these were all done for ameripan week back in 2017!
"Are you sure you can do this?" Porcelain fingers were laced with sun kissed, dark eyebrows knit together in concern.
"You underestimate me, babe," Even though he said that, his grip was so tight his knuckles were turning white, and the tattoo artist has yet to even begin prepping him. Alfred was laying on his stomach in one of the cushy cots of the tattoo parlor, his shirt in Kiku's lap. "Besides, I can't back out now. You've already gotten yours done."
Kiku glanced down towards his left side, where his tattoo had just finished healing. Though it lay hidden under his shirt, the image was engraved in his mind. "You aren't very good with pain."
The blonde laughed, though it was nervous. "I've been through worse, right? A tattoo ain't nothing." Alfred flashed a heroic smile that never failed to melt Kiku's heart. "But if I start crying, do not tell Arthur."
"Of course."
With that, the artist got to work.
Two hours of excruciating pain later - with Kiku's hand being the real victim with the way Alfred was holding onto it - the tattoo was finished.
"How's it look?" Alfred tried to crane his neck to get a better view.
The petals of the chrysanthemum flower took up a small section of his side, black ink still fresh against the skin. They would have to return next week for the coloring, but the design they had chosen together was so fitting on Alfred.
The decision to get matching tattoos of the others' national flower for their 164th anniversary took months to agree on (though, the actual decision to get a tattoo was something Kiku was unsure about in the first place), but when they finally did agree, weeks were spent going over designs. Pinterest boards were made, google searches went on for hours, meetings went over their heads in lieu of researching the process of receiving a tattoo. Kiku had settled on a design of two roses, blushing red, while Alfred chose a chrysanthemum that mimicked the brightness of the sun.
Kiku couldn't stop himself from lightly tracing the design with his fingers, a grin on his lips. "It looks perfect."
