Work Text:
The light is far too dim for this to be considered safe. Beau was invited to this party by Jester, who was invited by Fjord, who was invited by Molly, who was invited by Yasha, who currently holds Beau's face in her strong hand, pale fingers resting gently on her jaw. The party still pounds about them, sweaty bodies and loud chatter and the insistent bumping of the speakers. A tableau in the middle of the scene is the needle in Yasha's right hand, her eyes darkened by running makeup as she focuses on the spot under Beau's lip.
"Just do it, Yash, it won't be that bad." Beau mutters, trying to move her lips as little as possible.
"I know, I know, I just don't want to mess it up." Yasha sighs, and then straightens up as a half-elf nearly bounces into her side. "Do you mind?" She glowers down at the boy, and he scurries away just as fast as he came. Her energy is so unlike the havoc of the party, something Beau could enjoy if she wasn't watching Yasha struggle through it, shrugging her broad shoulders away from the noise and seeking Mollymauk, who has undoubtedly already found someone to hook up with.
"C'mon, nothing quite like a shit piercing done at a great party."
"I'd like it to be more of a halfway okay piercing done at a decent party." Yasha half-laughs, a small lifting of her so-often downturned lips that causes an indescribable heat deep within Beau's chest.
"Yeah, yeah."
Beau's seated on the sticky kitchen counter, both hands splayed beside her in different spilled beverages. She's aware she looks like a mess, while Yasha still looks like an angel come to guide her, her hair tousled over her shoulder and her black shirt taught against her light skin. Yasha sighs again, looking at the thick needle caught between deft fingers.
"This seems like a bad idea."
"Yeah, but dude, that's why we're doing it." Beau smiles at Yasha, who, despite Beau's perch on the counter, still stands about an inch taller.
"Alright, alright." Yasha wipes a bit of sweat off of Beau's cheek, her thumb slightly calloused. She's so gentle, holding Beau like she may break at any moment.
"Right! Shove it in!" Beau claps her hansds, and Yasha's face brightens like a strawberry, the woman leaning forward to press the needle just under Beau's lip.
"Um, so you should probably just take a big, slow breath in and then when you're breathing out I'll do it."
Slowly, Beau takes a breath through her nose, smelling the light rose perfume Yasha's wearing. The stale scent of beer follows, but Beau does her best to ignore it as Yasha places just a bit more pressure on the spot. As she breathes out, there's a pulling of her lip and then a sharp pain, but Beau's been beat up enough times to not show it on her face.
"You're doing great, I'm just gonna slide the thingy in the spot." The needle is jostled slightly, the most painful part of it all, as Yasha slides the new lip ring, just one of Beau's earrings that Yasha cleaned, into the new hole. It takes a minute for her to get it closed, and Yasha keeps a steady train of "you're doing so well, keep breathing" slipping out, a quiet murmur that still makes it through to Beau despite the bustling around them. When Yasha releases her grip, Beau licks at the back of the new piercing, the metallic taste of blood almost comforting.
"How does it look?" She asks as Yasha wraps the needle in a few takeaway napkins.
"Great. Really, really good." Yasha says, raising her hand to Beau's face once again, this time to dab at the ring with another napkin, blotting blood away.
"Yeah?"
"It makes you look tough, and you like to look tough."
There's a whoop from another room that has to have been Jester's, followed by a low voice calling out to her, Fjord probably trying to keep her from making a rash decision. The music changes to a different song, one with less bass and more of a hyperpop song, the type that makes Beau want to bury her head in a pillow and scream, but with one of Yasha's hands on the back of her neck and the other on her lips, there's nowhere else she'd want to be.
"It should stop bleeding soon. Molly bled for probably two minutes after theirs." Yasha shrugs, folding the napkin before pressing it against Beau's lip again.
"That's not too bad. I could stare at you for longer." Beau smirks, and Yasha flushes once again, suddenly very interested in looking at the beer cans beside Beau.
"Stop that."
"I mean it, Yash. You're a fucking sight for sore eyes."
Yasha pulls the napkin away and tosses it into the trash before Beau can see how much she bled from the piercing. Beau's ready to slide off the counter and join the rest of the party in a normal way but Yasha stops her, her hips coming to meet Beau's knees. Her face is carefully blank, unreadable as her mismatched eyes dart across Beau's face.
"It really suits you."
"You think? I had one in high school and didn't like it." Beau shrugs, and Yasha's hand winds around her neck again.
"Hey Beau? Can I kiss you?" Yasha's voice is so soft Beau can't even hear it, but she's able to read the words across Yasha's lips. She nods her head.
The kiss is a little awful. It's clear Yasha hasn't kissed many people before and she immediately jams her lips into the fresh piercing, making Beau hiss and move away.
"Sorry! Sorry, sorry, God, sorry, I feel so-"
"Yash, it's not, it was, holy shit, you're so fucking cute, that just hurt cause, y'know, open wound, but-"
"Yeah?" Yasha's eyes are wide.
"Yeah. Maybe, in, like, a week or something we can try that again properly."
"Can I kiss your cheek instead?"
"I'd be almost offended if you didn't."
The party still thrashes beside them as they leave, fingers intertwined. The Uber drive is short, and Beau rests her head on Yasha's shoulder the whole time. By the time they're back to Yasha's place, Beau climbs into her bed, exhausted and a little tipsy. Yasha heads off to the bathroom, and Beau texts Caleb to let him know she won't be home tonight. Just as Beau's about to drift off to sleep, the bed dips beside her, and Yasha's cold fingers cup her face again.
"Hey, sleepy. I'm just gonna clean this."
It stings a little as Yasha pokes around the piercing with a q-tip but the forehead kiss Beau gets after is worth it all, despite her taking the ring out of her lip the next morning.