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“You first, or me?” Leo asked, glancing down at his wristwatch with a playful smirk. His voice held that teasing edge they both knew too well.
Ares chuckled softly, the sound low and warm. “We’ve always gone with the piercings first,” he said, a hint of challenge in his tone.
Leo arched a perfect brow, eyes glinting with mischief. “You sure you’re not just scared of needles?” His grin widened, clearly enjoying the little jab.
“Seriously? After four years?” Ares shook his head with a dramatic sigh, then flopped back into the worn leather chair with exaggerated flair. “You wound me, babe.” He gave a mock glare before adding, “Go on. Tat me, lover.”
Leo pulled on his gloves with the confident, fluid motions of a craftsman who had done this hundreds of times before. “Ready to be inked?” he asked, the smirk still playing on his lips.
Ares rolled his eyes but his grin was genuine, warm. “Always, love.”
Leo looked at him for a long moment, then asked softly, “Where do you want it this time?”
Ares lifted a brow, shifting slightly to face Leo more directly. “Surprise me.”
The grin Leo gave back was almost mischievous. He knelt down in front of Ares, reaching out to gently take his left hand in his own. The warmth of Leo’s touch sent a ripple of calm through Ares’ nerves.
Leaning closer, Leo pressed a soft kiss to Ares’ knuckles. “Today’s special,” he murmured, voice low and intimate, “so I thought… fingers. Left hand.”
Ares’s breath hitched. His throat suddenly went dry—didn’t answer right away. Instead, his eyes locked on Leo’s as the other man carefully cleaned the skin around his ring finger.
“You alright?” Leo asked quietly, eyes searching his.
Ares swallowed hard, then gave a shaky laugh. “Yeah. Just—” He licked his lips, suddenly nervous. “Just thinking… why fingers all of a sudden?” The question was light, but carried an undercurrent of hope.
Hope that they’re thinking the same thing.
Leo’s smile softened. “You’ll know soon, lover. It’s a surprise.” His fingers brushed the inside of Ares’ wrist with a featherlight touch, then he pressed a gentle kiss there. “So, is this okay?”
Ares exhaled, shaky but sure, then nodded. “Yeah, baby. Go on. It’s fine.”
Then Leo began to ink Ares, his hand steady and careful. Each stroke was slow and measured—a silent promise was taking form beneath the buzzing needle. The design unfurled gently across Ares’ skin: a delicate line of intertwining shapes that curled and twisted like vines and constellations, alive and breathing. The pattern wound its way toward his ring finger, where it tapered off into a subtle band—a whisper of ink that felt more intimate, more sacred, than any ring ever could.
Ares held his breath, eyes fixed on the growing tattoo. His chest tightened with a feelings of awe and recognition. Before the last line was drawn, he already knew what it was. The shape, the placement—it spoke louder than words. It said everything they’d never needed to say aloud.
When Leo finally lifted the needle away, he peeled off the glove from his left hand and raised it so Ares could see. There, fresh and raw, was the same delicate pattern winding around Leo’s own ring finger, the ink still glistening faintly in the warm studio light.
“I hope you don’t mind,” Leo said, voice soft but steady. “I went for both of us.”
For a moment, Ares was speechless—eyes wide, heart pounding like a drum in his ears. Then, as if on cue, they both blurted out the same words.
“I was going to propose—”
The studio was swallowed in stunned silence before it burst into laughter, bright, giddy, and utterly genuine. Their laughter mingled, shaking their shoulders and lighting up Leo’s eyes with crinkles of pure joy.
“You were?” Leo gasped, breathless, disbelief and delight twined together in his voice.
Ares only smiled, warm and full of affection.
Leo paused, then threw his head back and laughed, this time, more rich and carefree, the kind of laughter that comes from a heart so full it could burst. “Fuck, Tell me you’re kidding.”
“Nope.” Ares nodded toward the side table. “Look in that pouch.”
Leo reached over, his fingers trembling slightly as he peeled back the soft black velvet pouch. Inside rested two matching barbells, shining under the studio’s golden light. His eyes grew wide with surprise and wonder.
“Matching piercings. Wherever you want,” Ares explained, voice low and sincere. “I was thinking… maybe brows? But, well, it’s your call.”
Leo carefully set the pouch aside, then suddenly surged forward, capturing Ares in a kiss so fierce it took his breath away. Pulling back just enough to whisper against his lips, he laughed.
“You idiot,” he murmured, still smiling, “we’re really proposing on the same day?”
Ares grinned against Leo’s mouth, their foreheads resting together. “Great minds, baby.” he murmured, before grabbing Leo’s nape and kissing him once more.
After a few more kisses, Ares reached for his kit. His fingers moved with practiced grace, but his heart thudded with the kind of nerves that only came with loving someone too much. Leo sat still, watching him, eyes warm and full, his lips parted just slightly as if to say something, but he didn’t. Not yet.
Ares lined everything up in careful order, glancing up to meet Leo’s gaze one last time before leaning in. Their foreheads nearly touched as Ares steadied Leo’s face with one hand, the other positioning the needle. Their breaths mingled, close and synced. Then, with a deft and fluid motion, Ares pierced Leo’s brow.
It was over in a blink, clean and efficient, but the weight of it settled into the air like a heartbeat. Ares gently fitted the barbell into place, fingers brushing over the fresh metal like he was blessing it. Like it meant something more than just ornament. And it did.
With Leo’s steady hands guiding him, Ares pierced his own brow, mirroring the mark he had just given. When it was done, they looked at each other, both now adorned with matching brow piercings—twin glints of silver catching the soft light. Matchy, like soulmates. Like a match made in heaven.
They just sat there, their knees touching, fingers intertwined, their newly marked hands resting between them. Ink and steel. A promise made permanent. Both of them were breathing a little harder, like they’d just survived something holy.
“I was gonna give a whole speech,” Leo said after a while, voice roughened by emotion and half a laugh. He rubbed the back of his neck with his free hand, his eyes glinting wet under the low light. “Had it all planned out, but fuck, I forgot all of it.”
“Same,” Ares whispered, sniffling through a crooked smile. He looked at Leo like he was seeing something precious. “You’re all I can think about. Everything else just disappears.”
Leo reached up and brushed a tear from Ares’s cheek with his thumb, so gentle it made Ares tremble.
“Yeah?” Leo said, voice breaking just a little. “Good. Because I want to be the only thing on your mind.”
Their kiss this time was different, longer and deeper. A kiss that said yes. A kiss that said mine. A kiss that carried years of quiet understanding, sleepless nights, and every stupid fight they ever worked through. A kiss that sealed a vow neither of them had spoken yet, but both had already made.
By the time Leo pulled back, Ares had somehow ended up in his lap, legs loosely around his waist, their arms wrapped around each other in a messy tangle. Ares laughed through fresh tears, forehead pressed to Leo’s as they breathed in each other.
“So,” Ares murmured, voice hoarse and hushed, “you gonna carry me inside now, or what?”
Leo grinned, his breath catching. “Yeah. Gonna take care of my soon-to-be husbando. Should I not?”
Ares chuckled into his neck, “You better.”
Leo stood up, lifting Ares effortlessly into his arms. Ares looped his arms around Leo’s shoulders, leaning his head there, heart thudding fast and steady as they moved to the bedroom.
Clothes were shed slowly, like they weren’t just undressing but letting go of time itself. Each piece fell like a whisper to the floor, leaving nothing between them but skin and memory.
They didn’t rush. Didn’t speak much.
Ares kissed the new barbell on Leo’s brow like his lips were signing his name in silence. And Leo pressed his mouth to the ink curled around Ares’ finger, hushed and tender..
They moved like waves, learning each other all over again. Every gasp, every moan, every slow roll of hips was a conversation: I love you. I’m yours. I choose you. Again. And again. And again. Until forever.
They made love like it was the first time, and when sleep finally claimed them, their bodies tangled and limbs wrapped, a quiet understanding settled between them.
Because now, it wasn’t just skin they wore.
It was each other.
Marked. Bound.
With a lifetime shared. Together.