s head and run his hands through Craig’s hair again.
“When did you become the responsible one?” Tweek asked. “Usually I’m telling you to pay off the house before you can quit.”
“You must be rubbing off on me.” Craig said, pulling Tweek’s hand out of his hair and started kissing his palm. He stopped suddenly, sitting up and taking Tweek’s hand with him. “Babe, what the fuck is this?”
Tweek laughed. “What are you talking about?”
Craig glared at him. “You know what I’m talking about. What is this?” He flipped Tweek’s hand around and pointed at something on his left wrist.
💙
Tweek shrugged. There were so many things he wanted to say, so many things that he was feeling inside that he wasn’t sure he would properly communicate. He felt his chest tighten and his face flush.
His thoughts weren’t easily translated into words. The intense love, the deep connection, and the overwhelming, bursting emotion he knew was bubbling just under the surface threatened to come out in an incoherent mess. “It reminded me of you.”
“I thought you couldn’t do permanent?” Craig asked.
He couldn’t - he wasn’t even sure how he managed to get this done. “You’re an exception.” He wasn’t lying. Craig was the only person he would make any type of sacrifice for though. And he surprised himself with how easy it ended up being - making the exception and taking that risk for Craig.
Tweek leaned forward and kissed Craig, holding the sides of his face.
A few days later, Tweek and Craig walked through their neighborhood, taking in the fall atmosphere of yellow and oranges, and making comments on the different Halloween decorations in people’s yards. Tweek’s left hand, blue heart tattoo and all, grasped Craig’s right hand, with Craig’s wrist now sporting its own nearly identical tattoo to match Tweek’s. The two tattoos, now side by side as they held hands, were like a silent commitment to each other, and a simple symbolism of everything that they couldn’t express in their own words.
💙💚
And Tweek wouldn’t ever regret it.