HAPPY GRALU WEEK!

WEIRDO BLABBS: I posted my first entry for GraLu week a day early, apparently. Why? I blame time zones. It was already September 1st here, while in some places it was still August 31st. Although it was nothing major, I guess my conscientious nature was having a hard time adjusting to the mistake.

So, the second prompt is tattoo. This one came to me a bit earlier. And I just LOVE the plot. It's quite simple, very "typical", but I like it no matter what. This came along with me wanting to write Gray with a lip ring. I think that, depending on the person, lip rings are cool *laughs*. Also, I have this person I really admire and she got a tattoo in the exact same spot Lucy has here. She is also a reference for the design.

Hope you like it, you guys! Prepare yourself for a loooooooong chapter!

GRALU WEEK ENTRY #2 (Prompt: Tattoo)

INDECENCY AND INNOCENCE

"It's just that I don't think we're good for each other. I like excitement and you... well, you're just... plain and typical. You're the stereotype of a 'goody-two-shoes.' You don't break the rules, you're always on time. You don't even let me do anything with you!

"I just—if you were, maybe, more exciting I would think twice! Smoke! Get a tattoo, or something! Fail a subject! Don't be... like this!"

Is what he said. She kept replaying it in her mind: if you were, maybe, more exciting... if you were, maybe, more exciting. Three days have passed but she still remembered each and every word he said; the way the street lights illuminated his tired and anxious face; the smell of cigarette smoke that came from his clothes; the feeling having all the oxygen leave her brain for a temporary paralysis. She remembered it all. And, oh, what she would do to get to see him again; to let him hold her in his arms. If he wanted, she would let him kiss her, embrace her for a night.

But that would only happen if... you were, maybe, more exciting.

So there she was. It was almost six in the evening, university classes had ended over an hour ago. Lucy had summoned a great deal of courage for her to be able tell the driver not to pick her up... for her to stray from the familiar route that led to her home. She walked to the station, found the alley between the convenience store and the game shop, followed it, and got out on the other side. There, from across the street, she saw it, the parlor her friends told her about.

She stared at the image on the parlor's glass: the image of herself, the setting sun reflecting beautifully on her skin, her blond hair, and her brown eyes. Lucy looked at herself and she saw a young lady nothing short of beautiful; but apparently not beautiful enough to keep her lover attracted to her.

She was going to change that.

Smoke! Get a tattoo, or something! Fail a subject!

Lucy was going to do just that. Okay, maybe not the smoking and the failing yet. I'll do that later, she thought. She crossed the empty street and stood in front of the door with the sign 'Tattoo Parlor' and 'OPEN'. With a huge breath, she held the handle and pushed the door open. A bell rang.

The tattoo parlor was not very wide but it was long and extended a few meters in front of Lucy. Contrary to what she would expect, it was well-lit and clean, with pictures of models and tattoo designs plastered on the walls. There were couches as well, a coffee table, and a number of tattoo design magazines. Lucy breathed in and smelled cigarettes and ink; it was faint, but it was there. With one cold foot, she stepped inside.

"Huh," someone said, surprising Lucy. She jolted and looked at the door near the back of the room. A young man was standing there, wearing a white shirt and dark jeans.

"Uhm, good evening," she greeted politely.

"Evenin'," he greeted back. He stepped closer to Lucy and put out a single cigarette on the ash tray. "Are you lost or something?"

"N-No," Lucy replied and straightened her back. Now that he got closer, Lucy could see the tattoos all over the man's arm. On his entire right arm was a tattoo of a dragon snaking from under his shirt to his arm. The snout of the dragon was opened wide, angry at the tiger facing it. The big cat was tattooed from his wrist to the part of his forearm connected to his elbow. There were so many colors on it that instead of being ugly and dirty, Lucy actually thought it was very artistic and well-made. Maybe it was also because of the fact that the man's skin was quite pale, like a canvas. "I..."

"So... you came here on purpose?" he asked. The blonde looked at his face this time. He had unruly jet black hair, but the tips were bleached ash gray. He had—as much as Lucy could estimate—around four earrings on each lobe and a lip ring that hung on his lower left lip. He crossed his arms and now Lucy could see that the back of his left arm was also tattooed with something that went along the lines of 'TO LIVE IS TO FEEL THE PAIN OF—'. "You wanna get a tattoo?"

"Yes," she wanted to say. But the sight of the man was just so shocking that Lucy could not even open her mouth. Instead, she could feel her knees wobble, her heartbeat race. Her eyesight blurred and she could feel cold sweat running down her neck. Her head was screaming run away and delinquent!

"H-Hey, are you alright—?" he started to say.

But Lucy was already gone.

The next day, around the same time she came by the day before, Lucy found herself standing in front of the parlor again. She was embarrassed at her previous actions and she came back thinking it would only be good manners to explain herself to the man she met.

He must have thought I'm some sort of weirdo, she thought. Lucy crossed the street, held the handle, and opened the door. The same interior greeted Lucy, although the smell of cigarette mixed with the smell of ink and... was that antiseptic? Moreover, the man from last night was sitting on the couch, reading a magazine. Today, he was wearing a sleeveless black shirt, that showed his tattoos more boldly, and khaki jeans.

"He-Hello?" she said.

The man looked up and smirked. "You're the girl from last night," he said familiarly. He put down the magazine and stood up. "What can I do for you?"

"I wanted to apologize for my behavior yesterday," she said with a slight bow, "and I'm also thinking of getting a tattoo."

"Well, shit," he said.

"I'm sorry? What was that?"

"Nothing," the man answered, "I just thought that it was unusual for people like you to come to places like this for a tattoo."

He started to walk to the back door, and gestured for Lucy to follow. She did.

"People like me?"

"People who look at my tattoos and cringe," he answered. He turned to glance at Lucy and continued, "Or in your case, panic."

Lucy laughed dryly. "I'm sorry. It wasn't because... I was just a bit overwhelmed by... things."

"Hey, it's alright. No harm done," he assured. "So, have you thought of what you wanted to have?"

"No," Lucy answered.

They were inside another room now, separate from the area that greeted Lucy. It was a small room; walls painted white, a table in the middle and a huge chair (a dentist's chair?) beside it. There were cupboards all over near the low ceiling, a single sink facing the door. On the table were different kinds of equipment that looked like drilling tools or injections.

"Hm... okay," he said. He took one magazine from under the table and gave it to Lucy. "For now, why don't you look at some designs and see what you might like?"

Lucy took it. He gestured for her to sit on the chair, the one that looked like the dentist's, and she obliged. "Thank you."

"You're from the university, aren't you?" he said, "I see you around from time to time."

She looked up. "Yeah, I'm majoring in literature. Are you a student there, too?"

He nodded. "Sure am. I'm an art major and I work part-time here. Name's Gray."

"Lucy," she said and held out her hand. Gray snickered. "What?"

"Nothing," he said, taking her hand and shaking it. "You really are one of those 'goody-two-shoes,' aren't you?"

Goody-two-shoes? "I'm sorry? Are you trying to insult me?"

"'Course, not," he gleamed, "I'm just saying that you're... pretty, proper, and polite."

Lucy blushed and busied herself with looking at the designs on the magazine. "W-Well, maybe you should try choosing your words before you say anything so nobody misunderstands?"

"Don't even know how many times people have said that shit to me," he chuckled. Despite his choice of words, Lucy actually found Gray charming—which was alarming since she always usually fell for the 'bad boys'. How clichéd, she thought.

There was a pregnant pause between them. Gray seemed to be preparing tools for inking; apparently the drilling tools Lucy saw were actually brushes. Meanwhile, Lucy was quietly weighing over whether she should choose to have a tattoo of a fairy or a butterfly.

"So... why is a girl like you suddenly so keen on getting a tattoo?"

"N-None of your business," she said and covered her face with the magazine. She was sure she was crimson now.

Gray hummed, suspicious. He put a finger on the magazine and lowered it so he could see Lucy's face. "There's a boy, isn't there? You wanna get his attention?" His lips split into a teasing smile and Lucy thought that the way his lip ring dangled right there was cute.

Lucy looked away, embarrassed. "So what if you're right?"

"Hey, I don't judge. So is he the type who likes inked girls?"

"No... he just said that if I were more exciting maybe we'd get back together..."

Gray was quiet for a while. Then, "So you think getting a tattoo's gonna change anything?"

"It's better than waiting for him to come back to me," she said. "He was my first boyfriend, too."

"You know, I can sense that you're smart. But your logic is pretty fucked up."

Lucy's ears perked. "And how can you say that? Is it wrong to do everything to make the person you like happy?"

"Nothing, of course. But your if-then reasoning of 'if I get a tattoo' and 'then we get back together' is just... fucked up."

"Oh, I'm sure you have a heroic reason for getting all your tattoos and piercings. Is there a contest or something?" she said, just to say something that sounded remotely like a tease.

He looked at her with sad eyes, then turned away. "When you pierce and ink your skin, it hurts. I thought if I felt pain so bad, I wouldn't be able to feel the pain from this world... I'd be numb to it." He sighed. "I was wrong, of course."

"I... I'm sorry, Gray. I didn't mean to—" A snicker. Then soft chuckling. Until Gray broke into laughter. "What?"

"You didn't have to be so sorry about it," he said in between laughs. He was laughing so hard he looked like he was in pain, "You're too sympathetic!"

"That's not very nice!" she complained.

"Sorry, sorry," he apologized. "It's just that... you're so fucking innocent I couldn't help but tease you a little."

"Meanie..."

He smiled at her so widely that Lucy forgot she was mad. Despite his looks, Gray was a nice guy. Sure, he looked like someone you'd see hanging out with the wrong crowd but he was actually...not. Lucy closed the magazine and laid it on the surface of the table beside her.

"I just... I want him to like me," Lucy started. Gray seemed interested when he took a stool and sat in front of her so Lucy retold what had happened when she broke up with her boyfriend. The man in front of her stared and listened, occasionally saying, 'Uh-huh' and 'Go on'. Lucy ended with the exact words he had said to her that night. "And so... I... want to... I don't know... maybe get him back."

"I really think you should get back at him instead of getting him back. Anyone who thinks they've got rights to change someone is nuts. I mean, every man should think that the girl is absolutely perfect the way she is before he confesses to her. Any less that and it's just infatuation. It's not love.

"Geez, really, people trying to change people. That's why nobody ever gets along in this world," he said. Gray stood up from the stool and took a tray of tools and ink to place on the table.

"That's deep, Gray," Lucy teased.

"What, I'm not allowed to be deep?" he asked, as if he was being insulted. "Just because I've got these tattoos, and these piercings, and this hair, I'm not allowed to be deep? Well, little miss, I'm gravely insulted."

Lucy laughed. "I think I like you better when you're being a foul mouth."

"Fucking guessed as much," he said. "So, have you decided on a design yet?"

"No... sorry," she said. "But, hey, I'll tell you what. Why don't you ink what you think would suit me? I'll trust whatever you think is good."

"We've only just met," he said, "If you're too trusting, you'll get exploited."

"I don't know. I just feel like I can trust you," she said. "Can't I?"

He smiled. "Alright, alright. How would you feel about a tattoo of a naked woman's body?"

"Shut up and be serious!" she said, giggling. "I want it tattooed on my back, below my neck."

"Are you sure you don't want me to tattoo you on your arm or on your ankle or something?" She nodded. Lucy wondered why Gray suddenly looked sheepish. He scratched the back of his neck and then said, "Alright, take off your shirt."

"Eh?"

Lucy didn't like the idea of being half naked while getting inked so Gray gave her one of his button up-shirts and she wore it loosely such that he could work on the area she wanted. The moment the cold brush and the wet ink touched Lucy's skin, she flinched and kept moving because of pain.

"Ow, ow, ow, ow!" she complained. With every 'ow' her body would straighten up and Gray would have to stop working.

"Hey, do you want this fucking tattoo or not?" he said. "Stop moving!"

"S-Sorry," she said, "I just didn't think it would be this painful."

"Well, I warned you, didn't I?" he said. Gray moved in front of Lucy, still holding his tools, and said, "If it hurts too much, grab hold of me. Just don't pinch or scratch."

"O-Okay," she said.

Lucy bent lower, clutching a handful of Gray's shirt as the sound of the machine started. It made contact with her skin and the pain was there again. She was sure she whimpered. Gray chuckled.

"Stop laughing—ow!" she said.

"Sorry, sorry," he said. "It's just that you sounded like a kitten."

"Is this going to take any longer?"

"A bit, yeah... There're a lot of details to this one and I want it to be perfect."

Gray started with his work again and Lucy was really hurting now. Did he just hit a bone there? Lucy closed her eyes to the pain. It really hurts. Why the heck was she going through all of this for that guy? Ow, ow, ow! It's not like he was the most handsome, most charming guy—yikes, I feel like I'm being skinned! Gray was surely more handsome and more charming than that guy!

"Ow!" she said and tightened her grip on Gray's shirt.

"Here," Gray said as if he could feel her difficulty in bending down like that while withstanding the pain. He put both her arms and wrapped them around his torso. "If it hurts real bad, just squeeze."

"Okay..."

The tools made contact on Lucy's skin again; it hurt. She hugged the man tightly. Ow—! That guy better get back with me after this, she thought as she embraced Gray's torso. Wait, his torso, she thought. Wasn't that position... really awkward? Lucy flushed and her mind went blank. She was hugging a total stranger. How very inappropriate!

"It's done."

After all, they've only known each other for a few hours, not counting yesterday's incident. Surely this was considered un-lady-like? Ugh, she felt so stupid now.

"Lucy?"

"Yeah?"

"It's done. You can let go now."

"O-Oh," she said, flushing. Lucy immediately released her bear-hold on Gray and sat up straight. "Thank you. Sorry about that."

"It's okay. So, you wanna see it?" he asked.

"Yes, please!" she answered excitedly. She handed him her phone and he took a picture of her new tattoo.

Lucy saw a very colorful flower-like figure with eight petals extending from the circle at the center. The circle was designed with an infinity symbol intricately adorned with lines and curves. Three more sets of petal-like figures extended from the innermost petals. It looked like a small flower on top of a bigger flower, atop a bigger flower, atop and even bigger flower, and seen from above. Each petal had different designs and shapes and colors. This whole, complex figure was enclosed in a ring, a thick black circle with the words 'ABSOLUTELY PERFECT' repeatedly inked in white around it.

"Do you know what that is?" he asked.

"It's a flower... isn't it?" Gray chuckled.

"It's a mandala," he answered. "The mandala is the symbol of perfection. It's like saying, you want to achieve complete balance in your life: between good and bad, light and dark..."

"Yin and Yang?" Lucy asked.

"Yeah, like Yin and Yang," he answered. "Do you like it?"

She smiled at him, "Yes, I do... very much."

Lucy had the whole night planned out: she was going to the club her boyfriend frequented, impress him with her new image, and get back together with him. It was a simple, fool-proof plan. It was bound to succeed and before the night ends, she would have him back.

She looked around the club, the sound blasting from the stereo beating on her eardrums so loudly she felt like they'd explode. The lights danced around the club in circles, the entire place was flooded in blue. Lucy looked around for a familiar face—his face—but she found nobody. Deciding that she would be able to find him faster if she was on the second floor, she climbed the stairs.

People stared at her as she walked by. Maybe it was the fact that she put her hair up, or put on makeup, or maybe the black spaghetti strap, her fitting jeans, and her boots that left nothing to imagination. Or maybe it was the way she carried herself; the confidence she exuded as she walked, brandishing the tattoo she had like a badge. No matter what it was, it felt good. Lucy felt good.

She reached the rails in no time. It was just as loud there as everywhere else in that club. The lights were red now and it was very exhausting to the eyes. Lucy really found no way she could see him even from up there—

"Excuse me, miss?"

Lucy turned and saw... him. That chestnut shade of brown could not hide in the red light bathing the room. His black eyes, his cunning smile. He still smelled of cigarettes. She felt something warm start to grow in her gut.

"Lucy?!" he exclaimed with such a shocked face that made Lucy's heart fill with pride. "Wow, I—I didn't recognize you—wow!"

"Really," she answered, smiling sheepishly. She could feel his gaze on her exposed shoulder, her chest that the plunging neckline did not hide. She was wearing clothes but she felt naked under his gaze. She hasn't looked at him that way before.

"You really look like a completely different person!" he rambled. "You're so... bad-ass!"

Lucy could only purse her lips in reply. Her heart was pounding, not due to excitement but due to... anxiety? Nervousness? The growing heat started to rise from the pit of her stomach to her chest and her throat. It wanted to be let out.

"Hey, are you alone? You want a drink?"

Her face hardened. He had never offered her a drink before, even when they were at a café or the few times they went to clubs together with friends. In fact, he was never this nice to her.

Of course, he's nice to you, said a voice at the back of her head, you just changed for him. He's excited what else you're willing to do for him.

It was then that she recognized that bubbling emotion in her stomach, in her chest, and the rest of her body. It wasn't one emotion, but a lot, mixing together like hot lava from a volcano ready to erupt.

"Come with me—"

"No," she whispered in reply.

"What did you say, honey?"

Discouragement. Resentment. Disgust.

"I said," she said louder this time and brushed off the hand that somehow made its way to her waist, "'NO FUCKING WAY!'"

Lucy screamed so loud that she felt as if everyone within a five-meter radius had stopped moving and dancing to stare at them. She didn't mind, though. She was past the point of timidity; this sorry excuse of a man in front of her thinks she was perfect now that she wasn't herself.

"Lucy, relax—" He reached out a hand to touch her but she slapped it.

"Don't touch me!" she started. "You have no right to touch me! What, now that I'm suddenly foxy and... and... sexy, I'm acceptable to you? When I was 'me', I wasn't enough? Is that it?"

"Honey," he looked around nervously, a million eyes witnessing the blonde's outburst, "Let's not talk about this here—"

"Don't 'honey' me!" she squealed. "And what's wrong with them looking? It's not like you're ashamed that you dumped me because I didn't smoke, didn't have a tattoo, and had perfect grades, right? What's so embarrassing about that?

"Or are you actually concerned that I'll tell everyone how you're trying to woo me now? Now that I've transformed into that lady from those magazines you're so fond of?" she continued. She showed him her tattoo, "And look, I've got a tattoo now. I bet you're just exhilarated beyond comparison because of this, aren't you? Think you got me wrapped around that perverted finger of yours?!

"Well, tough luck, you sorry bastard!" she swore once again, and she could no longer control the way her body was freeing itself from all the negativity she'd been feeling up until that point. "'CAUSE YOU AIN'T GETTING ANY OF THIS—"

"Woah—hey! Lucy, there you are!"

A huge warmth covered Lucy from the shoulder to just above her knees. It was a coat that smelled of cigarettes... and ink. Lucy looked up when she felt an arm pull her close to an even warmer body. It was Gray: skin still covered in tattoos, ears still pierced, hair still bleached. He looked like a dangerous man... but she felt strangely safe and secure.

"What...?" was the only word that came out of her mouth.

"I only took a little while in the bathroom and you already lost your way, eh?" he started, much to her confusion, and tucked a stray clump of hair behind her ear. She shivered upon contact.

"Is he with you?" Oh, right, Lucy thought, he's still here, this guy. He looked at Gray with a flabbergasted expression. "You know this guy, Lucy?"

"Hm...?" Gray slowly turned to glare at the other man. "You must be her ex -boyfriend. She's told me a lot about you."

"Who're you?" he asked. His voice was shaking but he tried to act boldly.

"Me? I'm the man who found the treasure you threw away," he confidently answered. Lucy felt a chill in her spine. Somehow, Gray was scaring even her, acting like that. "I'm sorry if you thought you could still take her, but just so it's clear: this—" he pulled Lucy close to him, his nose and lips touching her forehead; she didn't know how they looked but she could sense it was nothing short of suggestive, "—is mine."

Gray led her by the waist down the stairs. She felt like a huge mannequin just being dragged around by Gray for the first few steps. But then she felt herself: how light and relaxed she was feeling. Lucy eased. The sound of the club was deafened by the sound of Gray's heart as she listened to it through his chest. The nauseous smell of alcohol was drowned by his scent. The piercing gaze of strangers could not penetrate her, knowing Gray was looking at her.

She didn't realize until then that she had been holding Gray's hand all along.

"Here, coffee," he said as he handed her a steaming hot cup. She gratefully accepted it, and Gray sat beside her on the bench.

They were in a park now. God knows how long she and Gray had been walking hip to hip like some sort of conjoined twins. But there they were, away from the noise and the smell. They both looked far away, beyond the benches and the shrubs, the maze of buildings and street posts.

They were both quiet.

Then, Gray started to snigger which turned into uncontrollable laughter. Lucy found this strangely contagious, and she laughed with him until they were both laughing with tears in their eyes. The hot cups lay forgotten, like everything else.

"I didn't think you had it in you to curse!" he exclaimed. "What did you say back there? Uh..."

"'Well, tough luck, bastard 'cause you ain't getting any of this'," they chorused and laughed again.

"Brilliant! Absolutely brilliant!"

"What were you doing at that club?" she asked him. She pulled his coat, which remained her source of warmth, closer to her. "Were you following me?"

"No, no," he denied and waved his hands in front of him. "Purely coincidence, I swear to you. I frequent that club."

"Oh..." she nodded and looked away. "It's lucky that you were there, though. I don't think I would have lasted any longer if you hadn't interrupted."

"What can I say?" he said smugly, "My timing is impeccable."

The two laughed again. When they stopped, Lucy said, "Thank you."

"Hm? For what?"

"For the tattoo... It gave me confidence I never thought I had," she said.

Gray shook his head. "You should stop giving all the credit to others and start admitting that it was you all along," he started. "I never gave you confidence, and that tattoo is just an accessory. If anything is praiseworthy, it's you."

"Thanks..." she said, "and thanks."

"Woah, any more thanks and I'll explode." he chuckled. "Anyway, next time you should really just find a better man."

Lucy looked at Gray as he stared up at the sky. In that moment, Lucy grabbed Gray by the collar of his shirt and clumsily bumped her lips against his for what she considers a kiss. She released him and exhaled. Gray was frozen.

"Okay, I'm contented now," she said.

"What was that?" Gray asked, surprise evident in his voice.

"Th-That was... um... my first kiss," she said. "I gave it to you as a present... in exchange for the mandala."

"No... What I meant was, 'You call that a kiss?'"

"Erm..." Lucy looked away, embarrassed by her inexperience. "Yes?"

"You mean that bloke didn't teach you anything?"

"Well, I don't know about you but I have the decency not to kiss any man aside from my father."

Gray grabbed Lucy by the back of the neck—forceful but at the same time gentle—and put their faces close to each other. He smirked. "But you kissed me and I'm not even your boyfriend. Where's the decency in that?"

Lucy looked away sheepishly. Gray chuckled.

"You know I'm quite possessive," he said. "I don't trust anyone else with my things."

"I'm not a thing," she retorted.

"Then imagine what I'd be like with you," Gray said, smirking. He inched closer.

"You're not my boyfriend," she said to him. "At least have some decency."

"Fuck decency," he said.

And he closed the gap that had been begging to be closed since the beginning.

WEIRDO BLABBS AGAIN: This was actually hard to write because there were so many details, so many sensations, so many thoughts that I wanted to bring to light. Also, I have NO IDEA WHATSOEVER about what happens when you get a tattoo so if I got some things wrong here or if Lucy and Gray's position while he was inking her was impossible, I'm sorry. I wanted it to be a bit funny but I suck at writing that. I hope it turned out better that I think.

R & R! Happy GraLu Week!

Other GraLu fanfictions by this author:

-Another Shot at Love

-Good Taste

-Massage?

-Starstruck!

-Starstruck! Encore

-Going, Going, Gone

-The Simple Life

If you are interested in my other works not stated above, please go to my FanFiction profile: /~weirdoblabber