"That hurt," Seven said blandly, rubbing her back.
"Yeah," Eight muttered, rubbing his upper right arm.
"Oh, it wasn't so bad," Five said, smiling happily.
"How was that not so bad?" Two moaned.
"Well, I've lost an eye, so…"
"Oh. Right. Dog attack," the second said guiltily.
"It's fine, Two," Five said. "We can talk about it if you'd like."
"Maybe later. I want to show Nine what we've done."
One came out, blinking at the bright street lamp. "Not as bad as getting shot."
Three and Four bounded out, smiling happily. ~It looks nice!~ Four said proudly.
Zero walked out, death promised in his face, making One snort. "Oh, come now. Smile. You know Nine will love it."
"I will kill you if he doesn't," Zero vowed.
Six skipped out, throwing a 'Thank you!' over his shoulder. It was pitch black between the street lamps. What they had done was illegal for half of them, but a thousand bucks a pop, plus the normal price, would make most people turn a blind eye.
"Let's get home," Six said. "I can't wait to see Nine's face!"
The discomfort was great for all of them, but they made it home. Nine waved lazily, listening to music on Eight's sound system. One gestured for him to come over.
"We have a surprise for you!" Six exclaimed.
~You do?~
"Yeah! Close your eyes! No peeking!"
Nine was bemused, but he squeezed his eyes shut and placed his hands tightly over his face. Everybody painstakingly took of their shirts. The stretching hurt! Eight turned to the side while Zero, One, Two, Five, Six, and Seven turned around, Seven covering herself—they had all seen her naked when she'd gotten pretty badly hurt, but Nine was her boyfriend and didn't need the temptation—then One spoke.
"Alright Nine. Open your eyes."
Nine did so, blinking in surprise as he took in the numbers.
~You guys got tattoos?~
"Yep! Surprise!" Seven said, looking over her shoulder with a warm smile.
They didn't know what they expected from Nine, but he didn't really do anything at first. He just stared at the ink. The tattoos were done based on their eye colors, like their cloaks. He finally moved over to lightly touch the red one.
"Nine?" Five asked; they were beginning to get worried.
~Why would you do this?~
"Well…you have permanent marks, so we figured we should have them too," Two said as they turned to face him.
Nine had the most bizarre look on his face. One informed them that it was a mix of shock, disbelief, and confusion. Seven walked over.
"Do you not like it?"
~No. I don't.~
Now it was their turn for shock, disbelief, and confusion. Seven actually began to cry, and the twins dashed over, kissing her.
"Why don't you like it?" One asked, trying to keep his temper, and his friends, in check.
~I don't understand why you would want to be deformed…~
"It's a tattoo, Nine."
~Leviticus 19:28: "Do not cut your bodies for the dead or put tattoo marks on yourselves. I am the Lord."~
One was getting mad now. "How dare you! You're quote some dead Mosaic law at us! We spent all day getting these! It hurt, Nine! The least you can do is be appreciative that we want to match you with your number!"
~Mine is not a tattoo, One!~ Nine snarled, golden eyes flashing. ~Mine is a scar! An ugly, hideous, shameful scar that's not pretty or fun to look at! I wish you hadn't gotten those! Get them removed!~
Nine spun around and ran for his room, leaving their new wounds to bleed. One swallowed.
"I…I guess it wasn't a good idea. I'm…I'm going to bed. You know where the Tylenol is."
Nine was curled up, watching as, one by one, they miserably went to bed. He played back time until he saw the tattoos again. He walked over and traced the numbers. The honest truth was that he didn't know what to feel. Anger was the safest and easiest option available. He knew they were hurt, but what about him? How was he supposed to feel? Nine walked over to his bed and dropped to his knees, resolving to pray the problem away.
The next morning, Nine made them their favorite breakfast. French Toast with fried eggs and crispy bacon. Seven was the first out. It was clear she wasn't wearing a bra, but she gingerly rubbed her back, and Nine could forgive her for it. The others joined them one by one, also rubbing their tattoos. One muttered out a prayer then they ate silently. Nine wasn't hungry.
~I'm sorry.~
They all looked at him, and he wanted his hood because of all the glares.
"Why are you sorry?" One asked when it was clear Nine needed prompting to continue.
~I don't understand, so I lashed out. It was wrong of me to do that. I'm sorry.~
"What don't you understand?" Five asked.
~Why you would do that?~
"We love you. We wanted to show you that we love you," Seven said, her voice quavering.
~But why would you go and get a tattoo?~ Nine seemed hopelessly confused.
"Your marks are permanent, so our marks are permanent," Eight said. "Unless you still want us to get them removed."
~I still don't understand.~
"Why not?" Six asked.
~My marks aren't pretty. Yours are pretty. Why would you want a mark like mine etched on you forever?~
"And that's the root of the problem!" One exclaimed, standing up in triumph. "You don't get why we would want to copy your scars!"
Nine nodded, eyes pleading for answers.
One sat back down as they all thought of a way to explain it for Nine. Six stood and stripped his shirt off as he walked over. He turned around. Nine stared at the silver six. He hesitantly reached out and drew his hands down it lightly, noticing the red skin around it.
~How much did it hurt?~ They knew immediately that One had only been partly right. Nine was also worried about how much pain they had to go through to get their 'marks'.
"I didn't feel much of it. I just let myself see visions until he was done," Six said.
"It wasn't as bad as being shot," One replied.
"Or as bad as the dog attack," Five put in.
"It hurt," Seven admitted, and the rest nodded.
~I think Zero had the hardest time.~ Four said analytically.
~Let me feel it.~
They gave him a bizarre look. "Why?" One demanded.
Nine blushed and looked down. Six hummed.
"You're afraid it hurt us as much as it hurt you."
Nine nodded. Zero reached over and took his hands. Nine rewound time and played it. The needle stung like a son of a bitch, but it wasn't at all what he'd felt when BRAIN had plunged the knife into his back. He relaxed.
~Not nearly as bad.~ He told them with a smile.
Seven stared at him. "What did you feel?"
Nine shook his head. ~Not happening.~
"Nine, please?" Seven asked, taking his hand from Zero.
~Why would you want to feel so much pain?~
"It would help us to understand it better. To understand you better," One said as they began taking each other's hands. Six returned to his seat and added to the circle, which was nearly complete save for Eight, who was sitting on Nine's right.
Nine took a deep breath then grabbed Eight's hand. Shaking, he replayed the sensation from that night. They hadn't expected it to be so sickening. They wanted to vomit from the sheer intensity of the pain. Following the knife as it moved was nearly impossible, because of the amount of agony pouring through them. Then there was the agony at their throats as well as they tried to scream for help…
The blackness melted away and they gasped for air, which they hadn't gotten enough of because of the all-encompassing, suffocating pain. Nine was crying, looking ashamed. One got up and staggered over.
"Don't you dare feel bad, Nine. It wasn't your fault. BRAIN did it, and he was drunk. He has apologized every time he's come over here. You always tell him not to linger on it. But this tattoo incident proves that you linger on it. It shouldn't rule your life, thoughts, or feelings. You need to talk about this more often. I demand that you and Two spend some time together talking."
~Yes, One.~ Nine said, leaning into him. ~After breakfast, can I see your tattoos again?~
"Of course. Now let's eat!"
Once the dishes were done, they went back into the living room, where they removed their shirts again. Nine traced every bit of the inked flesh, making them shiver. But he drew back much happier.
~I like them. They're pretty.~
"Can I touch yours now?" Seven asked, turning around as she pulled on her shirt.
Nine didn't hesitate, stripping his shirt off and turning around. Two often touched them, and Five did, too, when he got the chance. The others never asked, so they never did. But he didn't mind letting them touch them.
"You're a psychological mystery, Nine," Two said in amusement.
Seven's hands smoothed over his upraised flesh, tracing each and every scar there. Another, much larger hand touched him as Seven drew back, and Nine let Eight do as he wished. Three and Four were next, cataloguing the textures and the rise and fall of the skin. Five took another turn, and so did, Two. Zero's hands were more hesitant than the others, and Six was gentle, but quick. One was last, stroking the skin tenderly.
"We love you, Nine. Scars and all."
~And I love all of you. Tattoos and all!~
They laughed heartily as they slipped their shirts back on then went to sit and talk. Nine smiled. They were still a family, and they loved him, even if he was an ass sometimes.