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Piercingless Willow had admitted her lack of relevant insight, with a simple, "Why don't you ask Luz or Amity?" Amity and Luz both have piercings, but Amity's were done by a professional healer, and Luz's by a human professional. Both had insisted Gus talk to Camila about seeing one of those human professionals at Masha's favourite shop, but Camila had said there was some paperwork involved. She couldn't do it. Moreover, she got onto that parental consent stuff - worrying whether his dad would be upset at her even if she could find a way, and on and on. Gus thought bitterly that he might never see his dad again, so what was the point in waiting for his permission?
So, that meant Gus would just get it done at home. He just needs someone to hold the needle.
Vee, Gus doesn't know very well. He is also very sure that if he talks to her about anything, Camila will find out soon after. In fact, almost all of his friends would probably tattle about it.
There is only one person Gus can think of who would do it. Not for the same reasons Gus believes in, like his personal autonomy and the importance of his own decisions about himself, but rather just because he doesn't know that parents worry about this sort of thing. Gus does not want to think what kind of friend this makes him, but he decides he prefers it over being a stick in the mud about something as simple as a piercing.
So, he takes his shot. They're alone in the basement; it's late at night, and they're dressed ready for bed, in bed. Gus sleeps on the couch, which smells a bit like rats and mould, reminding him of home. Hunter sleeps on the floor, in a sleeping bag on a thin mattress. Gus has been pretending to read while thinking through his tactic of approach. He really likes Cosmic Frontier - he's probably going to recommend it to Hunter next, then maybe Willow will like it. Then he'll hit up Luz and Amity and Vee and maybe they can costume-play the entire crew between them. Now, he presses it shut and rests it on his lap. Here goes.
"You're good with a needle, right?"
Hunter glances up - always skittish, but even moreso when he's reading. He must have read the entire book more than twice by now: Witch Hunters of Gravesfield, the spine is already creased with wear. Gus has tried to broach the topic of it, but he's secretive about it. Even now, Hunter snaps it shut as if he's been caught doing something wrong, hiding the cover in his lap as if Gus hasn't already seen it a dozen times.
"I guess?" Hunter says uncertainly, looking at the corner of the room where Camila keeps her sewing paraphernalia. "I don't think adding a few patches to my jeans really counts, though... It's just practice."
Still, the answer is good enough for Gus, who gives Hunter an approving nod. "How about blood? You're good with blood, right?"
"Yeah," Hunter answers faster this time. "Are you okay? Did you hurt yourself?"
"No! No, I'm fine," Gus puts the book on the floor, sliding it protectively under the couch where neither of them could accidentally trip on or kick it. Hunter mirrors him, sliding his book under his own sleeping bag instead. Gus continues, "Actually, I was wondering whether you could help me pierce my ear?"
Hunter blinks several times before answering.
"Huh," he says, vaguely. "You're... actually asking me to stab you. With a needle. Like, right through?"
Gus turns to Hunter with his whole body, clasping his hands innocently under his chin, eyes wide and pleading. "Pleeeeeease, Hunter," he begs, "I've wanted it for a while now."
"Are you sure you want me to do it? Amity's sister was a healer, maybe she-"
"No!" Gus says, so sudden and assertive that it startles Hunter. "I want you to do it. It'll be less embarrassing that way. If I like- cry or something."
Blinking again. "Okay. Yeah, sure, I'll do it."
Gus' eyes lit up. "Oh! And one more thing! I want to surprise the girls about it."
"You know I'm bad at secrets, Gus."
"But you'll try? For meeee?"
He's still trying to impersonate a kicked puppy, leaning even closer to Hunter now. Hunter eases himself back. "Yeah," he says decidedly. "I'll try."
Gus pumps his fists triumphantly in the air. Hunter laughs, "We'll do it tomorrow, okay? I should probably be well rested. And we might need to do some human research. But how different can it be from stitching up a wound?"
His smile falters, and he's relieved when Hunter doesn't linger on that thought. Instead, he asks Gus to turn out the light, and Gus does so with a quick wiggle of his finger. Perhaps for the first time, Gus stays up well after Hunter has fallen asleep; filled with excitement and anxiety for the day following.
A trip into town later, with a few hours of library research, borrowed money and a packet of sanitary wipes and rubbing alcohol, the boys are sitting in the basement again. It's night - not so late that they're tired yet, but not so early that anybody would try to bother them. This time, Hunter has moved his sleeping bag out of the way and he's sitting on the couch with Gus on the sewing stool in front of him.
It starts with a lot of cleaning. They have to clean the earring, the needle, Gus' ear, Hunter's hands. Everything needs to be as sterile as possible. Hunter acts pretty casual about the whole thing.
Still, Hunter is determined to fulfill this mission.
So, now they're ready. Gus insisted they do it at night - so he can sleep off most of the pain, but also so there's less chance of anybody else trying to interrupt. He locked the door behind them, as an added protection. Miraculously, Hunter managed not to spill the beans - mostly because Gus had already stayed up late figuring out all their lies and alibis for the day.
Here they are: Hunter, holding Gus' earlobe and dabbing a ball-pen once on each side of it to leave a simple dot. Though Hunter says it's a little harder to see than the online tutorial made it seem. He huffs, and they quickly relocate the operation until they're closer to the lamp.
Hunter had emptied one of the pincushions in Camila's sewing kit, and now he places it behind Gus' ear, against his neck. He says it's a precaution, so there's absolutely no chance of him accidentally stabbing Gus in the neck, which is probably supposed to be reassuring and not daunting. The pincushion is surprisingly hard for something made of cloth. The needle they're using is one of the largest ones in the sewing kit, and it's been sitting long enough in the alcohol to be clean when Hunter finally takes it up and dries it with a tissue.
"You're sure you want to do this?" he asks, the invitation to quit clear in his voice.
"Yeah," Gus insists, holding his hands in determined fists. "Let's do this!"
Hunter nods subtly. "Alright, we'll try to make this quick." Hunter lines the needle up with the mark, until Gus can just barely feel the sharp tip against his ear. "On the count of three."
Gus takes a deep breath in. "One," holds it. "Two." This is going to be so worth it. "Three!" A sudden, sharp pinching feeling. Then, his entire ear feels as if it has caught fire, and Gus, acting out of sheer instinct, pulls away from Hunter. His hands reach to cup the burning ear, only to find it sensitive and stinging. The needle slides, just barely, but enough to cause a brand new sting.
He doesn't scream, though.
He does seethe, a long, quiet, "Owww..." sucked through his teeth.
Hunter is leaning away from him, hands open and raised in a show of surrender. "Are you okay, Gus?" He's worried.
"Yeah," Gus hisses, "Just fine." Pained tears spring from his eyes. "Is it over?"
Hunter lets out a nervous, wheezing chuckle. "Weellll... Not really," and then, speaking far too fast. "Itlookslikeitdidn'tactuallypierceyet."
Gus barely holds back a sob. his hands find the back of his earlobe, where he can feel the point, but not the cold metal. Instead, he can feel his own skin stretched thinly over it, warm with the stinging pain.
"If you want to back out, Gus-"
"No," Gus stops him, though he knows his face is gaunt with the pain. "No it's so close. You've got to finish it." This entire thing would have been a waste otherwise.
"Alright. How about you try the breathing thing?" Hunter suggests, trying to be helpful. "Here," he holds up a hand, counting with his fingers, to four and back, just like Gus showed him. He does it twice, letting Gus take over. Eventually, Gus calms down enough for Hunter to pull him back towards him and examine the piercing properly.
Gus does his best to ignore the burning sensation when Hunter touches it.
"I might need to move it a bit. It's pointing too far inwards." Gus squeezes his eyes shut as Hunter does just that, wobbling the needle still in his ear until it lines up in the way he wants it to. Titan, that feels awful.
Then, Hunter presses the pincushion against Gus' neck. It seems almost cool, against his skin, compared to the heat spreading. Gus catches a glimpse of Hunter's face, finding his mouth set in a serious line.
"Time to finish. Do you want me to count again?" Gus nods weakly in reply. "Okay. One... two..."
Gus pulls away before he can reach three.
The needle shifts again with the abrupt movement, and Hunter does his best to surrender so as not to disrupt it even more. "Maybe we should-"
"No!" Gus really, really wants to see his through. He never meant to do that. "Sorry. I mean it. I'm ready this time. Like. Really ready."
Hunter raisesan eyebrow, but Gus steels himself, sits upright, and allows Hunter to reach for his ear once again. "Okay..." he says, uncertainly.
The same again - realigning the needle while it's still partway through Gus' ear, then one hand holding behind his lobe. The pincushion continue to protect his neck while Hunter holds the cartilage in place. He starts a count, but Gus barely flinches as Hunter reaches two, and Hunter stops the count there. "You're just going to pull away again," he points out.
"I'm not!"
Hunter takes his own shaky breath before starting a third time. "One," Hunter says, a little too fast. He puts the pressure on, and Gus hears a distinct squelch as a whole new bloom of pain takes hold of his ear. This time he does scream. A high-pitched, totally unflattering yelp like a kicked puppy, as he pulls away from Hunter all over again.
"Ow-ow-ow-ow! What the heck, man!?" He looks, betrayed, at Hunter, who offers him a grimace in return.
"Hey! It's done now, isn't it?"
"You were supposed to warn me! We were gonna do it on the count of three!"
"You kept flinching bad!" Hunter shoots back. "You were being stubborn, and making it worse."
Another seething breath slips through Gus' teeth. He's too sore to continue arguing. He knows Hunter is probably right, but Titan it hurts, and he wants to blame Hunter anyway. Instead, he grumbles wordlessly and brings his knees to his chest, ducking his head in hopes to hide the tears stinging his eyes. Hunter doesn't push the argument either, but does let out a choked coughing sound. "Um... We still haven't put the actual piercing in," he reminds Gus, awkwardly. Then, with a bit more guilt in his voice, he continues, "We still need to swap it. Unless now you really do want to back out."
With a groan that is frankly embarrassing, Gus straightens his neck and leans back towards Hunter. "Let's just get this over with," he whines, wiping a tear from his cheek.
This part sucks too. The needle comes out fine; that part is strange but almost a relief compared to the initial stabbing. But the earring itself doesn't go in any cleaner than the needle had. It pokes the flesh around the hole they've made, and Hunter doesn't find the exit wound easily, leading to that same gross sensation of Hunter realigning the needle, only somehow worse now. Finally, Hunter pulls back with a look of satisfaction, and Gus lets out a deep breath.
"That's it?" he asks, hopeful.
"We did it," Hunter agrees.
Gus wants to reach for it - feel what it feels like now, but really it only stings. Then, he finds a mirror. His ear is a vibrant shade of slightly swollen maroon, but there it is - an earring he stole from Luz, a small gold stud with a blue gem in it. Even with the inflamed state of his ear, it looks good. He can't wait until it's fully healed and he can experiment more with it. The finger he pulls back from holding it for examination has only a small amount of blood with it, and Hunter follows that up quick with a blissfully cold tissue soaked in alcohol.
A smile splits Gus' face, and despite how much it aches, he can't stop touching it to reassure himself of its presence and just how cool it looks.