Howdy people! So before I begin, I just wanted to say that this is my first crack at writing anything I wasn't forced to (let alone fan fiction). So, sorry if it's not great. Or good. Or okay. You get the point. Anyway, here goes nothing!
Also, it should go without saying that I own nothing.
It had been a few months since Levy started working reception at Fairy Tail Tattoo and Piercing, and today was the day she was getting her "guild mark". She noticed the design everybody shared within the first week of working there, and asked her fellow receptionist, Mira, about it. Mira explained that it was a symbol that marked everybody who was in the Fairy Tail family. Not only did all the people working in the shop have it, but many of their regulars and friends did as well. Like wondering whether or not fairies have tails, it was to represent the endless adventure of being with those you love. Mira also told Levy that the mark wasn't a requirement to working there, and that the shop owner, Makarov (although most people just called him "master" or "gramps"), would offer it to her once she became a true member of the family.
A few days ago, Makarov approached Levy and told her she could get the guild mark whenever she wanted. Although this made her tremendously happy at being a member of the family, she wasn't quite sure if she wanted to get the mark. After all, she had quite a few piercings, but no tattoos yet. Everybody's mark just looked so…. well, big. She wasn't quite sure she wanted her first tattoo session to be something so large and colored in. So she thought about it, and finally decided that she wanted the mark, no matter how much it would hurt.
However, that didn't mean she wasn't still nervous. She had been restless the whole day while working, and the shop was finally closed. Levy had been waiting for Makarov to get everything ready for close to an hour now. As she sat there biting her nails, she felt a warm heavy hand rest on her shoulder. She looked up to see Gajeel, their main piercer, standing next to her. He leaned close to her ear and whispered, "Don't worry. It's really not that bad. You'll be fine."
She and Gajeel would chat from time to time, but they weren't really that close. That said, his words really seemed to calm her down. "Thanks! That actually makes me feel a lot better," Levy said as she smiled to herself. "Hey, would you mind sitting with me while Gramps works?"
Gajeel just stared at her for a minute before giving a nondescript grunt and walking away. Levy looked after him, confused and vaguely irritated. She then decided to do the mature thing and glare at him from across the room. That is, until she noticed that he was bringing an extra stool to where Makarov was setting up. He looked over at her and gave her a wink before plopping down. Levy was still blushing a bit when Makarov called her over.
Levy sat in the chair and Makarov got to work. When the needle touched her skin it burned, but Gajeel was right. It really wasn't that bad. With a smile on her face, she Gajeel and Makarov chatted about random things. Levy asked many questions about tattooing and Makarov was happy to answer.
Over all, it was smooth sailing. That is, until Makarov started to go over the edge of her shoulder blade. The second the needle hit her there, it was nothing like the rest of the tattoo. While, for the most part, getting tattooed really just felt like repeatedly scratching a sunburn, this felt like her skin was getting gouged out by a tiny knife over and over and over again. Her face contorted into a grimace, and she immediately stopped talking.
Noticing her silence, Gajeel looked down at her, and noted that her eyes were screwed shut. She was gripping the chair pretty hard now too. Her knuckles were turning white. He examined where Makarov was tattooing at the moment and immediately understood. This would likely be the worst part of her tattoo. He looked at the tiny bluenette next to him, and, before he could really think about it, took her hand and squeezed it gently.
Shocked, Levy snapped her gaze to Gajeel who appeared to be very interested in the wall, with a dusting of pink on his cheeks. Levy giggled, rousing Gajeel from his examination of the wall. When he looked at her again, she was smiling at him. He flashed her a spiky grin and laughed his signature laugh.
They continued like this for the rest of the session. Whenever Levy looked like it hurt more that usual Gajeel would give her hand a little squeeze, and she would relax again. Then, before she knew it, Makarov was done. "Okay, we're all done. Take it easy standing up and go check it out." Makarov said to her.
Levy excitedly popped up, not heeding Makarov's warning, and promptly started to fall over. She braced herself for impact with the floor. Then, she felt an arm snake around her waist and pull her up. She looked up to see Gajeel holding her up. "You okay, Shrimp?"
Levy blushed a deep red, and mumbled a thank you as Gajeel put her down. She then slowly and carefully made her way over to the mirror. When she saw her guild mark, she squealed in joy. It was perfect!
Sitting on her shoulder blade was a beautiful fairy tail emblem in white with an orange outline. It was exactly what she wanted. She pounced on the little master and gave him a hug. "Thank you so much Gramps! I love it!" she shrieked. Chuckling, Makarov patted her good shoulder and said, "Okay, well, let's get it patched."
With the weird black plastic bandage covering her new piece, Makarov turned to the rest of the shop and shouted, "We have a new member of the Fairy Tail family! Let's throw a party to celebrate!" Everybody in the shop cheered and called all those who weren't there. They then proceeded to make their way to the bar next door where they partied through the night and well into the morning.
Okay, that's it. How did I do? I feel like my writing is always super stiff and formal, but what do you guys think? For those of you that noticed, I did skip the tattoo prep work, but I figured it was boring and unnecessary for the purpose of this story. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed, and let me know what you think! Toodleoo!