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The first tattoo was all business.
Edwin had found a magic book about two years into their partnership that talked about how protection runes could be embedded into spirit forms. Charles was all for more protection, especially for Edwin, and he had to admit that the design was pretty brills, tiny runes joining together to form a larger one contained in a tidy circle about three inches across.
He'd always wanted a tattoo when he was alive but had never dared, so this was one more way that death was treating him better than life ever had.
The ghost tattoo shop Edwin had found was in a genuine tattoo shop that served living clients, too. Dmitri haunted it in the off hours for his work, which meant showing up in the small hours of the morning when most of the living slept.
He gave them a well practiced spiel while he set up the space under Edwin's watchful gaze, gloving up and disinfecting with the easy kind of movement that comes from muscle memory. Charles didn't even know if ghosts could get infected, but he had to admit that watching Dmitri's casual competence made him feel better.
Charles listened to, "I don't have any idea if getting tattooed as a ghost will change your destination in the afterlife. That's between you and whatever deity, religion, or belief system you follow," Dmitri said plainly. Along with, "Spirit tattoos are more than just ink. They need magic in order to keep, or they'll just disappear. I brew my own tattoo medium in house," all the way to, "And the best part of spirit tattoos is there's no aftercare." But he was mostly keeping a weather eye on Edwin, who had more exacting standards and a host of questions about the tattoo potion.
Eventually, Edwin had hashed out all the details, including placement and payment, and Dmitri asked, "So who's going first?"
"I am," Charles cut in. Edwin opened his mouth as if to argue, but no way was Charles letting Edwin go first. Dmitri had already nodded and started decanting the tattoo potion which looked remarkably like black ink to Charles, so Edwin just sighed and took Charles's jacket and polo as he stripped, folding them carefully and setting them on a nearby counter even though they were likely to be forgotten and disappear in a matter of minutes. His gold chain was tucked reluctantly into his trouser pocket, and then he hopped up on the table while Dmitri adjusted a few lamps to see better.
"Shirt off, too," Dmitri prompted.
It was a reasonable request since the tattoo would be just below his neck on his upper back, dipping down beneath the fabric of his vest, but for the first time, Charles balked. No one had seen him shirtless since he died, and while he couldn't check his reflection in a mirror, he could feel the scars littered across his back, both with his fingers and in his movements. He hadn't thought this through, and now that the moment was here, he didn't want Edwin to see the evidence of his failures and his father's anger.
Before he could decide what to do, Edwin intervened and said, "I'll hold his shirt out of the way, if that's alright? I'd like a close up look at the process."
Dmitri shrugged. "As long as it's clear of the needle, that works."
So Charles turned over onto his stomach and let Edwin drag his vest down and out of the way, stretching out the collar to reveal enough skin for Dmitri to work. Edwin's hands were cool and familiar, and Charles reckoned there was only a cigarette burn or two visible. Not ideal, but not something that needed explaining. Edwin would hopefully remain clueless about what they really were.
Dmitri's hands could hardly be felt, insulated by his gloves, and Charles listened as he narrated each step to Edwin.
"What does it feel like?" Edwin asked him once he'd exhausted his questions, about a quarter of the way through the design. "Does it hurt?"
"Nah," Charles said absently, somewhat overwhelmed by the contrast of Edwin's hands holding him in place and the stinging scrape of the tattoo gun. Overwhelmed by feeling something.
"Some people describe it like a cat scratch," Dmitri offered. "But I'd take a tattoo over a cat scratch any day."
"Yeah, it's not like that. Feels different, and nowhere near as bad. A bit stingy, kinda."
"I see," Edwin said in a tone of voice that meant the opposite but Charles guessed he'd find out soon enough.
He spaced out a bit after that. He wished that Edwin had brought the Sherlock Holmes novel they were reading - Edwin's low, constant voice was the only thing he could think of that would make this even better. But then Edwin would have had to move his hands, and they were brills right where they were.
It felt like no time had passed at all, but the sun was slowly rising when Dmitri put the tattoo gun down and wiped over the finished design with a different potion that cleaned and sealed it into his skin.
"Sit up slowly," Dmitri advised.
Edwin removed his hands, and Charles swung himself up into a sitting position, ignoring Dmitri's warning and regretting it a little when the whole room turned liquid and shifty around him, but he blinked a few times, used to powering through no matter how bad he felt, and it went away.
"How's it look?" he asked Edwin, who was watching him closely.
"It's very skillfully done," Edwin said, which wasn't really what he wanted to hear, but it wasn't like Edwin was going to tell him he looked badass with ink, or that the tattoo was aces. Edwin touched the top curve of the design where it showed above his collar still, and Charles fancied he could feel the border of the tattoo where Edwin traced over it.
"Take a stretch break," Dmitri offered. "I've got to clean and set up for the second one."
"We will, thank you," Edwin said and abruptly pulled back, jerking his hand away and stepping farther from Charles.
He rolled his shoulders and shrugged, then stood up and willed himself dressed again. Even though it was impossible to see now beneath his clothes, Charles still knew it was there.
He loved it.
He was going to love it even more as soon as Edwin had a matching one.
"Are you alright?" Edwin asked as soon as they were out of the shop.
"Yeah, 'course I am," Charles said. "It's - well. I like it. Wish I could see it proper."
Edwin nodded, looking confused but accepting.
"How about you? Are you nervous? It really doesn't hurt," Charles said. Especially not for someone who'd been through literal Hell, although Charles didn't say that.
"I've no concerns about the pain," Edwin said. "And Dmitri seems a consummate professional. I wouldn't have let him touch you, otherwise."
Charles beamed at him.
He wanted another tattoo already. Something fun. Something epic, like a tiger or a sword. He'd have to think about it and save up for Dmitri's fee.
But that was for later. "Your turn, now, I guess?" Charles asked.
Edwin nodded firmly and followed Charles back into the shop.
Dmitri was waiting for them, ready for another round. Charles tried not to stare as Edwin stripped down, but he'd only seen Edwin without his bow tie a handful of times, let alone the majority of his layers. Charles took them with the same care Edwin had shown his clothes, although his folds were much less neat.
Edwin's undershirt had a much looser collar than Charles's vest, so Dmitri was able to move it out of the way without Charles holding it down. Probably for the best, since Charles could hardly stay still.
He watched Dmitri begin, fascinated by the black lines appearing in Edwin's skin, the way blue translucence would occasionally ripple across the area being tattooed.
"Oh," Edwin said after the first few strokes. "You're right, it doesn't hurt at all. It's a unique sensation, but hardly painful."
Even still, Edwin held himself with a certain awkward tension. It was a bit scary having someone put a permanent mark where you couldn't see, so Charles planted himself in Edwin's eyeline and began chatting with Dmitri. Maybe it wouldn't help Edwin right now, but Dmitri's job meant he talked to a lot of ghosts. Couldn't hurt to get on his good side.
Charles was good at people, and Dmitri had some proper good stories, so it felt like no time at all before Dmitri was wiping the sealing potion across Edwin's finished tattoo.
Edwin was dressed again as soon as Dmitri gave the all clear, which was a bit of a shame as Charles would have liked to touch it and see how it felt. He reached behind him and ran his fingers below his collar along his own tattoo.
"Nice doing business with you," Dmitri said as Edwin rose from the table.
"You, too," Charles said. "We'll definitely be back."
"Assuming we need more tattoos, yes," Edwin said repressively.
Charles grinned at him, unrepentant. Dmitri waved them off, unconcerned.
Charles didn't stop smiling for days. He was definitely getting more.