The rays of the sun were spilling over the bedroom window of two beautiful women. Their linen covered bodies were intertwined, limbs tangled under the messy sheets. An ocean of blue orbs lazily opened, blinking a few times, her hand came up to brush the sleep away from her eyes. Her gaze landed on the sleeping woman beside her.
A smile formed on the redhead's face, her hand found its way on the frame of the sleeping brunette's face. The redhead's fingers lightly treaded the face of the brunette, reaching the brunette's jaw, she continued her travel to the slope of the brunette's neck up to her shoulder, and stopping on the end of a flower-patterned tattoo.
The redhead's hand once more began its journey, her fingertips danced while traversing on every inch of her lover's exposed arm skin. She once again stopped as her fingers were met with the inked letters. Going back up, the redhead swiped the brunette's collarbone, lowering her hand; she reached its final museum stop. Just above the sleeping girl's heart is a paw of a dog etched permanently on it.
Chloe felt Beca move, blue met brown, a sigh of "good morning" was heard from the brunette. Chloe was smiling, Beca smiled back.
"You're in a good mood." Beca then reached for the redhead's hand and intertwined her fingers with hers.
Chloe brought their intertwined hands to her lips and kissed the smaller girl's knuckles.
"I opened my eyes and I was met by the sight of the most beautiful woman. If that can't put me in a good mode, I don't know what can."
Beca chuckled and placed a gentle kiss on the lips of Chloe.
"Tell me again the story of your tattoo." Chloe said after they parted from the sweet kiss.
"Which one?" Beca asked.
"All of them." Chloe responded.
"You already know the story of my every tattoo."
"I want to hear it again." Chloe wrapped her free hand around Beca's mid section. "I love hearing the sound of your voice."
Beca laughed in response.
"How old were you when you first got your tattoo again?"Chloe asked.
"16."
"Is that even legal?"
Beca snuggled closer to Chloe's body.
"How old were you when you got that bug tattoo?"
"18." Chloe then looked up and fixed her gaze on the brunette.
"You waited to be 18 just to have a bug tattoo?"
"Well, yeah. I'm not the one to break rules."
Beca chuckled, "Well you know me, rules schmules."
The two laughed, Chloe asked Beca to tell her once more the story behind her first tattoo, the dog paw on her left chest.
Beca was 8 when she had her first dog, she named him Billy. He was everything a kid wanted, a fury four-legged animal that loves you no matter who you are. When she turned 14, it was only Beca, her mom, and Billy. Beca buried the anger she felt towards her dad for leaving her mom, for leaving her.
Billy wasn't just a dog, Billy was her best friend. Sure she had some friends who are human, but Billy wasn't like any other. Nobody can calm Beca the way Billy does. And then she turned 16, Billy got sick. A few months after her birthday, she watched as they put Billy down. Her mom held her when she cried over it.
Two days after Billy died, Beca texted her friend whose sister is a tattoo artist. With a paper safely tucked inside her jean pocket, she grabbed her wallet and set off to the shop. Handing the paper with Billy's paw print on it, she asked the girl to place it on her left chest, just above where her heart beats.
Billy got Beca through the hard times, and with every pain the needle presses on her skin, she honors it to Billy.
Chloe traced the paw print.
"He was great." Beca reminisced.
"How about this?" Chloe touched Beca's arm with letters in cursive inked on it.
Beca was 17, her mom wasn't the same. She wasn't the same. Beca dove into the darkness, she hides behind her sarcastic remarks and the badass attitude. She didn't know how to feel now, wasn't sure if she can even feel anything.
Maybe Beca was depressed. Maybe she was far into the darkness she can't go back. She badly wanted to feel something, her dad leaving left a big dark mark into hers and her mom's life. Her dad was happy, they weren't.
A few times, a blade will be held between her fingers, maybe seeing her blood ooze for a few seconds will help her remember that she's still living, that there's a chance of feeling something.
It was a Friday night, she sat in the same chair where Billy's paw print was tattooed on her skin, and once again, the pain of the needles pressing on her skin made her flinch yet at the same time, comforted her.
"This is actually kinda symbolic." Beca said as she lifted her arm where her name was inked on it.
"How so?"
"I wanted to cut back then, see if I was still living." Beca smiled and continued, "I decided to have my name tattooed here so when I think of cutting, I'll be able to stop myself. If I cut where my name is, it means I'm not only cutting my skin, I'm also cutting, Beca."
Beca paused for a few seconds, and sighed. "If that even makes any sense."
"It does. How about the last one, the flowers?"
It was a month before Beca heads out to College, specifically before she's forced into going in one. She'd rather work in the music industry rather than owing his father for sending him to a university. She's in her father's car, he fetched her, he said he wanted her daughter to meet her stepmom over dinner.
They were having dinner, awkward conversations were alongside the meal, then her stepmother noticed her arm. She asked why she did that, she said it was wrong of her to do that. She said it was ugly and she should have it removed.
Beca was pissed beyond hell, she took the bus and didn't go straight home, instead she went to a tattoo shop once more. Who was she to tell her that, and her dad, her own father didn't even say something.
A book of designs was propped on her lap, she wanted to piss that stepmonster of hers, she found the flower design, pointed it to the artist and told her where she wanted it done.
"Every time I go over for dinner, she gets pissed." Beca said and sat up. "Story time's over, come on and let's get breakfast."
"No." Chloe protested and tackled Beca back in bed.
"Chloe!" Beca shrieked.
Chloe pinned Beca's arms and straddled her. She then kissed Beca right on the lips, leaving trails of kisses on her neck until she reached the brunette's chest. Chloe placed a lingering kiss on the paw print tattoo. Kissing her way up to Beca's collarbone, she left a kiss on the flowers on her shoulder.
Chloe's hand then caressed the arm of Beca where her name was permanently drawn, her thumb circling the edges of it.
"Three tattoos," Chloe whispered against Beca's lips, "Will there be more?"
Beca flipped Chloe over, the redhead now in the position she placed the brunette seconds before. Beca kissed Chloe and whispered in her ear making the redhead shiver.
"I actually have four, four tattoos."
"Where's the other one?" Chloe's eyebrows furrowed. She swore she knew every inch of Beca's skin, apparently there's one more piece of art that she missed.
Beca got off of the redhead and sat up, the redhead followed suit, propping their pillow for the comfort of their back. Chloe watched Beca remove the gold band of ring she slipped on the day of their wedding day.
"Here's the fourth one." Chloe held her wife's left hand and inspected her ring finger, and on that finger, where the ring hides that part of the skin, she saw Chloe Beale in white ink. It was even patterned on her own handwriting.
"When did you get this?"
"The day I told you I love you."
Chloe smiled, she touched the skin where her name was tattooed on, it was small and one would almost miss it, she missed it for Merlin's sake.
"Out of curiosity," Chloe started as she watched Beca slip her ring back, "We were only dating back then, what if we broke up, would you have that removed?"
"No." Beca faced her wife and held her hand. "If there's one thing I would never regret, that's writing your name in my skin. Even if you broke up with me, I wouldn't want it gone. You've done so much for me, you loved me and cared for me in my worst."
"Why have it inked there?"
Beca grabbed Chloe's left hand and lifted the redhead's ring finger. "They say that vein of our ring finger's the one nearest to our heart, that's why that's where you place the ring symbolizing your love for your other half."
"So I'm the vein leading to your heart?" Chloe joked.
"If I could tattoo you in my heart, I would." Beca laid her forehead against Chloe's, and mouthed, "But I don't have to, because you are my heart."
Chloe pressed her lips on Beca's soft ones, "I love you."
"I love you too." They shared a smile. "Come on, let's get some breakfast!"
Chloe laughed and took the hand Beca was offering.
Thanks for reading, awesome nerd!