Haru and Yuki head off to the tattoo parlor with some interesting results...

Disclaimer: Not mine, never was, never will be.

Inked

"Are you absolutely sure about this, Haru?" Yuki inquired of his friend as they walked along the path to their chosen destination. "I mean, won't it hurt? A lot?"

Haru nodded and brushed his hair aside so Yuki could see the three piercings in ear. "Yuki, I've had all these done and I didn't flinch. How much worse could a tattoo be?"

"But they stick a needle in you many, many times..." Yuki trailed off and shuddered at the thought of needles. Since his first vaccination when he was two he hated needles with a passion. He feared them almost as much as Akito. Almost.

Haru shrugged. "Well I'm getting it on my arm which shouldn't hurt too much. Besides, it should look incredibly cool." Haru had a thing for looking cool. It was one of his few hobbies, aside from destruction, quiet reflection, and standing under sprinklers.

Yuki shivered again and turned away from his friend. He could not understand anyone's desire to have a needle put anywhere in their body for any reason, ever. Haru tried to pierce his ear when they were twelve. Yuki spent half the night throwing up in the toilet from the pain and the sight of blood with a concerned and fervently apologizing Haru gently rubbing his back. Yuki had no problem when he punched Kyo's nose and made him bleed, but when the red stuff came from his own ear it was a whole different story.

They reached the doors of the tattoo parlor, which didn't look nearly as scary or as unsanitary as Yuki had imagined. Not that he was a coward, or anything. It was just a penthouse for needles. Damn. Those needles again.

There were no other customers in the shop when they entered, and a surprisingly normal looking man greeted them. He nodded to Haru like he was an old friend; Yuki deduced that this was where Haru had gotten his ears pierced.

"Morning, Hatsuharu. Everything's ready like you asked."

"Thank you," Haru nodded. He looked at Yuki, who was marveling at a photo of someone with snakebite piercings and said, "Okay, he's first."

Yuki blanched white as the snow for which he was named. "Hatsuharu Sohma, what kind of sick joke..."

"You're first, sweetie. I set up the appointment and he's all set. Don't worry, you'll be fine."

"Fine!" Yuki's voice rose hysterically. "Fine? I can't even go to Hatori to get a vaccine, and you expect me to get needles shoved in my arm for an hour! How can you say I'm fine! And don't call me sweetie when you're being manipulative!"

"Relax, sweetie," spoke Haru, obviously ignoring Yuki's crazed rantings. "You'll be all fine, I swear. You'll love the tattoo your getting."

"I don't even get a choice in my own self-mutilation? Haru, you're being a bastard! Stop! Now! EEEEEE!"

The man who owned the shop also disregarded the rat's distress and took him gently by the arm. "Come right this way, sir, it won't take very long."

Yuki shot Haru a glare that said, "If I make it through this ordeal without passing out, vomiting, or screaming like a little girl, I swear I will hang you up on a fence by your privates and watch Akito throw sticks at you." Haru grinned cheekily at him and followed the two into a back room.

The owner sat a trembling Yuki into a chair and rolled up his sleeve. "Now, close your eyes. It's better if you don't look, really." Shaking all over like a puppy left in a storm, Yuki squeezed his eyes shut and tried to return his breathing to normal without having an attack. He was slightly relieved when he felt Haru's hand grasp his own and squeeze it reassuringly.

"Okay, I'm ready. One...two...three!"

Yuki screamed in pain as he felt the needle...wait, where was the needle?

He opened his eyes tentatively to see a patch pressed onto his skin and Haru smirking at him like a bastard. "It's a temporary tattoo." he explained. "It's made of a special ink that will last about four weeks. If you want it redone you can come back."

"So...I'm not going to be stabbed with a thousand needles?"

"Yuki, you know me. I'd do that sort of thing to someone I dislike, like Kyo, not you." Yuki exhaled a shaky breath and started laughing. "Oh god, I thought you were serious. I really thought you were serious."

"You need to lighten up," spoke Haru. "You are definitely too high-strung".

The owner finished on Yuki's tattoo and pulled away the patch so he could see. "The symbol for the Ox? That must mean..."

"I'm getting the Rat," Haru replied. "Okay, mister. Stab me."

Haru sat down in a chair with his best "I'm getting another needle shoved in me" face. He didn't flinch when his arm was swabbed with antiseptic solution. He didn't flinch when he saw the ink feel the needle. He didn't flinch when he saw Yuki standing across from him, hands clasped over his mouth as though he were watching someone walk down an empty hallway in a horror movie. "Relax, Yuki, I can handle this."

But as the shiny silver point gently touched his skin, the Ox interjected, "Actually, do you have this in a temporary form too?"

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