Sequel to Vow. Ace and Snake bond over the tattoos they got in honor of each other after the events in Vow. SnAce. There will be slash!
Thanks to blahblachect and AmeeraSakura for telling me to go ahead with this story :)
*~Disclaimer: I do not own the Powerpuff Girls, the Gangreen Gang, or anything else.
A nervous Blossom, Bubbles, and Buttercup floated into a downtown tattoo parlor. The fifteen year olds made sure nobody noticed them going in and locked the door once inside.
"Snake? You in?" Buttercup called as they floated into the back, or as Snake called it 'the office'.
The twenty-four year old had been working at the parlor for three years and basically ran it when he wasn't working the streets with Ace and the others. Speaking of the two older gangsters, they were sitting in the tattoo chairs talking and laughing. They fell quiet when they noticed the three girls, their shoulders tensing from years of habbit.
Snake cleared his throat. "Hey girlssss. What're yousss doing heresss?"
"Oh, we... um, it's just..." Bubbles stammered, edging behind her sisters.
"The Professor won't stop treating us like we're still five and it's driving us crazy and we... we just want..." Blossom tried to explain, but couldn't finish.
Buttercup took an exasperated breath. "We want a tattoo."
Ace and Snake rolled with laughter, nearly falling out of their seats. They laughed till their sides hurt, but every time they'd calm down, just looking at the girls would get them started again. After five minutes of struggling to breath, the fit subsided.
"Damn, that was good." Ace said, leaning back into his chair as he rubbed the tears from his eyes.
Snake nodded, still breathing as he reached for his drink on the small rolley-table beside the tat chair."It wasss. But ssseriousssly, why are you girlsss here?"
The puffs just stared down at them.
The glass stopped half way to Snakes lips. "You're ssseriousss?"
They nodded.
"Oh shit, the 'perfect little girls' get'n ink. That's a new one." Ace said as he leaned forward, elbows resting on his knees.
Snake glanced behind the girls, seeing the locked door. "You got sssomeone to ssign for you?"
The girls looked at each other. "Uh..."
"I'll sign for'em." The lead gangreen announced.
"Okaysss. What do you wantss?"
Bubbles handed over a piece of paper with the signaturetri-colored rainbow that twisted into three overlapping B's.
"Alrightsss, I can fitss all three of you in before we clossse. Jussst give me a ssec." Snake said shoving his long black hair under his hat.
"I'm scared." Bubbles whined.
"It don't hurt for long, it just fades after a while." Ace assured.
"Do you have any?" Blossom asked.
"Ink? Yeah, I got..." Ace looked up in thought, silently mouthing numbers as he ticked off on his fingers. "Four. One on each wrist, one on my chest, and one on my back."
"What are they?" Bubbles asked curiously, ignoring Snake fiddling with the needle gun.
He stood up, taking off the black and blue t-shirt he wore. "My gang tat's on my back."
Stretching across his shoulder blades were paint splatter styled wings extending from a spade. The wings fanned out then curved back in to frame three graffiti G's. There was no coloring, only various shades of black and Aces skin.
"Wow." The three examined the almost 3-D tattoo.
Buttercup drew her eyes away, looking up at the man. "And the one on your chest?"
Ace turned around to show the scripted letters in a language she didn't understand across his left pec. Bubbles floated closer, brows furrowing before she registered the words.
"Italian, right? Regola del pugno. Sovrano dal cuore. 'Rule by fist. Sovereign by heart.'?" She asked confidently.
"S'right." He confirmed, pulling his shirt back on.
Blossom looked down at his red, white, and blue wrist bands. "What about the ones on your wrists?"
Snakes hands stilled on the brightly colored viles of ink, looking at his boss out of the corner of his eyes. Ace returned the glance for a breif second.
"Those're personal. Don't show'em ta anybody." He deflected, his tone dismissive.
"Okaysss, everythingsss ssset. Who'sss going firsst?" Snake cut in, quickly derailing any further questions about the hidden tats. "Which ever one'sss ssscared the mossst needss to go firsst sso they don't back out."
Bubbles floated over to the chair, nervous energy practically screaming in the air around her. Her jacket slipped from her shoulders to show her backless, blue shirt as she settled down on her stomach. She whimpered and cried through the whole thing, Blossom holding her hand comfortingly. Blossom was next, she cried at first, but after the initial pain faded she was able to force her mind else where. Buttercup had ground her teeth together so hard the others though she would break a tooth, but she didn't cry and the pain faded just as Ace had promised.
The girls paid for the ink and Snake gave a short lecture before sending them out. The reptilian male closed up the shop and the two gangsters headed home. About a year ago the Gang had won a turf war over 23rd street and gained a condemed apartment complex in doing so. Ace and Snake shared an apartment while Arturo, Billy, and Grubber resided across the hall. Grubber riged the electricity and water to work and they'd managed to jack the cable. Hell, they'd even been lucky enough to find entire bedroom outfits with matresses, pillows, blankets, and alot of other shit.
"Hola, Boss, Serpiente." Lil Arturo greeted from the balcony seperating Ace and Snakes apartment from his, smoking a cig.
"Hey, Arturo."
"Sss'up." Snake hissed back, then eyed the hand-rolled. "That better notss be one of miness."
"Oh, come on! You've got like- a warehouse of these things!"
"That sshit'sss not cheap and hard asss hell to sssteal. Do you know how hard it iss to find turkisssh tobacco in Townsssville?"
"No."
"Damn hardsss."
Ace came up and smacked them both on the back of the head. "Don't need ta be smoke'n that shit period. Chock'n back tar's all it is. Expencive tar."
"Sssorry, Bosss."
"Si."
" 'S better. Come on, Snake. Night, Arturo." Ace said as he turned on his heel toward his door.
"Night guys."
As the heavy door closed behind them, Ace shrugged off the leather jacket he'd lifted a few weeks ago and Snake slinked into the kitchen. The leader kicked off his boots and stretched before heading after his friend. Snake had taken off his tank top, letting it hang off his shoulders like a towel. From his position rummaging through the cabinets Snakes gang tattoo was on full display. The three dark green G's outlined in a black spray-paint style shadow, running from just under his arm to the top of his hip. Ace could just barely make out bits and peices of the black basalisk that adorned his back, some of the beasts coils peeking over onto his side. It made him invision the words carved into the metal collar with the lock in the shape of a spade that chained the creature. 'Une allegeance sevi avec esprit corps et ame'.
One allegiance severed with mind, body, and soul.
The meaning was known only to the two of them. Snake was totaly and soully loyal to Ace, would defend him with his life, to gladly be used as Ace saw fit, and love him and only him unconditionally. The words had been spoken only once, just once, when Snake had turned eighteen. Ace had needed to know if Snake would leave him. In a heart beat Snake had kneeled at Aces feet, vowing his loyalty with his hand over his heart. Everything had changed after that.
Ace slid up behind Snake, carefully sliding the black and orange band off the reptiles right wrist, then took off his own. Two identical tattoos stared up at him, a snake wrapped around an Ace of Spades, almost like the way coils of metal would hold a gem stone on a necklace or ring. At first glance one would think it was two separate things. But if you were to look closer, it was a single object gradually morphing into another. Just like them: two bodies, one mind.
Which brought them to their next and final tribute to each other. The second set of wrist bands dropped to the floor. Ace slipped his arm under Snakes, baring is wrist and the younger did the same. With their wrists pressed side by side it created a scripted passage. A King with no sword is a fool and can only rule over a broken land. A Sword with no master will dull and rust, then cut the hand that fordged it. Divided King, take Sword in hand and become whole, fordge together thy body and soul. Now Being of One claim the throne and raise thy nation.
Ace dropped his head onto Snakes shoulder, thinking how deeply the simple words ment to the both of them. It had been eleven years since they'd found each other in that dead end alley between the rotting buildings of downtown Townsville. They'd been best friends almost instantly and from then on, they were joined at the hip, thick as theives, and partners in crime. And after what happened six years ago, they were something else.
"Hey, ya remember when that mini mall opened up ine the square? The first time we broke into it?" The elder asked, hands sliding around the others waist.
Snake grinned, reaching behind him to tangle his fingers in Aces hair. "Yesss, how could I forgetss?"
The young gangleader nudged Snakes hair away from his neck and shoulder, knowing the exact spot of the 'scar' Snake had recived during that break in. In the juncture of his neck and shoulder was Aces bite mark. It'd take an idiot not to know what it was, after all, who else in Townsville had a mouth like a bear-trap? Their first time breaking into that mall was also their first time together. Ace had pushed Snake up against the mirrored walls of the StreetZ dressing room in a rush of adrinaline and long ignored hormones had taken it from there.
"We ain't done that in a while." Ace smirked, pressing his lips to the mark.
"Rightsss, thisss morning wasss a century ago." Snake hissed sarcstically.
"Nah, I mean the dress'n room part. Or that time at the theme park in the Tunnle of Horrors."
Snake turned his head, forked tongue shooting between Aces teeth. "You knowsss, Ssstenton'sss sstill on vacation. I've got the keysss to the Parlor."
Ace pulled back, blue-black eyes shining. "What're ya gett'n at?"
"Ever done it in a tattoo chair, Bossss?"
AU/Note: Well, here it is, my long promised INK fic. ...I feel targets pointing at my head .
So! Okay, another poll idea! Who would want me to tack on another chapter of them in that parlor? I debated on doing it, but I really wanted to get this up today. So send in your reveiws and give me a yes or no okay? Ace, Sanke, anything to say to the readers?
Snake: I thinkss you already ssaid everything, Ishi.
I did? Oh, I guess so.
Ace: Eh, oh well. Hey you got one of those old water beds down stairs don't ya?
Yeah...
Ace: All I needed to know. *grabs Snake*
HEY WAIT! DON'T DO THAT ON MY BED!