Chapter Text
Hide got his first tattoo when he was eighteen and it was the first of many that would eventually take up residence on every inch of skin on his right arm. It was the summer before college when he and his mother took a vacation to England and Hide felt a little upset that Kaneki couldn’t be there with him when he got it. Kaneki knew of his future intentions to get inked and knew of every small reasoning behind the things he wanted.
It would be a lie if he didn’t admit that he was scared, but no pain no gain right? It was a good kind of fear that spiked up his adrenaline.
“Where did you want this?” The tattoo artist drew up the coloured sketch and held it up for Hide to see. Hide was still learning English, but the question was basic enough to understand. With his left hand he reached up to his right deltoid.
“H-here,” he replied. His mother was leaning up against the counter, shaking her head as she looked away when the sketch was pressed up against his upper arm. He was lucky that his mother was letting him do this. She hated tattoos. It took a great deal of convincing, but she finally gave him a reluctant okay so he could get it while they were in England (where he was of legal age).
As much as she hated the idea of Hide “screwing up” his unmarred skin, she knew why Hide was getting that one in particular. It represented a part of himself that he finally accepted afteryears of doubt and hurt; the part of him that used to believe was broken and too different for people to understand.
The paper was peeled away, leaving behind an imprint of what was soon to be a permanent work of art that Hide would carry around forever.
“It’s-” His voice got choked up as he looked down at it; the ace of spades card that tilted to the right, with the blossoming purple amaryllis flower next to it. He couldn’t help but smile. “Beautiful.” The tattoo artist looked over at him with concern, but it turned into a returned smile as he reached for the tattoo gun.
“I’m going to start with the card first-” He enunciated the words slowly so Hide could pick up on what he was saying easier; gesturing to the gun and then to the card. “I’ll shade the flower next. I want to make the flower vibrant and striking.” Hide couldn’t help but to furrow his brows at some of the words, but understood most of what was being said.
“Card… first,” he repeated with a small nod. “Flower… after.” The tattoo artist nodded, leaning back in his chair so he could dip the tip of the needle into the ink. “…Now?”
Another nod followed his question and brown eyes wandered over to where his mother was standing. He reached a hand out toward her as he offered her a look of pleading desperation. She was there for a reason… he asked her to come along so he wouldn’t have to deal with the pain alone. She let out a small sigh, but made sure to offer her son a reassuring look. They intertwined their fingers together and gave him a gentle squeeze.
“Are you sure you want to do this?” she asked him, lowering her tone as the tattoo artist made sure he was all set up. “You don’t have to scar up your body to prove a point.”
“I’m not scarring up my body,” Hide countered, turning to look down at the picture on his arm again. “It’s my reminder.”
“Reminder of what?”
“That… I can love all the parts of myself without having to be afraid of it; that I don’t have to hate something that I just didn’t understand at first. That… that part of me can be beautiful, too.”
“I missed you!” Hide exclaimed throwing his arms around the shorter male when Kaneki opened the door to his new apartment. Ken let out a small sound of shock as he was practically knocked to the ground by the sheer force of Hide’s tacklehug. “Dude… England was so cool! I brought you back a bunch of stuff and have so many pictures to show you!” Kaneki chuckled softly, melting into Hide’s embrace. The blonde pressed a small peck to Ken’s forehead in apology for almost sending them to the floor just moments prior.
“I missed you too, Dork.” When they pulled away, Kaneki opened the door a little wider and stepped over to the side. “Come in and tell me all about it.”
“Oh I will… I will give you the day by day retelling of my adventures through the London streets.” Hide added a dramatic tone to his voice as he passed Kaneki to get inside the apartment and flop down on the couch. “Oh! But first… look at this!”
Hide took of his sweatshirt and flung it to the side as Kaneki sat down beside him, letting the curiosity set in as the blonde pushed his short sleeve up to reveal the tattoo underneath.
“Oh wow…” Kaneki lifted a hand to gently brush against the skin. He tried to hold back a little cringe at the rougher surface; Hide was obviously still healing from it.
“It didn’t really hurt as bad as I thought it would… the aftercare isn’t too bad either. I just have to wash it with antibacterial soap twice a day and put coco butter on it.”
“It’s beautiful, Hide. I’m happy you were finally able to get it.” Leaning toward the coloured skin, Kaneki placed a gentle kiss to the surface before reaching up to leave one on Hide’s lips. The blonde reached up with his other hand to card it through Kaneki’s raven locks, deepening the contact between them. Once they pulled away Kaneki looked him in the eyes. A light pink dusted his cheeks as he reached a hand up to caress the side of Hide’s face. “Just as beautiful as you.”