They had been together for two years on Saturday and Aaron was struggling to think of a present that was good enough to give to his boyfriend on their anniversary. Everything thought of, just wasn't right. None of the ideas seemed to be the type of thing they would usually give as a present to one and other. Adam had tried to help him with suggestions as well but none of them stood out to Aaron either. He didn't have long, just under a week to get a gift sorted for the older builder. He didn't want to screw it up. Aaron wanted a gift to show Jackson just how much he meant to him, after everything he had put him through he was still there by his side. He had changed his life and for the better. Without him he didn't know where he would be right now.
He was in the cafe with Victoria and Holly when the idea for the perfect gift came to mind. They were all sitting at a table in the corner, finishing off their lunch, when Holly began to good on one of sketch books she had with her. She was just on her way to an interview in Hotton with her portfolios. She had been seeing a new guy recently, they'd been a few secretive dates and that's who's name she was idly drawing in loopy decorative scrawls in the corner of her sketch book. Aaron had been watching her draw, as Victoria moaned about Diane not doing her washing or Ironing anymore. The young mechanic began to link the sketches Holly was drawing to Tattoo designs he'd seen many people in the media or just total strangers getting inked on their skin. Often they were words like "Stand up" or "Live, laugh, love" but he'd seen a few where people had gotten names tattooed on them, or people they felt greatly for. Before he'd thought the idea of getting someone's name inked on to you skin for life was stupid but now he understood why people done such a thing, now that he had been with Jackson for a fair amount of time now.
So on Monday, Aaron parked the garage pick up truck outside a Tattoo studio in Hotton and climbed out. He was just done with dealing with a call out just on the other side of town and he was just passing the Tattoo studio on his way back. He could spare half and hour, booking an appointment and picking out a design to get tattooed on him. Cain wouldn't notice if he was a little longer getting back and if he, he would just tell him that the call out took longer than expected. There was no way he would tell Cain what he had planned. He would never live it down. As long as he got his idea tattooed somewhere where nobody would see it without him showing them, then it would be fine. Nobody would have to know he ever got a tattoo done. It wasn't as if he wondered almost naked round the village, he was always covered up, not even his legs got to come out in the summer in shorts. He still stuck to his basic t-shirts and zip up hoodies, teamed with his trackies.
"How can I help?" A slim, dark haired woman asked behind a desk inside the Tattoo studio, surrounded by several designs on the sterile white walls. She wore a little black vest top, showing off the sleeve of colourful tattoo's on one of her arms and a blue rose on her other hand.
"Urmm. . . I'm here to sort out getting a tattoo done?" Aaron answered, a little unsure. He'd never gotten a tattoo before.
"Well then, you've came to the right place." She smiled cheekily, opening up a large black appointment book, similar to the one they had at the garage, minus the engine oil and dirt marks streaked across the pages. "What was it that you where thinking of getting done?"
"I want to get a name on me, but I haven't got a design or anything." Aaron told her. He felt like a right idiot. He should have at least brought a few ideas of designs with him.
"That's okay, I can help you with that. I'll show you a few designs- basic ones and I'll sketch a few out for you now, if there's nothing you like but you have a few ideas yourself you want to try out." The woman said, brushing her hair to hang over one side of her neck and taking a mechanical pink pencil from behind her ear. "What was the name you wanted?"
"Jackson. . ."
It took Aaron forty minutes to put together a design with the helpful tattooed woman named Izzy, that he was happy with. He had even booked two appointments with her for that week to get a start on the design. Izzy had worked it out that it would take at least four two hour sessions to finish the completed tattoo due to the size and detail of it all. He had wanted to get them all out of the way before Saturday but she had advised him that it wasn't wise to put his body through that much in one whole week with little recovery time in between each session, besides she didn't have the appointment space she was that pushed for time. It also gave him more time to come up with the extra money, he could afford three sessions with her to get the tattoo inked on his skin but at the moment, not four. He hadn't put enough money away for Jackson's gift to allow for it, he'd pull a couple of extra over time at the garage and he'd be sorted for the fourth session. Aaron was already beginning to get excited for the tattoo sessions. He didn't know how he was going to keep it secret from Jackson. He had the ability to find out whatever he was hiding, whenever he was.
Tuesday lunch time, Aaron drove back to the tattoo studio on his lunch break having scored an extra hour and a half by telling Debbie that he was getting Jackson's present sorted. It wasn't a lie, he really was. He told Debbie and Cain, if Jackson came looking for him, to tell him he'd gone out on a call out or had too pick up a few parts in town. He was even allowed to borrow a garage car to save him getting the bus. He knew it wasn't out of the kindness of Cain's own heart; it was to stop him being away longer than he needed to be when there were cars needing to be fixed ready to be picked up by the owners on time. Izzy, the female tattooist, guided Aaron into one of the upstairs studio's when he arrived a couple of minutes late and asked him to take his top off and lay down on the black vinyl covered chair recliner.
"I'll just sketch it on first with a marker to double check you really want it there." Izzy told him, whipping a purple sharpie marker out of the twisted messy bun piled on top of her hair and pulling the cap off. It tickled as she traced the marker over his skin her touch light and quick as she worked the design on to his pale skin.
"There." She said, sitting back once she was done ten minutes later. "Take a look in the mirror."
Aaron climbed off the tattooing chair and stepped in front of a wall length mirror on a wall that wasn't decorated with swirls and tattoo style roses painted on to the white wash. He turned to the side and lifted his right arm above his head to look at the contrasting swirls and sharp lines, in bold and light tones, on the skin over his rib cage. The purple marker design began just a couple of inches from underneath his arm pit and snaked all the way down his side and underneath where the wasit band of his trackies and boxers would usually sit. He'd had to pull them down a little bit to allow Izzy to draw the rest.
"You're rather brave getting such a large tattoo for your first." Izzy commented. "Mine was just a silly blue rose on my shoulder blade like the one my hand."
"Yeah, well, it's the first and last." Aaron told her, going back to the tattoo chair.
"That's what they all say." She laughed. "Happy with it?"
"Sound, yeah."
"Right then, lets get started!" Izzy smiled, pulling on purple latex gloves.
Two hours later, Aaron was incredibly sore. He had picked one of the worst places to get a tattoo inked on him. Every time Izzy ran the needle along the bones making up his ribcage or on his hip bone, Aaron squeezed his eyes shut and bit down on his lip to prevent a few choice words from being yelled out at the poor girl. She was nice enough, really sweet as she made light conversation every one in a while and not annoying like most people. Once she was finished she had placed a layer of cling film over the tattooed side of Aaron's body, holding it in place with medical taped to the sides. She had handed Aaron over a box of nappy rash cream and when he had given her a puzzled disgusted look, she simply told him to rub it on when it got too sore to handle. He had Wednesday to recover, before he was back on Tuesday for another two hour session.
Hiding it at work and from Jackson proved to be more difficult than he had hoped. He hadn't allowed for the discomfort it caused him when he fixed the cars at work or when Jackson reached out to pull him closer during the many times they found things getting heated between. Wednesday night, Jackson had straddled Aaron on their bed and had began to trail kisses down Aaron's neck while he worked on unzipping the younger man's hooded sweatshirt. The young mechanic had been a little to occupied with the nipping and sucking on his neck to realise that Jackson was close to discovering the secret, he only realised when Jackson's hand began to snake up his t-shirt.
Alarm bells ringing in his head warning him his secret for Saturday would be spoiled, as their mouths locked, Aaron grabbed hold of Jackson's hands stopping him in his tracks.
"What the matter?" Jackson asked pulling away slightly , concerned.
"Nothing." Aaron assured him, pulling his head up to reach Jackson's lips again. His hands still held onto Jackson's in case they were to continue their discovering of Jackson's tattoo. The builder managed to wiggle a hand free and place it beside Aaron's head on the pillow to support his weight as they began to get carried away once again. Aaron kept Jackson's other hand from wondering and moaned into the kiss, bucking his hips up when Jackson bit down on his bottom lip.
He tried his luck once more to rid the young mechanic of his clothes but the younger man only pushed him away again.
"Aaron, tell me. What's wrong?" Jackson demanded sitting on top of his boyfriend. It was unlike him to turn down sex.
"Nothing, I told you." Aaron said, hands still on Jackson's lips.
Jackson raised a disbelieving eyebrow. Something was up.
Aaron rolled his eyes and flopped his head back on to the pillow. "I just feel a little rough tonight, that's all." Aaron lied.
"Wow you must be feeling rough, if your turning this down." Jackson laughed, stroking a hand down Aaron's stomach teasingly before rolling off of him to lie beside him.
"I didn't say I felt to rough to stop." Aaron protested when Jackson snuggled up beside him. It was killing him that he had to down sex with Jackson just so he could keep his inked side a secret for a few more days.
"Nah it's okay." Jackson sighed. "We can just cuddle. Don't want to make you feel any worse."
He was going to be glad when it was all over and he could show Jackson what he was hiding underneath his top.
Aaron's second session at the tattoo studio left him feeling more uncomfortable than the first time. Izzy had had to go over sore patches of skin with the needle as she concentrated on adding my detail. He had been in even more pain than before as the needle jammed itself into his skin a hundred and sixty times a second and he couldn't stop himself from shouting out the odd swear word when Izzy hit an extra sore spot. She had stopped a few times and told him they could stop for now and schedule the rest of the session in another time when Aaron could handle it better but the young mechanic insisted he was okay to continue. He found himself carefully applying the nappy rash cream Izzy had given him after the first session to his side that night in the bathroom to sooth his burning skin.
"Another beer please Diane and whatever he's having." Aaron said to Diane over the bar as Jackson walked into the pub Friday evening. He was slouching on to the bar, resting his weight onto his forearms, having jut got up from a table in the corner.
"Thought I would find you in here." Jackson commented as he walked up to Aaron and placed his hands on him. "Same please Diane."
As soon as Aaron felt Jackson's hands on his sides, he flinched and hissed out due to the painful contact on his right side. His side was still sore, really sore. He'd been applying the cream Izzy had given him just a few minutes before in the gents.
Like he was being scolded by the touch, Jackson whipped his hands off of Aaron and screwed his face up in concern. He hadn't meant to hurt the younger man. Diane, took, looked a little concerned as she placed the recently poured pints onto the bar top in front of them.
"You surprised me." Aaron got in before Jackson questioned him what the sudden cry out had been about.
"Rubbish." Diane scoffed. They all knew Aaron wasn't bothered by Jackson placing a hand on him in public anymore, even if he still didn't like PDA's. Besides it had nothing to with the painful hiss that escaped the young mechanics lips.
"A shelf landed on me today at work. It's nothing." Aaron lied on the spot."
"Are you sure? Do you need somebody to take a look at it?" Jackson asked eyeing Aaron with even more concern. Those shelves in the garage had always been wobbly as they stood against the walls, pilled and jammed full of heavy tools and engine parts.
"Yeah, I'm fine. And no I don't, it's alright." Aaron smiled, straightening up. "Tell me why you're so late getting back tonight? Thought you said you'd be done early." He asked changing the subject and stirring them to a free table with their drinks after leaving some money for the drinks on the bar. "Thanks Diane."
To say that he was relieved when Saturday finally appeared was an understatement, He didn't have to change when Jackson wasn't in the same room anymore or make sure Jackson's wondering hands didn't slip up his shirt. He was looking forward to continuing with the other night where they had stopped because he had lied to Jackson about feeling rough that night. He just wasn't sure when he was going to show Jackson. However as the day went on, Aaron began to doubt what he had done for the builder. What if he didn't like it? What if he thought it was stupid or silly?
They had woken up together that morning, lounging in bed till late before eventually getting up to get breakfast. Jackson had disppaeared upstairs to shower afterwards while Aaron continued to stuff his face with cereal, chickening out in joining him under the spray of water. That was when he began to doubt what he had done for the builder. He was growing more and more worried that he wouldn't like it. Jackson had come downstairs dressed in nothing but a towel wrapped round his waste, pushing Aaron against the kitchen counter as he pressed a kiss to his lips.
"Upstairs." Jackson managed to get out between brief kisses.
"No. . . . we need to leave now if we're going to make that gig." Aaron said, he knew what he had in mind. He just wasn't sure if he wanted Jackson to see his tattoo yet.
"I can wait." Jackson said cheekily.
"No, It can't." Aaron laughed. "This can wait till later, I promise."
They had brought tickets to see Skrillex live in manchester, or rather Jackson had brought the tickets knowning Aaron really liked his music. They were driving down to Manchester and driving back after the gig, so they needed to leave then if they wanted to get their in time. They managed to find a spot in the centre of the crowd in the venue, and really enjoyed themselves as the night began to get carried away. A few times Aaron had been pulled into a mosh pit and the same amount of times he'd had to pulled Jackson out of them, frightened the builder would get hurt. But it seemed the builder could hold his own in a mosh pit when they were both dragged into one, Jackson had bumped and pushed himself off people, flinging himself around and elbowing Aaron in the side as he did so accidently. He didnt' hear the young mechanic when he swore loudly in pain. Afterwards they had headed to a bar close by before driving back home. It was there, Jackson given Aaron his gift from him, like the skrillex tickets weren't enough already. A leather walled with the initials "A&J" embossed on the lower right corner on the outside. He'd felt guilty then. Jackson had brought him tickets to see skrillex and then a personalised leather wallet. Aaron hadn't even given Jackson his gift yet and it wasn't anything like he had been given from the builder. He felt bad.
All the way home Aaron had been fretting over how he was going to show Jackson his present, it wasn't as if he could put it in a envelope or wrap it up in gift paper like the wallet he'd been given. He didn't even know Jackson's opinion on tattoos. Did he like them? Did he think they were tacky or meaningful? He just didn't know. Time was ticking by now. Jackson must have thought he hadn't gotten him anything.
"Jackson. . ."
"Yeah." Jackson answered as he followed the younger man into their bedroom, tired from the drive back even though Aaron had insisted on doing the driving.
"I . . . I-just . . . look, yeah?" Aaron stumbled, turning round to face the builder when they were both in the room. He closed the door behind them and stood in front of the older man. He began to pull his black jumper up his body and over his head, slowly revealing the fresh cling film all down his right side.
Jackson had back up and sat down on the bed as he waited for the young mechanic to reveal what he wanted him to see. He was completely shocked to see the cling film on his boyfriend's side. He had seen a few of his mates tattoos just hours after getting inked on to their skin, so he knew what was underneath the cling film. What had Aaron gotten tattooed onto himself? He didn't think Aaron would be the type to want a tattoo, he'd never expressed anything about it in the past. But then again he never did express much at all. It was so big, the design.
Aaron peeled the cling film off of his side slowly, hissing every so often when he tugged it from sore places where it had gotten stuck. He knew that the tattoo wasn't finished but he hoped that it wouldn't both Jackson. There was only an outline of the entire design inked on his side at the moment. They didn't have time to fit him in for shading and finishing touches just yet.
"So what do you think?" He asked nervously, scared of the answer. Jackson was just staring at it, not saying anything.
He couldn't believe it. His name was tattooed on his boyfriends ribcage and all the way down to his hip, under the waist band of his boxers that clung to his slim hips.
". . . please say something." Aaron begged, he couldn't bare the silence. He felt stupid now. Why had he done it? "I should have known you'd hate it. It was stupid-." Aaron quickly told him reaching for his jumper he had discarded on the side.
"Shut up Aaron." Jackson interrupted him, stopping him from putting his top back on. He wasn't done looking at it. He wanted to drink in every detail, every flick and swirl and every letter that made up a word. There was so much detail to it already. "I don't hate it, more than anything I love it. I can't. . . I just can't believe you would do such a thing."
Jackson reached out to trace the tattoo that was no on his boyfriend.
"Careful." Aaron warned, tensing as Jackson's fingers ghosted across the design, feeling every bump and rigid line. It was still sore and hurt whenever his clothes rubbed against it, hence why he kept steeling Paddy's cling film to tape to his side.
"'Jackson. . . always and forever'." The builder whispered as he read the lettering that ran down Aaron's skin. 'Jackson' was written largely down Aaron's side with 'always and forever' written smaller underneath the 'ac' of his name. "Can I see the rest?" He asked when he noticed the rest continued underneath the waist band of his boxers.
Without a word, Aaron un-done his belt and then unfastened his jeans, letting them fall to the floor before he pulled the right side of his boxers down just a little to expose his tattooed hip.
"Dont do things by halfs do you!" Jackson commented on the size of the tattoo.
"No, I don't." Aaron laughed, a little more relaxed now that he knew Jackson liked it.
"This is why you wouldn't let me take your top off the other night, all the sneaking around and painful grimaces. Dont think I didn't notice. Jackson said as he pulled Aaron close to stand in between his legs. "Nothing get's past me. Does Adam or Paddy know about this?"
Aaron shook his head. He didn't want anybody to know incase they thought it was a really soppy idea.
"You sneaky little boy." Jackson laughed. "Does it hurt?"
Aaron nodded his head. "It's still not finished yet."
"Why? What more needs doing?" Jackson asked. It looked perfect to him.
"Shading." Aaron simply said, placing his hands on Jackson's shoulders.
"Well, I can now say that I have my name written on you." Jackson smirked. "You're mine now. . . forever."
"Kinda hoped you'd say that." Aaron smiled.
"I'm not surprised, that tattoo is for life!" Jackson laughed.
"Really?"
"Yes, really. Can I come with you when you get the rest done?" Jackson asked excitedly.
Aaron rolled his eyes. "If you have to."
"These tickets and wallet, I got you, don't seem enough now." Jackson sighed a little disheartened by his efforts.
The young mechanic's wish to keep his tattoo a secret didn't last long. Jackson had soon told his mother which had been heard by Pearl and then the whole village knew soon enough. Paddy, Adam, Debbie, his mum and Victoria, as well as a few others, kept crazing him to show them Izzy's work of ark inked on his side. Plus he had to put up with the speech of how romantic it was except the lecture off of Alan and Edna about how tacky and stupid it was but he didn't care. He managed to think of a few comebacks when Cain got new material on taking the mick out of him. Jackson's opinion was the only one that mattered and he seemed to be excited by it all. So excited in fact he had booked himself a few sessions with Izzy after Aaron to get a tattoo done himself when Aaron's was finished. He wasn't quite as big Aaron's but it still meant an awful lot to the young mechanic when it was finished and inked on the builders tan skin a few months later. 'Aaron' written in the same font as the younger man's design, with the same words 'always and forever' but written above the 'aron' of his name instead of underneath. The builder had gotten his tattooed on the inside of his forearm, for everyone to see. His arm was inked from his wrist all the way to his elbow, proud to be shown how much he loved the mechanic and how much he loved him.
He couldn't believe it, they had matching his and his tattoo's.
A/N – This is one of many one shots I shall be typing up every so often to mix things up a little. As some of you are getting a little bored with the current fanfic I'm trying to finish off for everyone at the moment. I'll still be continuing with that one (just like all the others that I haven't gotten round to finish) but I'll post the odd one or two one shots every now and again. If with some of them you want me to develop on them, leave a review saying so and which one and I shall do so, after I have completed all my other fanfics.
A/N 2- If you're wondering what the tattoo like Aaron has gotten on his side, its similar to these
./imgres?q=rib+cage+tattoos+for+guys&um=1&hl=en&biw=1024&bih=677&tbm=isch&tbnid=uRLGrPGyPGizZM:&imgrefurl=.com/category/amusement/&docid=KOyF6W2RiWNI9M&imgurl=.&w=420&h=594&ei=P3OFT-LGCuqG0AXl6-XQBw&zoom=1&iact=hc&vpx=458&vpy=4&dur=101&hovh=267&hovw=189&tx=111&ty=130&sig=107769403981561864733&page=2&tbnh=143&tbnw=96&start=20&ndsp=24&ved=1t:429,r:14,s:20,i:143
but with added swirls and tribal design decoration if you understand