Tonight was one of those nights when Kozik came in by himself since Hap was going to be gone for a few days for 'club shit'. He was nursing a beer and playing with Ace as I yelled for last call. Most of the patrons were getting up to pay their tabs or getting one last drink for the night. As the stragglers sat around nursing their drinks I started wiping down the bar and ended in front of Kozik's stool.
"Hey, Jade." He greeted and I smiled.
"Hey, Koz."
"Hey, are you thinking about getting a new tattoo?" Kozik asked, looking up as he let go of Ace's tug rope allowing Ace to prance off happily with his toy thinking he'd won.
"I'm always thinking about getting a new tat. But it usually takes me awhile to decide what I want and where. Why?" I asked as I leaned against the counter.
"Just figured it was you since no one else in the club had said anything." Kozik said with a shrug while I became confused.
"What are talking about?" I asked, Kozik looked up from his beer and seemed to catch on to my confusion as his brows furrowed.
"Hap's been working in his sketch book a lot lately. I asked the other day what he was working on and he just told me it was a tat for someone. Hap has only done club work since he patched in and no one's said anything about Hap doing a tat for them so I figured it had to be for you." Koz explained and I shook my head.
"I haven't said anything about a new tattoo to Hap." I said and Kozik immediately looked surprised and guilty.
"Oh. I feel like I may have ruined a surprise." Kozik grimaced and I couldn't help the smile that slowly crept onto my face. I gently patted his hand.
"Well, your secret's safe with me." I assure before stepping away.
"I didn't realize that Hap was a tattoo artist." I said as I took Kozik's empty bottle.
"He never told you?" Koz asked looking surprised and I shook my head.
"If you haven't noticed Hap doesn't like talking about himself." I said with a laugh, Kozik gave a chuckle and a nod.
"Yeah, it's a little hard to miss. As for the tattooing. Hap's been a tattoo artist for as long as I've known him. It's mostly a hobby from what I know, but he's damn good at it." Kozik pulled up his sleeve so I could see the tattoo on his upper arm. It was an intricately done Chinese style dragon in black and white.
"He did this for me a couple years ago."
"It's beautiful, Kozik." I complimented as I studied the design for a moment. A call from the register pulled my attention away and I quickly went to ring up Jim's tab. When I turned back Kozik was headed to the door, he looked back and gave a quick wave before slipping out. I frowned, walking back down the bar to grab up the bills he's left on the bar and picked up the napkin and empty fry bowl. This was a first, Kozik wasn't one to run out without saying good bye and it seemed strange that he would do so without an obvious reason.
The last of the customers settled up and left before I finished closing up and headed upstairs with Ace. It seemed strange to come up to a completely silent apartment. Even with club business Hap usually managed to make it home most nights before the bar closed. When he was home the apartment was never this quiet. There was usually the sound of the tv playing or the sound of Hap moving around, even his snoring, but when he wasn't here it was silent and that's when I missed him the most. Since Hap made moved in I had found myself leaving the tv on low at night when he went on runs or stayed at the clubhouse for the night, needing the noise to sleep without him.
I was slipping into bed when I heard the door open in the other room. Ace bounded off the bed giving one bark before I heard Hap's voice. Ace's nails clicked across the floor to greet Hap while I got back out of bed and folded up the quilt that I had pulled from the closet while Hap was away. I heard the tv shut off and when I closed the closet door Hap was already standing in the doorway and I smiled, glad to see him home and whole. I took a step closer and leaned up to give him a kiss, his hands going to my hips.
"I'm glad you're home." I said softly and Hap hummed as he pulled me closer. I let him hold me for a long moment before pulling away and leading him toward the bed. As the back of my legs hit the side of the mattress I slid the straps of my night gown over my shoulders and let the material fall to the ground, pooling around my feet. Hap's clothes quickly joined it on the floor before his hands found their way back to my waist, moving me back and down onto the mattress.
Our reunion was hard and fast. Both of us fighting toward our end as the first peeks of the summer sun started over the horizon. When we both finished I laid curled into Hap's side breathing heavily as I listened to Hap's heart beating fast with the feeling of contented exhaustion. Hap shifted to face me more as his thumb drew circles on my arm, I sighed and closed my eyes wanting to enjoy the feeling for a little longer before going to sleep.
As we laid there I could feel Hap's eyes and every now and then the movement of his thumb would hesitate before starting again. After the third time I opened my eyes and looked up to see the contemplative look in Hap's eyes. He was thinking hard about something and his eyes kept their focus on my arm.
"What are you thinking so hard about?" I whispered. Hap's eyes finally moved to mine and he seemed to debate for a moment before speaking.
"I want to tattoo you." He said and I hummed.
"Was there something you had in mind?" I asked and Hap nodded. I pulled away as he started to sit up and slipped out of bed, grabbing his boxers to put on before walking into the other room. He was gone for a moment before coming back with a sketch book in hand. I sat up and leaned against the head board as Hap got back in bed and flipped open the pad.
"Some old ladies get this tat." Hap showed me a black and white sketch of a cartoon like crow, one foot grasping a banner with the word forever and the other holding several arrows and the reaper scythe, the foot holding the scythe looked to have a cuff with chain links that disappeared behind the banner. I hummed at the picture, it wasn't something I could picture on myself.
"It's not your style." Hap said and I looked up to judge his expression. Instead of his normally blank expression there was a smirk.
"I wanted it to be more you." Hap said and flipped the page. I smiled at the new design and gently took the pad from Hap's hands to look at closer. He had made the crow realistic, much like the style of the raven on my ribs, this design didn't have the chain around the birds leg, instead Hap had used a more ribbon like design for the banner that twined around the birds foot. The heart over the bird's chest remained the same and the word forever was still written in the same style of script, the arrows and scythe remained, but Hap had cleaned up the line work making them less like a cartoon and more realistic.
I could see the thought he had put into the design, the little changes he made to make the tattoo something special to me while remaining true to the club tradition. He had made this something I could see myself wearing for the rest of my life. Hap remained quiet while I took in the design, the tension I could feel in his arms was the only indicator that he was even slightly concerned about my reaction.
"Where were you thinking it should go?" I asked as I handed him back the pad. The tension melted as he set the pad on his end table and shifted toward me more.
"Here." He said running his finger over the skin between my shoulder and chest. I hummed, looking in the mirror that hung on the back of the door, trying to picture it there.
"When are you wanting to do it?" I asked and Hap raised a brow.
"You sure? No tweeks, not somewhere else?" He asked and I smiled as I leaned into him.
"I trust you and I can see how much thought you put into this." A small smile graced his lips and he leaned down to press his lips to mine.
"Monday night. We'll do it at the clubhouse and you'll have some time to heal before you have to work." I smiled.
"Sounds perfect." I grinned and then pushed him back into the bed, my body going down with him.
"Now, I need sleep." Hap chuckled but settled in with me, both of us drifting off for a couple hours of much needed rest.
Monday afternoon Hap rolled up to the apartment as I was locking the door. I smiled as I all but skipped down the stairs more than excited for what we were about to do. When I got to the bottom Hap was already holding out a helmet that I quickly fastened to my head before climbing onto the back of his bike. Hap straightened the bike, flipping up the kick stand and then slowly twisted the throttle to get the bike moving.
In the past year I had ridden with Hap many times, but every time I couldn't get over the rush that came with it. There was a freedom that came with riding on the back of the bike that I had never experienced while driving a car. The feeling of the wind rushing around us, the shifting of the bike underneath us, it was exhilarating and there was something about riding that made the colors of the world around you brighter despite the blur of the speed, riding was something that you couldn't completely appreciate till you did it.
Hap pulled into the garage parking lot and had me hop off before backing the bike into its place in line. The parking lot was practically barren, the mechanics had gone home for the night, there weren't any customers roaming around and there wasn't a party going on so there was only a handful of cars parked in the lot beside the row of bikes. It was almost eerie to be here with so few people, I had only been to the lot during the day while there were mechanics and customers roaming around and on a couple nights when I'd joined the club parties that had hang-arounds and sweet butts and members crawling all over the place.
Hap lead me inside and it was weirdly subdued. There were several members sitting at the bar or lounging on the couches, but it was nothing like the rowdy nights that I had been witness to. A couple heads turned our way when the door closed and we were greeted with nods before they went back to whatever they were doing.
"My dorm." Hap said with a nod and we started toward the hallway. I was following close behind when Kozik walked out and spotted us. A wide grin stretched across Kozik's face.
"Hey guys. Whatcha doing? You come to dance?" He asked with a cocky grin and made a little chacha move that made me giggle while Hap rolled his eyes.
"No." Hap said and walked past Kozik without another word. Kozik quirked a brow in question and followed as I started after Hap.
"What's going on?" Kozik whispered like a school girl looking for the latest gossip.
"Hap's going to tattoo me." I whispered back with a coy smile and Kozik's eyes widened.
"Really?" He asked and I nodded.
"Yeah, when he got back from his run he showed me a tat designed for me." Kozik gave me a sly grin, catching what I was doing.
"That's cool, I want to see." Kozik said a little louder. Hap unlocked his dorm and let us in before shutting the door. I quickly pulled off my jacket as Hap started getting out his equipment. I'd made sure to wear a black camisole so I could pull the strap out of the way to make it easier for Hap to work.
"Grab the chair." Hap nodded to the rolling chair in front of the desk. I pulled the chair over in front of Hap and took a seat while Hap looked up to Kozik.
"Go grab the rolling stool in the bar." He said and Kozik nodded before disappearing out the door. While he was gone I slid my arm through the strap of my bra and cami and tucked the straps into the cup of my bra out of the way. With that Hap snapped on some gloves and started cleaning the area for the stencil.
When Kozik finally came back with the stool and a couple beers Hap had already applied the stencil and was letting me look it over in the bathroom mirror before we continued. I took a moment to study the stencil and I was amazed at just how perfect it looked there, obviously it was only the stencil but I could already see what it was going to look like when Hap was done and I loved it.
"Alright, let's see it." Koz said when I stepped out out of the bathroom. I smiled as I held still, letting Kozik get a good look.
"Wow. Hap you pulled out all the stops for this one." Koz murmurs and Hap grunts as he motions for me to take a seat. Kozik moves to take a seat on the bed while I returned to the chair. Hap took a moment and looked over the stencil again before firing up the tat gun and setting to work.
Hap didn't say a word while he worked, focusing intently on what he was doing and only pausing to change colors or to give me a couple stretch breaks. The process took hours but Koz was good company, making up for Hap's silence with idle chit chat as he nursed his beers. When Hap was finished he turned off the gun and wiped at the ink one more time before backing away.
"Go take a look." Hap said and started packing up his equipment. I grinned and all but ran to the bathroom to finally look at the final product. My eyes watered a little as I looked at the work, the bird was beautiful with the barest hints of blue and purple in the feathers, the forever script looked like it belonged on a book cover and the scythe held the smallest dab of red along the blade, enough to make it menacing, but not enough to make the image gory.
Hap hadn't explained it, but I knew exactly what this tattoo meant, I could see it in the details and with the dedication that Hap had given it. This tattoo was more than just representation of the brotherhood I had found myself a part of, this was a brand of Hap's true feelings, the words that he never spoke. This tattoo was a physical representation of the love he had for me and that I let him express without words. In all it was completely perfect.