"Get up."

Ronan's body rocked back and forth with the shaking of the bed underneath him. He rolled over onto his stomach, groaning.

"Lynch. Get up."

He opened one eye, looking groggily at Gansey.

"Jesus, what happened to you?" Gansey was standing over Ronan, kicking the bed frame. Once he confirmed that Ronan was awake he went over to the desk and started looking for something in the mess of books and loose papers that seemed to have no organizational system to speak of.

"Nothing. I ran into a couple frat bros after the tour, they gave me some beer." He blinked the sleep out of his eyes, stretching out on the mattress.

"Enough to make you pass out for the night, apparently. Did you even stay for the whole tour?" Gansey asked, though he phrased it in a way that made Ronan think he already knew the answer.

"No, I ditched the end. That guide was shit, by the way. Boring as all fuck. I went walking around town instead of coming back here to wait for you. Saw some shops." Ronan sat up suddenly. "Oh, fuck," he muttered, throwing the blankets off himself.

"What? What's wrong?" Gansey looked around, searching for what could have upset Ronan now.

The beautiful boy's face flashed through Ronan's mind. Adam. "I need some paper."

"For what?" Gansey asked, but he started opening his backpack, looking for a spare piece for Ronan.

"And a pen. Or a pencil, whatever you have. I have to write down some tattoo ideas, quickly."

Gansey looked up from his backpack. He pushed his glasses up and squinted at Ronan as though he could read a further explanation from Ronan's face. "I beg your pardon?"

"A tattoo. I need ideas for one and I need to write them down." Ronan snapped his fingers twice, reaching for the pad of paper he could see peeking out from the bag. Gansey let him take it and handed him a pencil from behind his ear.

"You're getting a tattoo?"

"Yup."

"Declan will have a heart attack."

"That's about half the point of getting it," Ronan looked up long enough to give Gansey a devilish smile. There was no reason for Gansey to know the real reason for Ronan's very sudden and very permanent decision.

Gansey shook his head but knew better than to fight Ronan on anything having to do with Declan at this moment, which is exactly why Ronan let him think that was all it was about.

Ronan scribbled several things down in quick succession. Then he looked back over his list and ripped it out of the notebook. None of these were anything that Ronan actually wanted on his body forever. He crumpled the paper and threw it in the general direction of Gansey's trash can.

"Problem?" Gansey asked.

"Yeah, there's a fucking problem. I have no idea what would make for a good back tattoo," Ronan gripped the pencil tightly, nearly snapping it. He couldn't go back to the shop without a single idea.

"All right, well why don't you think of something important to you? Then you can take that general idea to an artist and have a conversation about whether it would make for a decent tattoo design."

Something important to Ronan. What was important to Ronan? He didn't get attached to anything that could become unattached to him. Matthew and Gansey gave him the only glimpses of unconditional love he got. But he wasn't very well about to get them tattooed on him.

But maybe it didn't have to be something external. What did Ronan live for?

There was only one thing.

Ronan started scribbling frantically. "You're a fucking genius, Gansey." He folded up the paper and shoved it roughly in his pocket. Then he stood up and made to leave, but Gansey grabbed his arm as he passed.

"Wait let me just get my shoes-"

"What do you need to come for?"

"I want to check that this is a reputable tattoo shop. You have been known to make rash decisions occasionally." Ronan rolled his eyes. "What's the name of this place anyway?" Gansey pulled out his phone.

"It's- uh..." Ronan scrambled for the name, but he hadn't been paying attention when he followed Adam into the shop. He hadn't even noticed it was a tattoo parlor at first.

"You don't even know the name? Did you just walk by it and decide right then to get a tattoo?" Gansey asked exasperatedly.

"Yeah, pretty much. I remember the way to it though. Are you coming or not?"

It was Gansey's turn to roll his eyes, but he pulled his boat shoes on and grabbed the key to his room, locking it behind them.

It was a quick ten minute walk to the parlor, just off official campus grounds.

"Cabeswater Tattoo," Gansey said, looking at the sign hanging on the door. It was very obvious, but Ronan had been more than a little distracted the last time he was here.

They walked into the shop, the small bell chiming their arrival. The same girl from last time was once again atop the display case, this time smacking gum. She looked up when the boys came in, raising one eyebrow when she saw Ronan, who just now noticed that he was in the same clothes as yesterday, and the other one followed when she took in Gansey in all his khaki glory. He gave her an awkward little wave. She blew a large bubble and popped it with a sharp snap.

"You're back," she said to Ronan. "We had a pool going."

"Who's we?" Ronan asked, walking farther into the shop.

The girl gestured between herself and the pale boy leaning back in the chair at his own station who had been tattooing the tramp stamp yesterday. "Noah and me. He bet you wouldn't but I had a feeling you'd back here today," she looked smug.

"Well you were right. Congratulations. Where's Adam?" Ronan asked impatiently. The girl's smug face grew.

"Back here," came a voice from the employee only room Adam had escaped to yesterday. He came out, wiping his hands on a piece of cloth. "Oh, you're back."

"Yes, we have established that I have, in fact, come back. Can we move on now?" Ronan said irritably.

Adam shrugged and gestured him over to his station again. Gansey stayed near the display case, inspecting the different kinds of body jewelry it held and asking the girl what each one was for. Ronan could see his face pale when she explained what a Prince Albert piercing was.

Adam rolled the stool back up next to the tattoo chair, which Ronan took a seat in once again, this time letting his legs hang over the side so that his knees brushed Adam's. Ronan took small satisfaction in this minor contact but didn't let it show. Instead, he got down to business.

"I have an idea for my tattoo."

"You're still set on getting this whole back piece?" Adam didn't sound surprised, just tired.

"I am," Ronan answered firmly, leaving no room for arguments.

"All right, whatever you want, man. What's your idea?" he asked.

"Well, it's more of a vague idea than anything solid."

"I'm sure I can work with whatever you decided," Adam said, flipping to a clean sheet in his sketchbook.

"Dreams."

"Dreams?"

"Dreams," Ronan repeated confidently. Adam stared at him in way that screamed exhaustion, like Ronan was just another in a long line of nonsensical occurrences he had experienced that day. "I told you it was a vague idea."

"And I told you I could work with whatever you gave me," Adam responded. His fingers were already starting to carve shadows into the fresh page. His other hand found its way into his hair, propping his head up. "Tell me what you think when you think of dreams."

Ronan handed him the list he had made back in Gansey's room.

"Orphan Girl, raven, and night horrors? "

Ronan grunted, chewing on the leather bands he always kept on his wrists.

"Okay, who is Orphan Girl?" Adam asked.

"This girl that appears in my dreams sometimes. She kind of guides me I guess, " Ronan said, releasing the bands from his teeth.

"I see. And the night horrors?"

"They're violent things. Black. Tall. They all have claws and a beak."

"Unguibus et rostro," Adam said under his breath.

"What?" Ronan was sure he must have heard the other boy wrong. There was no way this boy with the delicate hands and the Southern drawl was currently speaking latin to him.

"Nothing," Adam said, putting the list in between two pages of his sketchbook and went back to plotting out the dark design. "So do you want me to draw up each of things for you or do you want me to try to incorporate all of them into one design?"

"Actually I was thinking it's a vague concept, maybe a vague design would be better," Ronan reasoned.

"Makes sense to me, " Adam nodded. The lines were beginning to come together to make a somewhat cohesive picture. It wasn't even close to done but there was some solid line work laid out. "I can work with that. Let me draw something up and you can tell me if you like it or if you want me to change anything. You're welcome to hang around the shop or you can leave a number and I can call when-"

"I'll stick around here, thanks," Ronan interrupted quickly. "My friend seems interested in... the jewelry." Ronan looked back at Gansey, who now had the attention of both the short girl and pale boy named Noah. Adam was already focused back on his drawing by the time Ronan looked back.

He got up and went over to stand next to Gansey, who was lecturing the other two on the importance of ley lines.

"They're intersecting lines of energy that connect many significant sacred sites. They kind of intersect like this." He took a piece of paper and a pencil off the front desk and drew a slightly rounded triangle with lines crossed. Ronan rolled his eyes. Of course Gansey had already roped them into a conversation about ley lines and Glendower.

"That's badass," Noah said, totally enraptured.

"I think so, too," Gansey said, beaming.

"You should get those lines tattooed on you," the girl said, snapping her gum again.

"Oh that would be even more badass," Noah said. "Good thinking, Blue."

"I don't know about that," Gansey chuckled nervously.

"You should," Ronan said, trying to hold in his laughter. "It would be so badass."

"I can do it now," Noah offered. "You've got time while Adam draws up his design. I can use your drawing to make a stencil real quick."

"I don't know, I'm not sure where I would even get them," Gansey said doubtfully.

The girl, apparently named Blue, blew a big bubble and let it pop. "Over your heart, because you let them guide you."

"You're an unstoppable good idea machine today," Noah said, pointing at Blue.

"Well I actually don't hate that," Gansey rubbed his hand over his chest.

Ronan eyes were wide with surprise. He hadn't thought Gansey would actually go through with getting a tattoo, but it looked like he was seriously considering it.

"Hell yeah, man," Noah reached out for a high five. Gansey smiled slightly and slapped Noah's hand. "Let me go make the stencil and you can see if you like it. If you don't, don't get it. But if you do, you let me put it on you today."

"I suppose that isn't the worst idea," Gansey acquiesced. "Okay, go draw it up or whatever you have to do."

Holy shit. Gansey was going to get a tattoo. Or think about getting a tattoo. Whatever. Gansey wasn't one to rush into big decisions like this. Ronan was about to ask him what the hell, but then he saw how Gansey was looking at Blue. So he was trying to impress a girl. Well who was Ronan to stop him? Here he was getting a full back piece just to see a beautiful boy and feel his delicate hands. Ronan decided to let Gansey do whatever the fuck he wanted. Not that Gansey listened to him all that often, anyway.

Ronan slung himself haphazardly into Noah's tattoo chair and tried not to stare across the room at Adam, who was deep into his sketchbook. His hand was still in his hair, propping up his head. Instead, Ronan watched Gansey and Blue, who were still talking about the tattoo.

"All right, let's get that shirt off," Noah said, holding a stencil sheet by the tip.

Gansey stripped it off and threw it at Ronan, who caught it just before it flopped in his face. Ronan noticed that Blue was trying not to stare at Gansey's chest and just barely failing. Gansey flexed slightly and Ronan fought not to roll his eyes again.

Noah carefully placed the stencil over Gansey's heart and pulled it off gently, leaving a purple outline of the lines Gansey had drawn.

Gansey turned to look at it in the mirror. "It looks good," Blue offered from behind him.

"Yeah it does," Noah agreed.

"Ronan?" Gansey turned back to him so he could check it out.

"Fuck yeah, Gansey. You should get it," Ronan said, reaching his fist out for him to bump.

"Yeah?" he looked in the mirror again. "I do rather like it."

"'I do rather like it'," Ronan mimicked in a higher pitched voice.

"Ronan," Gansey said. Then, "Yes. Yeah, put it on me."

"Yes!" Noah high fived Blue. The girl was so short she had to jump to reach Noah's hand.

Ronan got up so Gansey could take his place in the tattoo chair. Blue came to stand near Ronan while Noah prepped the station.

"Okay, you ready?" Noah asked, the needle poised over Gansey's heart.

"Ready as I'll ever be," Gansey replied.

Noah smiled and began tracing the stencil with black ink.

"This doesn't hurt as bad as I thought," Gansey said after a minute.

"Oh just wait, it builds," Blue said around her gum.

They waited in silence for a couple minutes, the only sound in the shop the buzzing of the needle. Slowly, Gansey's eyebrows started pulling down, his face going from relaxed to uncomfortable.

"It's not as bad as I thought," he repeated. "But it definitely hurts more than when it started."

Blue laughed. "Yeah, the constant irritation makes it get worse over time. Lucky for you this is a small tattoo so it won't take as long. You however," Blue pointed at Ronan, "will have it a lot worse with a whole back tattoo."

Ronan bared his teeth at her in a savage smile. "I think I can handle it." She shrugged.

"All right, we're done," Noah announced. "Go check it out in the mirror."

Gansey got up and looked at his angry red chest. "It looks amazing, Noah. Thank you so much. How much do I owe you?"

"Ronan," Adam called from the other side of the shop. Ronan immediately headed over, leaving Gansey to talk money with Noah.

"What's up?" Ronan asked, trying to be nonchalant, though in reality he was about to hyperventilate at the sound of his name coming out of Adam's mouth.

"I finished the first design, I wanted your thoughts on it," Adam said.

"You're already finished? Jesus fuck," Ronan swore. It had only been about half an hour.

Adam's lips curled up in a self-conscious smile. Ronan nearly swore again. He had thought it impossible for Adam to be any more beautiful until he saw that smile.

"You allowed me quite a bit of artistic freedom so I really got into it. You want to check it out?" He offered Ronan the sketchbook.

"Holy fuck, this is awesome." Ronan reverently touched the page. The design was abstract, dark and sharp looking. Feathers floated around it, and a single claw would hook over the back of his neck above his collar. Adam had perfectly captured the general feel of Ronan's dreams without even having to ask.

"You like it?"

"It's perfect."

"Okay, great. We have to talk logistics though."

"Logistics?" Ronan asked, confused. What was there besides putting it on and tattooing it?

"It'll take probably about twenty hours total, and most likely cost around four thousand. Is that going to work for you?"

Fuck, twenty hours. Twenty hours of Adam, of his beautiful face and delicate hands and being touched by him. Ronan didn't know how he was going to bear twenty hours of Adam tattooing him.

Adam cleared his throat, and Ronan realized he had just been standing there, staring at him.

"Oh, uh, yeah, yeah that's fine. Money isn't a problem. So how do we do this? Start today and hopefully finish it tomorrow or what?"

Adam laughed out loud, a deep and musical sound.

"What are you laughing at?" Ronan demanded.

"We can't do this all in two sittings," Adam chuckled. "We could probably do it in four hour increments, if you can handle it."

"It's going to be five sittings?"

"Most likely, if you think you can get through the pain."

"I think I'll be able to handle it," Ronan scoffed.

"Then yeah, five sittings, and they'll have to be about two weeks apart," Adam said, standing up and stretching out his long limbs.

"Two weeks? Each?" Ronan asked incredulously.

"Maybe three, it depends on how fast you heal," Adam shrugged.

"I'm only supposed to be here for the weekend."

"I'm afraid that's just how it is. I won't do a sloppy rush job," he said firmly.

Ronan thought for a minute. Five sittings would take about ten to fifteen weeks. Almost a whole semester.

Fuck.

"I'll work it out," he said finally.

"Great. I'll blow up the design and get a stencil. Take your shirt off and wait by my station," Adam said over his shoulder, walking to the back room Noah had disappeared into earlier.

Ronan did as he was told. As he was waiting, Gansey wandered back over to stand next to him.

"So you're getting the tattoo?" he asked.

"Part of it, apparently," Ronan grunted.

"You're going to need more sessions?"

"Yup."

"But you leave tomorrow."

"No."

"No? No what?"

"I'm not leaving tomorrow."

"You're not?"

"Nope, I'm enrolling."