Author's Note: Don't own Blindspot. Don't even have a tattoo of my own. I'd always been curious about Sully's tattoo (and therefore Kurt's tattoo) and figured this conversation must have come up at some point…
Jane shut her locker, not quite ready for the end of the day. When she was here, working with the team, she felt like she had a purpose. But then she went home, alone except for her detail posted outside, and her thoughts and fears magnified. She glanced over at Weller, the only one still left in the locker room. She gave a small smile; she had caught on to the fact that he often went slowly, waiting for her to be ready to go, so they could walk down together. Something caught her eye, and she tilted her head, walking closer to him. She paused, stopping a few feet from him.
Kurt turned to her and smiled widely. "Hey, you ready to go?" he asked. They'd had a long day (but what day wasn't these days, he thought), but he was looking forward to walking out with Jane. He always enjoyed those moments, when it was just the two of them in the elevator. Even if they didn't say anything, just knowing they were together was enough for him. He hesitated; he could see something was bothering her. "Jane?"
Jane bit her lip, her eyes nervously glancing downward. "What's it mean?" She asked, "Your tattoo?" Her eyes flickered over to his right forearm, where she could just see a few characters peeking out from under his rolled up sleeve.
Kurt looked down at his arm, surprised. He hadn't thought much about his tattoo in years. It was just a part of him, a part of who he was. So much so, that even now, after Jane had mysteriously arrived covered in tattoos, he hadn't even given a second thought to his own.
He gave a small sigh before replying. He couldn't help but feel guilty. Here she was, covered in tattoos, searching for meaning, for an identity. They had been trying for weeks, trying to find a clue that could lead them to an answer, but every time, it was another dead end. And here she was, asking about his tattoo, one with a story and a meaning behind it.
He pushed back his sleeve some more, showing her the entire string of characters. "It, uh, it means –"
"We're all equal," Jane finished. She stared at the words. They seemed so familiar, but, yet, she knew nothing about them.
Weller gave a quiet chuckle. Of course she spoke Thai. "Yeah," he said quietly.
Jane reached her arm out, curious about these words that Weller had etched on his skin. She paused, looking at him for permission. She couldn't even be sure why she was so desperate to touch him, to feel this tattoo that was so personal to him.
Kurt felt her hesitation, and he forced himself to meet her eye line. He gave her a small nod, letting go of the breath he didn't know he was holding. His skin tingled with electricity when she touched him, gently rubbing her fingers up his arm. His breath once again caught in his throat, and he found it harder than ever to remember to breathe.
She touched him softly, feeling the smooth skin and firm muscle beneath. It surprised her, how smooth his tattoo was. It was just a part of his body, the same as hair on his head and the scruff on his face. She couldn't help but think of her own arms, covered in tattoos that still were slightly raised, creating a sensation of reading Braille as she ran her hands over her skin. She wondered how long it would take for her tattoos too feel like this – smooth and natural. Or maybe they never would.
"I… I got it about ten years ago," Kurt said quietly. "Before I joined the Bureau, me and some friends… we went to Thailand. And I saw this saying on this temple we passed the first day, and it turned out to be this Buddhist belief. And this idea, it just stuck with me. So, before we left, I got this tattoo, so I would always remember it. We are all equal." His voice dropped off, and he stared down at his arm. Had he actually remembered that all these years? Sure, he tried to. But sometimes, when confronted with so much evil in the world, did he even believe it anymore?
Jane pulled her hand back, and Weller immediately felt a chill on his skin. She ran her hands over the intricate patterns on her arms. "Do you still believe that? That everyone's equal?" She brought her eyes up to meet his, keeping her eyes focused on his. She felt like she could stare at him forever, there was so much trust and concern in his eyes. She felt safe, and she knew instantly that he was telling her the truth.
In that moment, Kurt knew that he did. He gave her a silent nod. He knew what she was really asking, knew what her greatest fear was. "Jane, it's going to be okay. We're going to figure this out, I promise." Without breaking eye contact, he reached out, holding her hand and giving it a small squeeze.
Thoughts?
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