Work Text:
"You want to get a what?"
Sebastian turns slowly in his desk chair, brain thoroughly distracted from the Boolean algebra he was trying to focus on for his exam next week.
Sophia steps away from the door of his dorm room, gingerly sitting on the edge of his bed. Not meeting his eyes, she repeats, "Get a tattoo?"
Oh, okay. He did hear her right. "You've never wanted one before."
He had asked Sophia about getting a tattoo together for years. He already had one that he shared with Abigail, an Obsidian Edge sword. And, sure, it was disgustingly sentimental but he had always wanted to share tattoos with both of his best friends.
"I mean, I never gave a hard no about getting a tattoo," Sophia mumbles quietly, finally meeting his eyes with an guarded look.
Sebastian raises an eyebrow at her. "I'm pretty sure the last time I brought it up, you said, and I quote, 'fuck no'." Sebastian drops his hands after using them for air quotes. "Kinda sounds like a hard no to me."
"Maybe I just changed my mind?" She says it like a question.
Sebastian pauses, studying her face carefully. Sophia wasn't impulsive, the complete opposite. She was cautious, thoughtful. He often teased her about being the mom of the group. "Why?"
"Because I have," she says with a nonchalant shrug of her shoulders.
"Nope." Sebastian shakes his head. "That's not an answer."
Sophia crosses her arms over her chest. "What's the big deal? You have a whole sleeve done and a bunch of other tattoos. Even Abs has a few!"
"I don't think they're a big deal. Neither does Abby. But you have never wanted one. What's with the sudden change?"
Sophia stays quiet as she plays with a loose thread on her jeans.
Sebastian lets out a long sigh. He didn't want to push her, he knew she would open up in her own time. "You know I'd love to get a tattoo with you." He moves off the chair, sitting beside her on the bed. "What were you thinking?"
Attention still on the thread she was twirling in her fingers, Sophia whispers, "Fairy rose."
Sebastian's not really sure why he hadn't expected it.
Sophia had always loved fairy roses since she was little. She had always helped her mother plant them on the first day of fall and had made Sebastian, despite his protests, help many times. Sebastian could recite from memory the story that Sophia's grandmother would tell them about the fairies that would visit homes, being lured in from the sweet scent of the flowers. She had even gotten him and Abby to make fairy dust with the flowers countless of times, sprinkling it around Sophia's vineyard hoping to catch one.
At the funeral for both of her parents six months ago, the room had been filled with the flowers and their headstones had been beautifully decorated with them.
"Of course, you don't have to get it if you don't want to. I just want something for them. And you. You know?" Her eyes are brimming with tears when she finally turns her gaze to him.
Sebastian's chest tightens. "I know." He pulls her into his arms as the tears spill down her cheeks. "Okay. I'm down to get a fairy rose."
"You still want to do this?" Sebastian asks a couple weeks later, squeezing Sophia's hand as they stood in front of the studio that Sebastian has gone to for nearly all his piercings and tattoos.
When she doesn't answer him right away, he squeezes her hand again. "You know you don't have to do this, right? We can cancel the appointment. I'll always want to get a tattoo with you, so we can do this anytime."
Taking a determined breath, Sophia shakes her head. "No. I want to."
"Okay." Sebastian takes a step forward to open the door for them. His hand hovers over the handle before he turns. "Do you want me to go first?"
"No," she says firmly before letting out a giggle. "If you go first, I might actually change my mind."
"Sebastian!" A man with black hair sitting behind the front desk greets him as they walk into the building. "Give me a few minutes and I'll get you both started."
About two hours later, they were both walking out of the studio, new ink on both of their forearms. As decided, Sophia had gotten her tattoo first, gripping Sebastian's hand in a vice-like grip the entire time but otherwise had seemed fine. She had even insisted on holding his hand while he got his.
A sniffle immediately has his head snapping in Sophia's direction. "You okay?"
She nods. "Yeah but… can I have a hug?" she asks in a soft, tentative voice.
Sebastian gives her a soft smile, not hesitating to pull her into his arms. "Of course you can! You know you never have to ask, Soph."
"Thank you. For doing this with me," she whispers in his ear, giving him a squeeze before pulling away.
She brings up her arm, examining her pink fairy rose through the clear film that covered it. She lets out a chuckle. "Fuck. They would have hated this."
"Yeah, they would have. They would ground you for the rest of your life," Sebastian agrees, letting out a loud laugh. "It doesn't matter that you live five hours away in Zuzu or that you're legally an adult."
"So, that wasn't actually that bad. I get why you and Abby keep getting these." She lets out an excited gasp, taking his hand. "We need to get a fairy with pink wings next!"
Sebastian drops his head back with a fond, exasperated groan. He knew he should never have kept bugging her about tattoos. "What about a skeleton? Or a frog?"