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There were things Tim had learned about Bernard from the time they had drifted apart.
He had graduated highschool and planned to go to medical school. He still frequented the forums that he had been a part of during junior year. He even confided in Tim after they had dated for a little while about his time in the cult. A part of his life where he had been vulnerable and lost, so ashamed he told Tim that he almost buried it deep down and never planned to bring it up again.
As time passed, Tim kept learning and watching. Some things surprised him and some things didn’t. But there was one thing that baffled Tim, because as much as he wanted to say he could see it being a part of Bernard, an equal part of him said he couldn’t.
Bernard had piercings.
It started when Tim noticed a silver cuff on Bernard’s right ear. When Bernard caught Tim staring and asked him what he was doing, Tim poked at his earring. Bernard batted his hand away and laughed.
“Hey that hurts! I’m giving my conch a break. It got infected,” he said. A few days later Tim watched Bernard slip a silver ring through the little hole where the cuff was. Eventually Tim forgot about it, just slipping into the back of his mind as a one time thing for Bernard. Another little piece of him to add to his ever growing collection.
One day though, Bernard had come into Tim’s apartment with an addition to his jewelry. A helix ring right at the curve of his upper right ear. Tim thought that it would match with his wide cuff earring well. Tim ended up staring for the second time and Bernard rolled his eyes. He had to stop himself from poking it again.
“This one new?” he asked. Bernard hums.
“Yeah, about two days ago. It’s still healing.”
They left it at that and Tim quietly admired it from afar.
Sometimes Tim would think back to Bernard’s fashion choices and mentality in highschool and wonder if this part of him would fit. Bernard definitely made… bold statements when it came to what he used to wear, what with the blazer and sunglasses combo that would immediately switch to a suggestive graphic tee under a baggy button up the next day. He also claimed to be an enlightened man of their time, so Tim guessed that maybe he would be open to wearing a piece of jewelry.
But then again, Tim knew that as much as Bernard had tried to present himself as smooth and carefree as could be, he was wildly insecure. Bernard had told him that most of the time he didn’t know what he was doing with himself, and Tim had seen Bernard stumble through countless encounters with as much grace as a newborn giraffe. He got jealous and he got scared. Tim knew that this part of Bernard was the part that had locked up any feeling that Bernard had for another guy, toxic and bitter all until Bernard finally gave in and risked it all with Tim.
So a part of Tim also had a hard time seeing how Bernard would do something like getting earrings if it would set him apart from the crowd.
But he never pried. Though, he was still curious.
He’s attempting to learn how to cook basic meals one night with Stephanie, a little tradition they had started after their break up to give them a chance to catch up and talk things out while practicing how to be fully functioning adults, when he gets a call.
Stephanie was prepping a pan and Tim is wrist deep in a bowl of tossed vegetables when the ringer goes off.
“Can you check who that is?” Tim asks. Stephanie leans over the table where they had stuck their phones to check the screen.
“Uuuuuhhhh its, oh! It’s Bernard,” she says, picking up the phone and walking over to Tim, “Here- oh you’ve got your hands full. You want me to just put it on speaker?”
“Yes please,” he says. Stephanie puts it between them and presses accept.
“Hey Berns, you're on speaker! Tim’s hands are covered in oil at the moment,” She says.
“Oh hey Steph! Yeah that’s fine, It’s actually better. I can use your opinion too,” he says. Stephanie looks at Tim, tilting her head, and Tim shrugs.
“What’s up?” Tim says.
“Ok so, I think I look better in silver than I do gold right?” he asks.
“Oh definitely,” Stephanie says. Tim tilts his head back and smiles, looking at Stephanie. She puts her hands up in defense. “What? He does!”
In the background of the call they can faintly hear Bernard say, “See I told you!”
“Thank you Steph, I knew I had some sense of fashion,” Bernard says, “And then, and I know this sounds like a weird question, cow or snake?”
Stephanie seems a little stumped by the question so Tim jumps in.
“Snake.”
“The gods have spoken through my muse. Snake it is,” Bernard says. A voice in the background whoops and Tim and Stephanie look at eachother, even more lost than when they started.
“What are they so excited about?” Stephanie asks.
“Oh it was their vote between the two. Been wanting to do it for a while.”
Tim was confused. Do snake?
“They want to do snake? What’s that?” Tim asks.
“Mmmm can’t say. It’s a surprise,” Bernard says. Stephanie purses her lips.
“If you spill I’ll let you have the next three dinners Tim and I cook,” she says. Tim frowns.
“Hey I put effort into these. I wanna eat some of it!”
Stephanie ignores him and waits for Bernard.
“Hmmm. I dunno,” he starts.
“Plus dessert,” she offers.
“ Plus dessert? Deal,” Bernard says, “Alright I was trying to decide on a septum ring or snake eyes.”
“What’s snake eyes?” Tim asks.
“Tounge,” Bernard says bluntly. Tim’s eyes go wide and Stephanie smirks.
“Yeah it looks like Tim made the right choice.”
Bernard laughs and Tim flicks Stephanie on the arm, leaving behind a spot of oil.
“Well thank you for your input, it was very much appreciated. Y'all have fun cooking,” Bernard says. Tim whips back to the phone.
“Wait, Berns!”
“What’s up T?”
“Are you getting it like right now?” Tim asks.
“Uh yeah?”
“Like right now right now?”
Bernard snorts. “Yes Tim, right now right now.”
Tim looks to Stephanie.
“Can I come watch?”
It’s Stephanie’s turn to have wide eyes. The line is quiet for a second before Bernard answers.
“Yeah why not. I’ll send you the address, but if you're not here within like 20 minutes I’m starting without you. My butt is getting numb.”
“Ok see you bye!” Tim blurts out before slamming his elbow on the end call button.
Stephanie turns to Tim and crosses her arms, grinning at him. Tim looks at her while holding out his oily hands.
“What?” he asks defensively. She sighs.
“Just found out something new about you. Come on snake boy, you put away the food and I’ll wash the pan.”
-----
They make it in 10 minutes to a nice tattoo shop with a sign out front that says it’s closed. Tim checks that address again, worried he put in the wrong one, while Stephanie hip checks him and knocks on the door. A second later a guy with a face full of studs and rings peeks out from a room inside. He smiles and rushes up to the door, unlocking it and swinging it open.
“Are you Bernard’s people?” he asks. Tim barely nods before they are being pulled in. “Oh thank god, I can’t wait any longer. He’s back here.”
They follow him to one of the rooms and enter. Bernard’s inside, sitting on the tattooing chair looking at his phone. He’s biting the tip of his tongue as he looks up.
“Well hello there,” he says. Tim smiles.
The guy that let them in zooms past them to the table where all the tools are laid out.
“Austin calm down. If you stick me with that needle I’m never letting you get anywhere near me again,” Bernard laughs.
“Aw come on man! This is my favorite one to do, don’t spoil it!” he yelps.
“Did he do your other two?” Tim asks. Stephanie quirks an eyebrow.
“Other two?” she asks. Bernard nods and turns his head to show her the two rings on his right ear. She gasps and leans closer to get a better look.
“I sure did! Cult discount!” Austin says. Tim looks to Bernard and Bernard waves it off for later. “Alright let’s get started!”
Austin sets the tray of stuff down and hands Bernard a paper towel.
“Last chance to get a kiss,” Bernard says. Tim furrows his eyebrows.
“Last chance?”
Bernard rolls his eyes. “I’m getting a needle stuck through my tongue babe. It’s gonna hurt for a bit.”
Tim grimaces. He had been shot, stabbed, and injected but something about a needle going through his tongue ?
Bernard laughs and snags Tim’s wrist, pulling him in and kissing him hard.
Bernard pulls back and turns to Austin. “K, I’m ready.”
Austin whoops and grabs the clamp off the tray. “Alright alright alright! Let’s get started my guy. Just go ahead and stick your tongue out far for me, but keep your mouth open.”
Bernard sticks his tongue out and Austin pinches the tip with his fingers, dabbing off the saliva with a paper towel and marking the sides of his tounge. He then takes the clamp and clamps it around the sides of the tip of Bernard’s tongue. Austin picks up the needle and Tim grips Bernard’s hand hard. Stephanie smirks and Bernard huffs a laugh.
“You do know that Bernard is the one getting a piercing right?” she teases. Tim bites his lip.
“Shut up,” he squeaks. Stephanie cackles and Bernard squeezes his hand back.
“Don’t worry man! Berns here can handle a little pain, ain’t that right?” Austin says. Bernard hums. “Alright go ahead and put that paper towel right under your chin for me.
“What’s that for?” Stephanie asks. Austin smiles.
“You’ll see.”
He places the tip in the middle of the clamp hole and Bernard closes his eyes.
“Deep breath in.”
He slides the needle right through Bernard’s tongue and out the otherside. Tim gags and Stephanie “ooo’s” and “ahh’s”.
“And let it out.”
Bernard exhales and his eyes flutter back open. Austin presses Bernard’s hand with the paper towel up against his chin. Tim watchs a line of drool run over Bernard’s lip and down his chin. He shuffles in place a bit.
Austin puts the tools down and turns back to Bernard. He dabs off the bit of blood and tightens the ball ends of the piercing. “It looks sick man. You let me know if something gets messed up.”
Bernard smiles, tongue still stuck out. “Thankth.” he lisps. Stephanie laughs.
“You are one bad bitch Dowd.”
Tim huffs out a laugh and finally releases his death grip on Bernard’s hand. Bernard smiles and pats Tim on the head.
“I wauh a miwk thake,” Bernard says. Tim rolls his eyes.
“Milkshakes it is.”
-----
Thankfully it heals well and Bernard doesn’t have any problems besides the typical swelling and pain while talking and eating. Tim is just still processing the fact that Bernard Dowd got a tongue piercing . He also feels like this isn’t the end of it.
One night while they are laying on the couch watching a movie, Tim looks over to Bernard. It had been awhile since that night and the piercing had healed nicely, enough for Bernard to be continuously running the little ball ends over his lip. Tim watches the little bits of metal reflect the light of the screen, Bernard’s tongue peeking around. Bernard catches him.
“You're staring again,” he says.
“Hm?”
“My piercings. You always stare at them. Do you not like em?”
Tim furrows his eyebrows. “I do. Sorry did I not look like it? I do, don’t worry. I wouldn’t stop you, and they suit you really well, I just…”
Bernard moves a bit so he can look at Tim directly. “What?”
“You never seemed like you would be a piercings person, not like in a bad way. I dunno.”
Bernard hums and looks at the screen for a moment. Tim waits.
“It feels nice,” Bernard says.
“Feels nice?” Tim asks.
“Yeah. All of it. I started in the cult with the conch, that’s where I met Austin before we all got out. The pain was nice, like grounding, and they encouraged it. Some of the members did more extreme stuff, but I kinda pussied out. Eventually I sobered up after and I liked the way it looked. And- and it gave me some sort of control of myself.” he starts. Tim fiddles with the helix ring on Bernard’s ear. “I felt like I was going nowhere, like my parents and the cult just manhandled me to do whatever they wanted me to, to look however they wanted me to, to act however they wanted me to. But these were for myself . I chose it for myself . I was finally doing something I wanted too without listening to that part of me in the back of my head telling me to worry about what everyone else thought. It’s… it’s what gave me the edge to reach out to you.”
Their eyes meet and Tim smiles. Bernard smiles back.
“Then I’m really happy you got them. You hear that Bernard’s piercings? I owe you! Thank you for bringing him to me,” Tim says. Bernard laughs and sticks his head into Tim’s neck. Tim smiles even bigger and Bernard eventually catches his breath. He kisses Tim on the cheek and lets his head fall onto Tim’s chest.
“Glad you like them,” he says.
“Hey, they make you happy, then I’m happy.”
Bernard smiles again and presses a kiss to Tim’s lips.
“You know what else would make me happy?” Bernard mumbles against Tim’s lips.
“Hm?”
“Seeing you with snake bites.”
Tim chokes on his spit and Bernard quirks an eyebrow.
“I think I’m good.” Tim coughs out.
“Aww why not?”
“I think I’m pretty comfortable with myself as is, no offense.”
Bernard rolls his eyes. Then he smirks.
“Fine, but you know what else could work?”
“I’m not dying my hair,” Tim says. Bernard looks him in the eye and without breaking eye contact, brings Tim’s hand up to his mouth and licks up his palm. Tim can feel the cool metal of the snake eyes slide up his hand.
“Oh, I think I can work with that.”