Disclaimer: I don't own Gundam Wing, and am making no money off of this fic.
AN: Written for the June 8th Cocktail Party prompt found here: gwcocktailfriday . tumblr .com (/)post/174565143238/electrictattoos-brindi. (Without the spaces and parentheses.)
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Unconditional by luvsanime02
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Wufei stares at the picture, trying to feel anything but dislike. Meilan is impatiently waiting for his approval, and-
He can't. Wufei just cannot accept that his cousin wants to put this image on her body, to get it inked there permanently.
It's not that the image itself is inherently awful, he supposes. It's just so not Meilan.
"I didn't know that you like sharks," he says eventually, because Meilan is still waiting for him to say something, and the longer that he makes her wait, the more she will dig her heels in about this. Wufei still holds out some small hope that maybe she'll change her mind.
He makes sure to keep his tone entirely neutral, and to his relief, Meilan doesn't take offence at his remark.
"They're pretty cool," she says. "I've been looking into those shark tours, you know? Where you can swim with them, and everything. It sounds fun."
It sounds like anything but fun, in his opinion. Meilan takes her phone back, and Wufei starts to fold his arms across his chest before dropping them to his sides instead. He doesn't want to look confrontational. He tries to forget the tattoo that she's just showed him, but it seems to be burned into his memory already. The drunk shark sitting laidback in a martini glass, holding its own bottle of something that Wufei despairs is beer.
It's the kind of tattoo that Wufei wouldn't blink at if Duo got it on his arm. Or Trowa, even, though it's really not his style. But Meilan? This is so unusual for her. Maybe that's the point, though. She's always been one to rebel and make a statement. Her parents will faint with shock if she goes home next holiday with that tattoo, he's sure of it.
"It's rather pink, as well," Wufei says, not knowing what else to mention. Should he ask her about the beer bottle, if it's a specific brand, or would that be construed as taking a positive interest and endorsing the whole idea?
Meilan raises an eyebrow at him. "There's nothing wrong with pink."
There isn't. But Wufei has never known Meilan to favor that color before. He doesn't know what to make of this at all.
"How did you come across this tattoo?" Wufei asks. He wants to know who he should blame for infecting his cousin with this idea. They clearly need to be punished.
Except Meilan only shrugs. "Saw it online somewhere. Cute, isn't it?"
And now she's asking him for his opinion outright, and Wufei sucks in a quick breath to prepare himself for the upcoming battle. He can't stay quiet about this. If nothing else, Meilan has always demanded Wufei's honesty, and he's always asked for the same from her in return.
"It's… not the kind of tattoo that I would have expected you to get," he says delicately, clearing his throat. "I don't know if it's suited to you, really."
There. That should be diplomatic enough to start out with.
Meilan huffs. "It's a statement," she declares, folding her arms across her chest. Wufei stifles the urge to imitate her. "What's wrong with it?"
Wufei sighs. "It's… loud." And it is. "And what statement does something like that make, that you're an alcoholic?"
Okay, that was a little too much sarcasm, but he can't help it. Wufei never can when he's arguing with Meilan.
She tosses her hair over her shoulder, and gives him a scornful look. "Maybe that you need to relax once in a while? Not take life so seriously? That you should be thankful and enjoy the little pleasures in life?"
Her tone is just as acerbic as his now, and Wufei tsks in annoyance. "It's a shark," he says flatly. "In a martini glass. And you want to ink this on your body. Permanently."
"That's right," Meilan says, defiant now. Even if she'd been unsure before, she'll get the tattoo for certain now, out of spite.
At that thought, Wufei shakes his head in despair. "Fine," he says, conceding defeat. "Fine. If you're sure, then I'll go with you."
Meilan pauses, blinks, and is silent for a long moment. "You'd… go with me?" she asks. "Even though you hate the idea?"
Wufei almost says that he doesn't hate the tattoo, but that'd be a huge lie. "Of course I would," he says, looking off to the side in slight embarrassment. "It's important to you, obviously. I don't have to agree with you in order to support you."
To his surprise, Meilan's eyes fill with tears, but before Wufei can do more than gape in shock, she's wiping the moisture away. "You're such a jerk," she complains, though it's clear that she's not mad at him.
"What?" Wufei asks, completely confused now. "Why?"
Meilan smiles. "I was just teasing you, Wufei. I don't want this tattoo, it's awful."
Thrown, but very relieved, Wufei snorts. "Well, at least we're in agreement about that."
Meilan rolls her eyes. "You were supposed to act all huffy," she says. Wufei's offended. He doesn't act huffy. "And then I could call you stubborn," like Meilan isn't just as stubborn as he is, "and make you think I was really getting it, and you'd freak out, and-"
Wufei arches an eyebrow. "And?" he asks. "Go on, this is entertaining."
"You're such a jerk," she complains again, and then reaches over and gives him a hug. "You weren't supposed to be all understanding, and offer to go with me."
Softening, Wufei wraps his arms around Meilan in return. "What are cousins for?" he says.
Meilan laughs in agreement. "Now, let me show you the real tattoo I want to get," she says abruptly, pulling away to scroll through the pictures on her phone again.
Wufei blinks. "What."